Storm Guards Diggins, Wheeler Named to 2025 WNBA Skills Challenge
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - As the participants of this weekends events taking place during the WNBA’s All-Star weekend have been revealed, two Seattle Storm players are listed as part of the field for the Skills Challenge. Guards Skylar Diggins and Erica Wheeler will battle things out with Natasha Cloud of the New York Liberty, Courtney Williams of the Minnesota Lynx, and the reigning champion of the event in Allisha Gray of the Atlanta Dream. The talented backcourt duo has been electric throughout the 2025 season for the Storm, as Diggins remains her play as an elite point guard in her eleventh season while Wheeler has earned her way into the starting lineup after making the team off a training camp contract. The event will take place om Friday, July 18th at 5PM PDT and will be broadcast live on ESPN.
This will be Diggins’ first time participating in the event, while it’ll be Wheeler’s second consecutive instance listed for the competition as she was named to take part in last years event but was unable to attend due to the global computer outages delaying her travel. It’s the first time that a player will represent the Storm in the Skills Challenge since 2019 when Sami Whitcomb participated and the first time since 2023 that a Seattle player will take place in a festivity that’s not the All-Star game since 2023 when Whitcomb was in the three-point contest.
Seattle Storm guards Erica Wheeler (left) and Skylar Diggins (right) during pregame introductions ahead of the teams game against the Washington Mystics on Sunday, July 13th, 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Liz Wolter for Circling Seattle Sports)
Storm players in the WNBA Skills Challenge prior to this
When it comes to previous WNBA Skills Challenge events and the involvement of Storm players in them, four previous players have represented Seattle in this specific competition. Sami Whitcomb, Swin Cash, Betty Lennox, and Sue Bird have all previously represented the Storm with the most recent being Whitcomb back in 2019 and the only Seattle player to win the event being Bird way back in 2005. During the 2019 instance of the event, Whitcomb was defeated by Kent, Washington native Courtney Vandersloot in the first round who eventually went on to become the runner up of the event. It’s a ten-year gap between Whitcomb and when Swin Cash participated in the event, as Cash was part of the 2009 festivities with the “West 2” team made up of herself, Nicole Powell of the Sacramento Monarchs, and Nicky Anosike of the Minnesota Lynx. That group with Cash ultimately finished second to last in this version of the event as four teams of three players each competed. Lennox was in the 2007 installment of this event, failing to make it out of the first round alongside Nikki Teasley of the Washington Mystics as Becky Hammon won it as she represented the San Antonio Silver Stars.
Lastly, Bird was in the event twice back in 2005 and 2006, winning it the first year and being named the runner up in the second year. Sue beat a field of Becky Hammon, Tamika Catchings, Diana Taurasi, Deanna Nolan, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, DeMya Walker, Marie Ferdinand when she won in 2005 and lost by 4.7 seconds to Seimone Augustus of the Minnesota Lynx in the final round to end as the runner up.
Storm players in other WNBA All-Star weekend events prior to this
Outside of the Skills Challenge and the All-Star game itself, Seattle has been well represented in the third event that typically takes place at the WNBA’s midseason weekend festivities. A Storm player has participated in the three-point contest on seven occasions, spread across four different players. Sue Bird has participated for the Storm on three occasions, in 2009 (tied for second place), 2010 (Failed to get past first round), and 2017 (Failed to get past first round). Swin Cash joined Sue in the 2010 instance of the event, and she was the runner up in that contest. Jewell Loyd has participated in three different instances of the contest, taking part in 2018 (Failed to get past first round), 2021 (Failed to get past first round), and 2022 (Failed to get past first round). Lastly, Sami Whitcomb participated in the 2023 edition where she was the runner up to the event.
Wheeler has participated in this event before, as a member of the Indiana Fever, where she failed to get past the first round of the event back in 2019.
What’s next?
Following the news of the two starting Storm guards being named to the WNBA Skills Challenge during this years All-Star weekend, Seattle will play their final game ahead of the break tomorrow. That Wednesday, July 16th game comes as the Storm welcome the Golden State Valkyries to the Pacific Northwest for the third meeting of the two teams this year with a tipoff time of 12PM PDT at Climate Pledge Arena. Seattle has lost the previous two meetings, both taking place in Golden State, so the Storm are seeking revenge against the Valkyries in addition to a bounce back from this loss to the Mystics. This game will be broadcast live on CW Seattle in the local television market, as it’s Seattle’s “Kid’s day” game presented by Delta Dental of WA and supported by FUNKO. This year, Kid’s Day falls on Doppler’s Birthday! Come celebrate the occasion with the entire family and get an exclusive giveaway item, along with new merchandise and a show by DJ Lightning.
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