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With an 18-4 regular-season record and an undefeated run through the 2020 WNBA Playoffs, the Seattle Storm were exemplars of efficiency. A stellar starting five — the crafty backcourt duo of future Hall of Famer Sue Bird and “Gold Mamba” Jewell Loyd , plus a frontcourt trio of forwards Breanna Stewart, Natasha Howard and Alysha Clark — demoralized opponents on both ends of the floor.
Except for their first game in the postseason — Game 1 in the semifinals versus the Minnesota Lynx — the Storm clobbered the competition by double-digit scoring.
In the closeout Game 3 of the Finals, Seattle defeated the shorthanded Las Vegas Aces by a margin of 33 points in spite of the effort and energy of league MVP A’ja Wilson.
That type of dominance doesn’t happen by accident, but design, though a little good fortune gave them a leg up on the depleted competition. Still, the agile and active frontcourt players powered interim head coach Gary Kloppenburg’s “aggressive and disruptive defensive scheme” in a way that stripped the gears of opposing offenses and led to fast-break buckets on the other end. The “unselfish, patient” offense was well-oiled, if not machinated, creating mismatches that collapsed defenses.
Simply put, the Storm were better than all the rest, resulting in a a franchise-fourth WNBA championship.
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