Basketball On The Internet.

ONE of the great joys of having Seattle-based BOB CRAVEN as our US correspondent was the fact he often sent stories from the Seattle Times, Aussies such as Lauren Jackson through to Sami Whitcomb playing WNBA for the Storm. Here's one which appeared last month in the Times by Percy Allen on Aussie Opals' star Ezi Magbegor. 

EZI CREATING A DEFENSIVE STORM

 By Percy Allen

AFTER their seventh game together and a devastating defensive performance that literally sent opposing players sprawling to the floor, Skylar Diggins-Smith unofficially launched Ezi Magbegor’s campaign for the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award.

“She’ll be in this [league] long when I’m out and gone, 10 more years plus,” Diggins-Smith, 33, said about her 25-year-old teammate following a win against the Chicago Sky on May 28. “She’s really just scratching the surface of the player that I think we’ll see in final form.

“Just her ability to do it at both ends. You see her get a block. Get the rebound and take it coast to coast, do a move and finish. She has so much versatility. … Big night for her. A double-double, definitely a defensive player of the year effort.”

Four months later, Diggins-Smith hadn’t changed her beliefs and is still Magbegor’s most vocal cheerleader.

After leading Seattle to a 90-82 win against the Los Angeles Sparks, Diggins-Smith sat next to Gabby Williams at a postgame interview listening to her rave about Magbegor’s defensive excellence.

And when Williams was done, Diggins-Smith chimed in with a little reminder: “DPOY, DPOY, DPOY, DPOY, DPOY, DPOY … DPOY.”

To be sure, Diggins-Smith is hardly unbiased, but Magbegor is putting the final touches on one of the greatest defensive performances in Storm history.

The 6-foot-4 centre with the 6-7 wingspan broke a 22-year-old franchise blocks record set by Lauren Jackson. Remarkably, the Australian-born superstar tallied 81 blocks in 28 games in 2002 while Magbegor had 82 in 36 contests.

With four games left, she was on pace to finish with 91 blocks, which would rank 12th all-time in the WNBA.

“Anytime Ezi is mentioned amongst the greats like Lauren Jackson, you know that she is a very good basketball player,” coach Noelle Quinn said.

“She’s very committed to her role and to this team. The thing that I see growth in is her communication level and understanding of our system and how to play. She’s very instinctual with the blocks so sometimes she plays Ezi defense and I let her rock like that.

“It’s amazing to see her growth. She looks up to Lauren Jackson a lot so just imagine the confidence that builds knowing that you broke her record or you’re mentioned in the same breath as her.”

It’s been a steady climb to greatness for Magbegor, who was taken 12th overall in the 2019 draft. After two promising seasons as a reserve, she became a starter in 2022, finished the year on the bench and moved back into the starting lineup in 2023.

There was some concern among skeptics whether Magbegor would be able to improve on last year’s breakout season in which she averaged a career-high 13.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 blocks while earning her first WNBA All-Star Game invitation.

In the offseason, the Storm acquired star forward Nneka Ogwumike, which required the 176-pound Magbegor to move to centre where she’s undersized against standouts such as Brionna Jones, Jonquel Jones, Brittney Griner and Aliyah Boston.

However, Magbegor, who was a notable All-Star Game snub, has improved in many ways. She’s averaging 8.1 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.1 steals — all career highs — while shooting a personal best 87.4% on free throws. The superlatives offset a dip in scoring (11.9 points per game) and a precipitous decline in three-point shooting (25% from 38.5%).

“Defensive player of the year, we need to take a hard look at that,” Quinn said. “She needs to make an (All-) Defensive team. Period. We have to give her, her flowers. She’s done an amazing job and she should be honored for it.”

Barring voter fatigue, A’ja Wilson will become the first WNBA player to win three straight DPOY awards. The Las Vegas Aces star leads the league in blocks (94) and is second in steals (66) and rebounding average (11.9).

Meanwhile, Magbegor, who ranks second in blocks, 10th in rebounds per game (8.1) and 22nd in steals (40), has been the anchor of a stingy Storm defense that’s fourth in the WNBA in points allowed (78.5).

Minnesota forward Napheesa Collier, Connecticut guard DiJonai Carrington and New York forward Breanna Stewart are also contenders for the league’s top defensive award.

“You have to look at who she’s guarding from the post standpoint, but also you got to know that our defense is very versatile,” Quinn said when asked about Magbegor’s DPOY candidacy.

“She’s not just guarding post players. She’s guarding wings and guards. Her ability to alter shots and block shots. … When she’s on the floor, we’re better defensively. She’s cleaning up a lot with help-side defense and getting her hands on balls.”

Magbegor, who has at least four blocks in seven games, swatted four shots while the Storm tied a season high 10 blocks.

“Her defensive activity, the way she has her hands up, that changes everything,” Williams said. “It makes things so difficult when you have somebody like that who is equally tall, equally athletic and equally smart defensively who is hounding you on the ball.

“You can’t do anything when Ezi traps you. So, it’s not just her presence at the rim, but her ball pressure. And also, if she’s not blocking shots, you’re scared to drive because you know you have a shot blocker (at the rim). So, just her presence makes it a lot easier for us.”

For the record: Ezi was selected in the WNBA All Defensive (First Team) but Napheesa Collier was named Defensive Player of the Year.

The Defensive awards were: FIRST TEAM ▪️ Napheesa Collier ▪️ A'ja Wilson ▪️ Ezi Magbegor ▪️ DiJonai Carrington ▪️ Breanna Stewart SECOND TEAM ▪️ Alyssa Thomas ▪️ Alanna Smith ▪️ Nneka Ogwumike ▪️ Jonquel Jones ▪️ Natasha Cloud