The Seattle Storm have signed guard Taylor Thierry to a development player contract. Thierry, who was selected No. 36 overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft by the Atlanta Dream, played 17 games in the WNBA last season.
The Seattle Storm just signed a defensive specialist
Taylor Thierry, a former Naismith Defensive Player of the Year finalist, has joined the Storm on a developmental player contract.
Noa Dalzell is a senior writer covering the WNBA and all of women’s basketball for Breakaway, SB Nation’s women’s sports vertical, as well as the Celtics for CelticsBlog.
Before her time in the WNBA, Thierry was a standout at Ohio State, fifth in program history in field goal percentage (59.7%) and 10th in steals (234). In college, she was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team in 2023 and 2024, All-Big Ten Defensive Team in 2023 and 2025, and was a 2025 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist.
The Storm’s other developmental player is Taina Mair. Mair was the 14th pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft after a strong collegiate career at Duke and Boston College, and was on the Storm during preseason action. Mair was the 2026 ACC Tournament MVP, averaging 9.4 points, 4.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.
The Storm are 1-2 to begin the season, having racked up a win against the Connecticut Sun and losses to the Golden State Valkyries and Toronto Tempo.
The Storm have been led by Dominique Malonga (16 points, 7.3 rebounds), Jade Melbourne (14 points, 5 assists), Flau’jae Johnson (11.7 points, 4.7 rebounds), and Stefanie Dolson (9.3 points, 4 rebounds).
This is the WNBA’s first season with developmental players — players who have less then 3 years of playing experience who participate in all team activities, receive a $750 weekly stipend, and can be activated for up to 12 games. Players receive a pro-rated salary of about $6,000 per game when activated, and can eventually be converted to standard contracts.
The current pool of developmental players includes players like Maddy Westbeld (Chicago Sky) and Kate Martin (Los Angeles Sparks), who were on standard contracts last season. Some teams — like the Atlanta Dream and Las Vegas Aces — still have open developmental player spots.
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