Free agent Ezi's future unclear after coach sacked

• The Seattle Storm announced they have not renewed the contract of head coach Noelle Quinn
• Seattle have also dismissed the entire coaching staff following the 2025 season
• 2025 Report Card: Storm shot stopper Ezi Magbegor's career year for blocks
• Latest News: Read more about Aussies in the WNBA here

The future Australian Opals star Ezi Magbegor is uncertain after the Seattle Storm announced they have parted ways with head coach Noelle Quinn after five seasons.

Seattle announced they would not be renewing Quinn's contract following a season where the Storm finished the regular season in seventh place and were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round 2-1 by the WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces.

“On behalf of our organisation, I would like to thank Noelle for her time with the Storm.  Her commitment to the ongoing success of our organisation and to furthering the development of our players was second to none,” Storm general manager Talisa Rhea said.

“She put us in a position to win at the highest levels of the game and for that, we are grateful."

During her exit interview Quinn discussed Magbegor's future with the Storm.

"Future, future questions — I don’t even know how to answer that because I don’t know how the roster is going to shape out," head coach Noelle Quinn said during her exit press conference.

"One thing I do know is we got to put respect on Ezi’s name.

"The year that she was an All-Star, we were not very good, but she held the fort defensively. You know, the offensive production, the three-point shooting, and even at the tail end of the season, she had some really good moments for us.

"So I know that players go through ups and downs in a season and sometimes in their career, but Ezi has been solid on the defensive end. She’s been a solid teammate, she’s been very impactful in this organisation. And when we’re talking about on-court production and X’s and O’s, I just want to make sure we understand who she’s been and how she’s been for us before we even jump to next roster — whatever we’re talking about.

"So I’m not sure how to completely answer that without understanding the makeup of what we’re going to have, but I just know that we wouldn’t be — we were not, we would not be — where we are without Ezi."

Quinn was part of Seattle's 2018 championship as a player and was an associate head coach during the team's 2020 championship run before taking over as head coach for the 2021 season.

Magbegor, who has been wth the Storm since 2020, is a free agent after signing a one-year extension in 2024 which took her through to the end of this season. A large portion of the WNBA are also free agents due to the new CBA.

During Quinn's tenure at the Storm, Magbegor became a WNBA All-Star in 2023, was named to the WNBA All-Defensive First Team in 2024 along with All-Defensive Second Team honours in 2022 and 2023.

The former Melbourne Boomers WNBL star finished second in the league for blocks at 2.2 per game, behind Wilson, and just in front of fellow Opals front court teammate and WNBA Co-Defensive Player of the Year Alanna Smith (1.9 per game).

She also broke the Storm franchise record for blocks this season.