In a year of tempests, the Seattle Storm’s decisive win against Las Vegas in Tuesday’s WNBA finals was a slice of brilliant blue sky.
The victory was more than a dazzling display of teamwork, skill and athleticism; it was a triumph of perseverance, with the team overcoming injury and defying a global pandemic to take their fourth championship title and the second in the past three years.
The Storm made the win all the more meaningful by dedicating this season to Breonna Taylor, the Black medical worker who was fatally shot by police officers in her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment and to raising awareness of Black female victims of police violence.
As forward Alysha Clark said in a postgame conference call with reporters, “It’s a championship for little Black girls and Black women across this country. … We see you. We hear you. We acknowledge you, and your life matters. That’s what this season was about.”
In fact, the team’s “top stat” in its official recap posted to its website Wednesday had nothing to do with the historic win: “It has been 207 days since Breonna Taylor was shot and killed in her own apartment. There has still been no justice,” the statement read.
The somber reminder is also an inspiration: If the women of Seattle’s greatest sports dynasty can be as committed to being excellent human beings as they are to being excellent ballplayers, shouldn’t we all do the same?
On and off the court, the Storm has made their hometown proud.