Our WNBA Comeback Player of the Year just delivered her defining moment

The tears streamed down Erica Wheeler’s face.

The 34-year-old guard, in her 9th season in the WNBA, was back.

After a June game against the Minnesota Lynx, Wheeler broke down in her postgame interview after hitting a clutch basket that helped the Storm pull away. She finished that game with 20 points and 9 assists, showcasing flashes of the same undersized guard who was named an All-Star in 2019.

“It’s not about me,” Wheeler said in that postgame interview. “It’s not about me – it’s about this team. It’s about us just sticking together.”

But the Storm’s season is about Wheeler – at least a little bit.

All season long, she’s been one of the team’s key contributors. And on Tuesday, with a trip to the playoffs on the line, Wheeler exploded for 17 points, 11 of which came in a decisive fourth quarter against the Golden State Valkyries.

With 19 seconds to spare, the 5’7 guard pulled up for a game-winning midrange jumper (the Storm needed one more win to secure the 8th seed and officially eliminate the Los Angeles Sparks from playoff contention).

Then, with a slew of Valkyries and Storm players battling for a loose ball as the clock wound down, Wheeler fittingly secured the board that punched the team’s ticket to the postseason.

Afterwards, her father stood by her as she fielded postgame questions at Climate Pledge Arena: “This man means everything to me,” she said.

Last season, Wheeler averaged 3.6 points in just 14 minutes per game, being relegated to the bench full-time for the first time in nearly a decade. It was her fewest minutes since her rookie season, one she spent playing behind – and mentoring – rookie Caitlin Clark.

Clark praised Wheeler’s empathy and leadership: “She’s somebody who understands me well. She’s always there, whether the moment’s really good or the moment’s not so great. She’s there to help me through it or celebrate it, whatever it is, good or bad.”

But, as critical as Wheeler’s off-court role was in Indiana, it wasn’t clear whether she had more to give on the court. That’s always the looming question when a player in their mid-30s experiences a significant decline in production (or opportunity).

But this year, Wheeler has proven to be one of Seattle’s more important players. She’s the Storm’s fifth-leading scorer, averaging 10.4 points per game.

She’s shooting 37.3% from three – up from 28.8% last season. She’s appeared in every single game, averaging 25.5 minutes per night — up from just 14 last season.

As such, if there were a WNBA Comeback Player of the Year award, Wheeler would earn SB Nation’s vote.

Seattle Storm head coach Noelle Quinn has routinely praised Wheeler’s defensive impact on the team.

“E has some tough assignments defensively, and she doesn’t shy away from the physicality of those assignments,” Quinn told reporters after a July win against the Connecticut Sun, per Brenden Potts. “She’s super impactful on the ball, off the ball, navigating a lot of screens and different actions.”

In 2019, she became the first undrafted player ever to win All-Star MVP. She’s been through off-court adversity that far exceeds anything she’s dealt with in the WNBA; she grew up in the Miami neighborhood of Liberty City, one of the most crime-ridden inner cities in America, and saw two of her close friends die in violent incidents as a youth. In college, she lost her mother to cancer.

When she wasn’t drafted out of Rutgers, she simply kept fighting for her basketball career – playing in Puerto Rico, Turkey, and Brazil, before ultimately carving out a long-term role with the Indiana Fever. Few undrafted players have been able to experience the kind of career success Wheeler has.

For much of the season, Wheeler started in the backcourt alongside Skylar Diggins. After the Storm traded for Brittney Sykes, she was relegated to the bench, but her production has remained steady; she’s scored in the double-figures in 4 of her last 5 games.

On Tuesday, she closed out the most important game of the season, tallying 17 points (on 5-7 from three), 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.

After the game, in typical form, she deflected the praise: “It’s not about my last shot, it’s a team effort.”

But, just when it began to seem like that career might be winding to an end, Wheeler has shown that what’s always been true remains true: she should never be counted out.