Nika Mühl's ACL Injury Means Another Lost Season for Seattle Storm

Well, this is brutal. Nika Mühl is going to miss her second straight WNBA season after tearing her right ACL during a March 11 game while playing for Croatia in EuroBasket qualifying. The Storm announced Wednesday that the 24-year-old had surgery the day before, and that's a massive blow to Seattle's backcourt depth heading into 2026.

A Nightmare Cycle of Injuries

This is the second straight year Mühl has been sidelined by a torn ACL. She missed all of the 2025 season after tearing her left ACL while playing overseas for Turkish club Besiktas in the FIBA SuperCup. The former UConn standout has been snake bitten with injuries since joining the Storm, and it's getting harder to see a path forward for her contribution this season.

What This Means for the Storm Right Now

In three seasons with Seattle, Mühl has only appeared in 16 games. That's an incredibly low number for a point guard the Storm were counting on to be part of their long-term plans. Missing back-to-back seasons is the kind of setback that can derail a young player's momentum, especially when you're trying to establish yourself in the league and prove you belong.

The Storm are going to have to lean even harder on their other backcourt options to keep the offense flowing early in the season. Losing a pass-first point guard who was supposed to help run the offense is never ideal, but it's a challenge Seattle will have to work around.

Looking Ahead

The Storm front office is going to have some real decisions to make about Mühl's future with the team. You can't plan a season around a player who is consistently sidelined by injury, no matter how much talent they have. For now, Seattle will move forward without her and hope she can eventually get healthy and prove why she was worth drafting in the first place.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.