Seattle Storm rookie Nika Muhl immediately made her presence felt in the WNBA after Tuesday's victory against the Phoenix Mercury. Although it was just the preseason, Muhl helped the Storm to an 85-59 win.
A clip from a play was posted where Muhl drove to the basket and passed the pock before hitting the deck. As she fell on the floor, no one from the Storm approached to help her. This led former WNBA star Rebecca Lobo to speculate about how no one helped her up.
Seattle's assistant coach, Dana "Pokey" Chatman immediately defended her players. She mentioned that it was a tough angle for her teammates to see her fall. Chatman assured the former player that everything was good on their end.
"With all due respect, from the actual game angle, it’s hard to tell she got tripped up and fell. Trust me, we’re good over here. Keep it moving!" Chatman posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Muhl reverberated her coach's words. She refuted the narrative about their team chemistry and agreed with what Chatman said on social media.
"100%. I couldn’t ask for better teammates - we ride for each other all day," Muhl posted on social media.
Although Muhl only had six points and two assists in last night's outing, her 19 minutes off the bench were still quite impactful as she took smart shots for the Storm.
What did Rebecca Lobo say about Nika Muhl and the Storm?
Players often help their teammates up whenever they fall on the floor. However, there are instances where teammates miss it, depending on where they are on the court. Last night, it was slightly similar to that as Nika Muhl fell on the floor and her teammates missed her.
This led Lobo to immediately analyze what had happened and give her take on it.
"When I watch this all I see is four teammates not helping her off the floor," Lobo said.
A few people saw this as her being critical of how Muhl's teammates didn't pay attention to where the rookie was. But Lobo clarified that she wasn't starting anything other than the fact that Muhl needed help to get up.
Lobo said that she wasn't trying to criticize the culture that the Seattle team has based on that one play. Instead, she just wants Muhl to be helped up by her teammates as she is on the floor.
Luckily, all parties involved cleared up the miscommunication as Lobo did not intend any malice with her comments, and the Storm are locked in together this season.
Also read: WATCH: Nika Muhl clamps Ariel Hearn and scores first WNBA basket vs Phoenix