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Seattle Storm rookie Nika Muhl finally scored her first career basket on the final day of the 2024 WNBA regular season. Muhl waited a long time to make her first field goal but it was all worth it as her teammates celebrated her milestone on the sidelines.
With the Storm already up big over the Phoenix Mercury, coach Noelle Quinn emptied her bench early. Muhl got a total of 14 minutes of action, which was a career-high for the UConn product. Her rookie campaign was full of garbage minutes and DNPs, appearing in just a total of 16 games.
In the video below, Muhl got the steal on Celeste Taylor and started the fastbreak by herself. She got a wide-open layup to score the first two points of her WNBA career. It probably lifted a lot of pressure from the 23-year-old guard's shoulders.
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Nika Muhl finished the game with two points, two rebounds, three assists and one steal. It won't likely lead to an uptick in minutes during the playoffs but it would give her a lot of confidence heading into the offseason. Muhl missed the first three games of the season due to visa issues.
One of the reasons why Muhl didn't get a lot of playing time was due to the number of backcourt players on the Seattle Storm roster. She was behind players such as Jewell Loyd, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Victoria Vivians and Sami Whitcomb. Jordan Horston can also play in the backcourt, so she was an additional competition for minutes.
What's next for Nika Muhl and the Seattle Storm?
The happiness in the faces of the Seattle Storm players' faces after Nika Muhl scored her first basket should give the locker room a boost heading into the playoffs. The Storm have a tough task in the first round of the 2024 WNBA playoffs.
Seattle will face the defending back-to-back WNBA champions Las Vegas Aces in a best-of-three series. The first two games will be held in Las Vegas, so the Storm are at a disadvantage already despite just a two-game difference in the standings.
If the Storm can win at least one game on the road, Game 3 of the series shifts to Seattle, where they can steal the series and eliminate the champions. However, they lost to the Aces 3-1 in this year's regular season series.
Game 1 of the Storm-Aces series is scheduled for Sept. 22 and tip-off is at 10:00 p.m. EST. It will be held at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.
