Storm Center Ezi Magbegor Suffers Torn ACL During 2026 FIBA World Cup
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - An incredibly difficult season for Seattle Storm center Ezi Magbegor hit another snag, a season-ending one, during her run with Team Australia at the 2026 FIBA World Cup. Veteran center Ezi Magbegor suffered a torn right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) Wednesday during Australia’s qualifying final against Italy in the 2026 FIBA World Cup and will miss the remainder of the 2026 WNBA season.
“It makes me emotional when I see anyone go down. But Ezi’s come back from an injury, and it’s just another injury. [It’s] just really unfortunate. She’s a key part of what we want to do. It sucks, but that’s sport, isn’t it?”
It’s the third injury that Magbegor has suffered this season, after a foot injury delayed her start to the 2026 season and a facial fracture during it kept her out for more of it, forcing her to wear a mask during games. Ezi has been a dependable player for Seattle over her now seven-year WNBA career, missing just eight games in that span.
Magbegor will need surgery, according to a statement from Basketball Australia, though it did not disclose when or where the surgery would take place.
“The Australian Opals will wrap their arms around Ezi, and we have no doubt in her character and resilience as she enters a period of recovery.”
Seattle Storm center Ezi Magbegor during games she played in the 2026 WNBA season at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Bryant Garduque for Circling Seattle Sports)
Because of the timing of this injury, Magbegor will miss the rest of this season (the Storm have just four games left on their schedule), and her 2027 season is also in question. It’s typical for ACL injuries to require 9-12 months for recovery, which calls Ezi’s 2027 season into question and makes things even more brutal. Seattle does have a few players who are coming off ACL injuries this year, including forwards Jordan Horston and Katie Lou Samuelson, so Magbegor should have a strong support system around her.
The injury took place during the first quarter of Australia’s nail-biting victory over Italy, an 82-80 win for the Opals, as Magbegor drove to the basket looking for a layup before an awkward collision with Lorela Cubaj left Ezi on the floor. After the Australian center and Italian forward collided, Magbegor hopped around a few times on her left leg, eventually falling onto the court and holding her right knee. After being helped back to the locker room, Ezi came out and sat on the bench in the second quarter, but didn’t return to the game. Magbegor, who was named Australia’s team captain at this FIBA World Cup, had to look on during the team’s elimination against Spain today.
Two of these three major injuries Ezi has suffered this season came while she was with the Australian national team, with her foot injury occurring in March during a FIBA World Cup qualifying game. The injury forced her to miss the first 20 games of the season for the Storm, coming off Seattle signing her to a three-year, $1,250,000-per-year deal this past offseason, which is the third richest in league history.
The facial fracture occurred four games after she made her season debut with the Storm, taking an elbow to the face from Atlanta Dream center Madina Okot in an inadvertent motion. Magbegor suffered a broken nose as a result of that contact, missing the next six games before returning to action on July 31st with a black face mask she’s worn in every game since.
“I’ve been very lucky to not to have been injured previously in my career. Whether it’s an Achilles or a broken nose, it’s just a part of basketball. Just knowing I’m going to be back eventually and having that mindset.”
During the 14 games she played with the Storm this season, Ezi averaged 6.9 points. 4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 0.8 steals per game. She’d shown some better statistical form dating back to the teams August 14th home loss to the Portland Fire when she’d post back to back double digit scoring games, and had managed to continue showing strong defensive play the entire time she was on the court, including a five-block game and a three-steal game.
It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that the four-time WNBA All-Defensive selection continued to provide strong defensive play while she was working herself back into a Seattle offense that is figuring things out in it’s own right.
“She’s got to have a great recovery, and she’ll get back; I don’t have a doubt about that. Just disappointed for Ezi that she’s going through another rehabilitation.”
Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social
〰️
Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social 〰️
Check out our previous Seattle Storm articles here.
Check out our previous articles with photos by Bryant Garduque here, and his portfolio here.
Check out our previous articles written by Charles Hamaker here.
Support the work of Circling Seattle Sports by checking out our merchandise!