Matt Calkins: Storm top pick Dominique Malonga has tantalizing upside

Matt Calkins, The Seattle Times on Apr 15, 2025

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SEATTLE — You can’t always get what you need, but if you trade sometimes, you just might find that you get what you want.

OK, maybe that’s not quite how the lyric goes. But it might sum up the first-round pick for the Storm Monday.

See, this is a team that needed a guard after trading away Jewell Loyd this offseason. The deal ended up giving Seattle the second overall pick in Monday night’s draft. The thought was this would lead to the selection of Olivia Miles, the Notre Dame guard regarded as the consensus No. 2 behind UConn’s Paige Bueckers.

But then … surprise! Miles decided to return to college, leaving the front-court heavy Storm without an auto-replacement for Loyd. The bad news? Seattle doesn’t appear to be set up for instant title contention the way it would be if Miles came on and played like a Rookie of the Year candidate.

The good news? They may have ended up with a player with more upside than anyone in this year’s draft.

Her name is Dominique Malonga, a 19-year-old, 6-foot-6 center from France. No, she doesn’t have the name recognition or accomplishment list matching Bueckers. Yes, the Storm already have two prominent bigs in the form of Ezi Magbegor and Nneka Ogwumike.

It doesn’t feel like an ideal scenario for the 2025 season. But maybe this is the player that helps the Storm hoist up multiple banners five-to-10 years from now.

Hall of Famer and Frenchman Tony Parker, after all, called Malonga the female version of Victor Wembanyama — the 7-foot-4 Spurs center who also hails from France. Probably a bit of a stretch considering Wembanyama was touted as the best NBA prospect since LeBron James.

Still, considering Malonga’s length and athleticism — she could dunk at the age of 16 — that iconic Climate Pledge Arena roof could be her ceiling.

Trying to compare someone such as Dominique to a four-year college player is difficult. Major growth tends to take place from the ages of 19-22, and considering Malonga is on the front side of that range, she’s as much of a question mark for the Storm as she is an explanation point.

We know what she was able to achieve in France. After joining ASVEL Féminin at the age of 16, the Cameroon native averaged 15.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.5 five assists for the club this season.

Need a fadeaway in the post? Malonga can provide it. Need a three from the top of the key? She has that in her bag, too. Driving ability, rebounding prowess, near inimitable length — it’s going to be a daunting matchup for anyone forced to guard her if she meets her potential.

There’s a reason ESPN draft analysts Chiney Ogwumike and Andraya Carter simultaneously called Malonga the “steal” of this year’s draft. The explosiveness blended with skill and size is rare. Only issue is that she’s relatively unproven against the best in her peer group. International basketball on the women’s side just doesn’t match the college level — where most of the top players spend four years.

Personally, I think this is exciting. I don’t think Malonga is going to spike the initial ticket sales the way Bueckers would have, but there’s a good chance she will in the future.

Had the aforementioned Miles stayed in the draft, Seattle may have felt compelled to take her for the immediate need. With her going back to school, the Storm’s choice was made for them.

Malonga was emotional in the moments after being selected. Speaking to ESPN’s Holly Rowe, she mentioned how it was “amazing” to be representing not only France, but also Cameroon in the Congo — giving praise to all the family members who helped get her to the WNBA. But she knows a greater challenge awaits.

“I will work very hard to fit in this league, because I know it’s going to be tough, it’s going to be hard, but I’m ready to work,” Malonga said.

The Storm are no strangers to drafting international bigs in the first round. They took Lauren Jackson No. 1 in 2001, which helped lead to two championships. In 2019, they took Magbegor, who played a (smaller) role in their 2020 title.

We’ll see what’s next with Malonga. No immediate needs were filled Monday night. A lot of long-term goals might have been, though.

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