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The Seattle Storm are the 2020 WNBA Champions

The Seattle Storm won their fourth WNBA Championship in their franchise history this season. They swept the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Finals series three games to zero. As a result, Sue Bird became just the 10th player in WNBA history to win four WNBA championships according to Sarah Valenzuela of the New York Daily News.

The Seattle Storm Win their Fourth WNBA Championship

Three Keys to the Series

Breanna Stewart Wins WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player

Breanna Stewart won her second WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. She had the most points per game in the WNBA Finals according to stats.wnba.com. Stewart averaged 28.3 points per game and had a field goal percentage of 62.7 percent.  She also shot 65 percent from the three-point line, 80 percent from the free-throw line, and had 7.7 rebounds per game. Her best game was game one. In that game, she had 37 points and 15 rebounds for the Storm.

She also played very well in games two and three. This included game three, where she had 26 points, four rebounds, and one block against the Aces. In-game two, Stewart had 26 points and four rebounds. She led the team in scoring in all three games.

This is what Storm coach Gary Kloppenburg said about Stewart according to Bryan Armen Graham of The Guardian.

“Stewie is just one of those players, a generational player that comes through once in a while that can face adversity and even get stronger because of it,” Kloppenburg said on Tuesday. “She missed that whole year and she came back as a better player in pretty much every category, on both sides of the ball.”

Stewart was injured for all of last year after colliding with Brittney Griner (who is also with the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA) in a Euroleague game. As a result, Stewart missed the entire 2019 WNBA season with an ankle sprain.

Role Players Stepped Up

In-game three, Jewell Loyd almost had a double-double with 19 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals, and Alysha Clark had 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, and 1 steal. This was while, Jordin Canada had 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal in game three of the WNBA Finals. Epiphanny Prince was also in double-digits in points with 11 in game one.

Lastly, in game two, Clark and Natasha Howard stepped up in game two of the WNBA Finals. They had 21 points each, in addition to Stewart having 22 points. This along with Bird’s 16 points and 10 assists, played a big role in the Storm taking game two of the WNBA Finals. Bird also had 16 assists in game one of the WNBA Finals.

Terrific Individual and Team Defense

The highest number of points the Aces scored was 91 in game 2 of the WNBA Finals. The defense of the Storm, in particular, was good in game three against the Aces. After giving up 21 points in the first quarter, the Storm only gave up 38 points for the rest of the game. This resulted in the Aces only scoring 59 points in the WNBA Finals. Another example is game one. The Seattle Storm allowed the Aces 19 points in the second quarter and 13 points in the fourth quarter. Also, the Storm were +15 in the second quarter and +11 in the fourth quarter. This played a big factor in the Storm winning 93-80 in game one.

There are a few Seattle Storm players who deserve credit for this. For example, Loyd led the team with 2.0 steals per game, this was while Prince was second with 1.7 steals per game. Also, Stewart and Howard led the WNBA Finals with 1.7 blocks per game. Lastly, in defensive rebounds, Stewart led the WNBA Finals with 7.7 defensive rebounds.

Overview of the Seattle Storm Winning their Fourth Championship

The Seattle Storm outplayed the Aces in offense and in defense. As a result, the Storm swept the series and have won their second championship in three years. This was also Bird’s fourth championship with the Storm. Bird has spent her entire career with the Storm since being drafted in 2002.

The Seattle Storm, with this championship, are now tied for the most WNBA Championships in league history. The Minnesota Lynx and Houston Comets have also won four WNBA championships. However, it is important to note that the Comets do not exist anymore after dissolving in 2008.

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