How Storm rookie Dominique Malonga quickly became one of the WNBA's biggest frontcourt threats

Olivia Miles' stunning decision to forgo the 2025 WNBA Draft and transfer from Notre Dame to TCU is shaping up to be one of the biggest sliding doors moments in recent women's basketball history. Her decision altered the future of multiple collegiate programs and numerous WNBA franchises. 

Look no further than the Seattle Storm. 

Four months ago, Miles' reversal seemed like a major blow to a Storm team that owned the No. 2 overall pick and needed a guard after franchise icon Jewell Loyd forced her way out of town. Fast forward to now, and it looks like a blessing in disguise. 

With Miles off the board, the Storm decided to go with the best player available instead of a different guard, and selected 6-foot-6 French phenom Dominique Malonga. They didn't need another big with former MVP Nneka Ogwumike and perennial All-Defensive honoree Ezi Magbegor already in place, but they sure are glad to have Malonga -- for both their short- and long-term aspirations. 

Thirty-one games into her WNBA career, the 19-year-old Malonga is already one of the most exciting young talents in the league, and at the rate she's improving could soon be one of the best centers, regardless of age. 

Recently, Malonga became the 11th rookie to have back-to-back 20-point, 10-rebound games, and the first to do so while shooting at least 70% in both games. Only six other players have ever pulled off back-to-back 20/10 games on 70%+ shooting: Rebekkah Brunson, Sylvia Fowles, Brittney Griner, Dearica Hamby, Natasha Howard and Ogwumike. 

Malonga was a late arrival during training camp due to overseas commitments, and played sparingly early in the season as the Storm worked to get her up to speed. In recent weeks, however, she has become a key part of coach Noelle Quinn's rotation. 

Over the last eight games, Malonga is averaging 21 minutes and putting up 13.3 points, eight rebounds, 0.8 steals and one block on 63% shooting. If you look at her per-100 possession stats over that span (to account for the fact that she's still playing somewhat limited minutes), she's at 30.3 points, 18.3 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 2.3 blocks. For comparison, A'ja Wilson's per-100 numbers this season are 36 points, 15.5 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 3.4 blocks. 

If you look at Malonga's full-season per-100 numbers, she's in rarefied air. In WNBA history, only four other rookies have put up at least 25 points, 15 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per 100 possessions, including current and future Hall of Famers Lisa Leslie, Yolanda Griffith and Tina Charles (minimum 300 minutes played). Griffith, along with Malonga, is the only other one to shoot at least 50% from the field. 

However you want to slice it, Malonga is showing signs of being an extremely special player. And she's doing so despite being the youngest player in the league. If Malonga was American, she would be entering her sophomore year of college and wouldn't even be eligible for the draft until 2027. 

This season hasn't gone to plan for the Storm, who hoped to contend for a title but are instead stuck in eighth place at 16-16 due to a five-game losing streak. Those five defeats have come by a combined 17 points, however, so there's still hope they can turn things around and make some noise in the playoffs, especially if Malonga continues to improve. 

"[Malonga] has been trending upward for a while now and just playing above and beyond her age and experience right now," Storm forward Gabby Williams said earlier this month. "She's a huge reason that we are able to stay in these kinds of games, and she's only going to get better from here."

Whatever happens down the stretch, the Storm know they have a franchise center on their hands. Let's take a closer look at what makes Malonga so special. 

Size

First and foremost, Malonga is huge. She's 6-foot-6 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan. There are only four players taller than her in the league, and of that bunch only Brittney Griner and Kamilla Cardoso are starters who play heavy minutes. Malonga has the size advantage in the majority of her matchups, and she takes advantage of it on both ends of the floor. 

Offense

Malonga is shooting 68.7% in the restricted area this season, which ranks 16th in the league among players with at least two such attempts per game, and over her last eight games, she's up to 75% in the restricted area. Because of her size, she's able to go up and finish much closer to the rim than many of her counterparts, which reduces the margin for error, and fewer players can legitimately contest her. She also has great touch around the rim. 

Furthermore, Malonga's size often bails out her teammates. Watch on this possession when Skylar Diggins just throws the ball up to her and Malonga catches it in traffic and finishes without even jumping. There are very few players who could pull off such a play. 

Defense

Malonga's height and wingspan allow her to envelop opposing bigs in one-on-one situations, as she did on these possessions against Indiana Fever All-Star Aliyah Boston and Washington Mystics All-Star Kiki Iriafen. 

Even when she doesn't get a block or create a turnover, she's able to force difficult shots, as she did here against three-time MVP A'ja Wilson. 

Eventually, you'd like to see Malonga become more of an enforcer at the rim from the weak side -- her 2.9% block rate ranks 23rd among players with at least 300 minutes -- but that will come with time. In any case, she's already a deterrent because of her size. 

Athleticism

It's not an overstatement to say that few women's basketball players Malonga's size have ever moved as fluidly as she does. Not only can Malonga get down the floor quickly when running in a straight line, but she has excellent lateral mobility and nifty footwork. 

Offense

Malonga's ability and willingness to run in transition generates easy points for herself and the Storm. She's scoring 1.357 points per possession in transition, which is good for eighth in the league, per Synergy Sports. While Malonga hasn't thrown down a dunk in the WNBA yet, that day is coming. 

We also see Malonga's athleticism on the offensive end in pick-and-roll situations. She excels as a roller in large part because of her size, but also because of her footwork and quickness. This possession against the Aces is a perfect example. Watch how smoothly she's able to get out of this low pick-and-roll with Skylar Diggins, adjust her feet and get the ball on the rim before A'ja Wilson arrives. 

Defense

There are times when Malonga struggles on defense when she's off the ball, but that will improve as she gets more reps. Already, her athleticism, along with her length, allows her to recover and stay in plays, as we see here against the Washington Mystics' Shakira Austin. 

Malonga briefly loses track of where Austin is, which allows the fourth-year forward to get a step on her, but she has the agility to recover. Even when she bites on a pump fake a few seconds later, Malonga has a quick enough second jump that she can still contest and force a miss. 

We really see Malonga's athleticism on the defensive end when she jumps out on the perimeter. Watch here as she jumps a passing lane against the Connecticut Sun and goes coast to coast for a layup. She needed just two dribbles to get from halfcourt to the rim and didn't dribble inside the 3-point line. 

On-ball skills

Malonga's size and athleticism are excellent qualities, but her on-ball skills are what could eventually put her over the top. 

As we've already seen, Malonga is more than capable of grabbing a rebound or a steal and going coast-to-coast herself. But she's also able to put the ball on the deck in halfcourt situations. In fact, she often seems more comfortable playing in space, where she can utilize her athleticism. 

Because of her limited playing time and touches, and the Storm's poor spacing, we haven't seen a ton of Malonga's dribble drive game this season, but there have been glimpses. Watch this possession against the Indiana Fever, where she pops out of the pick and glides to the rim with two dribbles from beyond the 3-point line. 

Malonga hasn't been a threat as a 3-point shooter -- she's 2 of 11 -- but she has shown off a nifty one-leg fadeaway jumper as a counter in the post. In an interview with Rachel DeMita before the draft, Malonga called that move her "go-to" and said it was inspired by Breanna Stewart. 

Again, Malonga is 19 years old, has been in the United States for less than four months and has played just 374 minutes of WNBA basketball. If you think she's impressive now, just wait until she really knows what she's doing out there.