Seattle Storm Eliminated: 6-27 and a WNBA Losing Streak Record

The Seattle Storm became the first franchise in WNBA history to suffer two double-digit losing streaks in the same season, dropping their 10th straight on Wednesday in a 92-86 loss at the New York Liberty, per The Seattle Times. Two nights later the math finished the job. Seattle was eliminated from 2026 playoff contention when the Washington Mystics beat the Atlanta Dream on Friday, per ESPN's Alexa Philippou and Bleacher Report, making the Storm the first team knocked out of the postseason picture this year.

At 6-27, Seattle now owns the second-most losses in franchise history with weeks left to play, and the franchise loss record set in 2023 is within reach. This is the Storm's first season without a playoff bid in three years.

How the Seattle Storm Got Eliminated

The collapse is a defensive story before it is anything else. Over the seven games preceding Wednesday's loss, Seattle allowed 99.8 points per game, per The Seattle Times. Before that stretch, the Storm were giving up 86.4 per game, a figure that included a 99-88 win over these same Liberty on June 25.

That is a 13-point swing in what a defense concedes, and it happened inside a single month.

Coach Sonia Raman has been specific about the breakdown. "The first phase is the transition defense," Raman said. "Obviously, that needs to be better in our previous game and in other games. Just being able to get back. It kind of comes down to the execution of the coverages. Know your personnel, game plan discipline and just the communication."

Wednesday followed the pattern. New York opened on a 12-0 run to go up 17-4 and led 21-6 in the first quarter. Seattle cut it to 47-43 by halftime and tied it 50-50 in the third when Jade Melbourne converted a three-point play, then gave it back immediately as the Liberty ripped off a 12-2 run to lead 62-52.

The One Thing Working

Dominique Malonga is the reason to keep watching this team. She put up 31 points and 10 rebounds on Wednesday and outplayed Breanna Stewart, the former Storm star who finished with 28 and eight in the head-to-head.

Around her, the supporting cast is thin. Awa Fam and Melbourne each scored 13 and Flau'jae Johnson added 11. Katie Lou Samuelson left in the third quarter with an apparent knee injury and did not return.

For New York, Jonquel Jones went for 14 points and 15 rebounds, Sabrina Ionescu scored 15 and Rebecca Allen added 12 in a third straight win that moved the Liberty to 19-13.

Betting and DFS Impact

Elimination changes what a team is playing for, and that is a market input, not a sentiment.

Start with totals. A defense conceding nearly 100 a night while its offense is short on shot creation is a specific profile: opponent team totals stay live, Seattle team totals do not. The mistake is treating an eliminated team as an automatic under across the board. The unders live on Seattle's side of the number, not on the game total, because opponents keep scoring.

Spreads are the trap. Public money chases the fade after a 10-game skid, and books know it. Double-digit closing numbers against a bad team are where line value goes to die, especially against opponents with their own seeding math to worry about. Seattle closes its four-game road trip Saturday night at the expansion Portland Fire, who enter at 12-19, which is exactly the kind of matchup where the market overprices the reputation of the streak.

Futures on the Storm are dead, so the residual value is in props and rotations. Malonga is the DFS anchor: a 31 and 10 line against Stewart is not a fluke usage night, and eliminated teams historically shift minutes toward young pieces they need to evaluate. Watch for the same dynamic to open up Fam's and Melbourne's minutes.

The larger betting story is on the other side. Seattle's exit tightens what is left of the eight-seed scramble, and the teams still fighting for position now have a schedule with more games against a team playing out the string. Strength-of-schedule adjustments matter more in the final month than they do in June.

Chad AI tracks every WNBA line move, total and player prop inside the StatSniper app, on the NBA and WNBA daily picks page and the AI sports picks hub. Compare more edges at the Chad picks hub.

What to Watch Next

Three things through the rest of Seattle's season. First, the loss record, since the Storm are closing on the franchise mark set in 2023 and have the schedule to reach it. Second, Samuelson's knee, because an eliminated team has no reason to rush anybody back and every reason to bank minutes for its young players. Third, the minutes distribution around Malonga, which will tell you whether Seattle is evaluating or just finishing.

For the other end of the standings, see our WNBA MVP race report and our Aces and Fever breakdown. Full standings and results are at WNBA.com.

FAQ

Are the Seattle Storm eliminated from the 2026 WNBA playoffs? Yes. ESPN's Alexa Philippou reported Seattle was eliminated from playoff contention when the Washington Mystics beat the Atlanta Dream on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, making the Storm the first team out this season.

What is the Seattle Storm's record in 2026? 6-27 after a 92-86 loss at the New York Liberty on Aug. 5. That is the second-most losses in franchise history, with the record set in 2023 still ahead of them.

What WNBA record did the Storm set in 2026? Seattle became the first franchise in WNBA history to have two double-digit losing streaks in the same season, per The Seattle Times.

Who is Seattle's best player to watch the rest of the season? Dominique Malonga, who posted 31 points and 10 rebounds against the Liberty on Aug. 5 and outproduced Breanna Stewart in that matchup.

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