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USA Today via Reuters
Apr 15, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Nika Muhl poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after she is selected with the number fourteen overall pick to the Seattle Storm in the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/2024-04-16T005714Z_2122594612_MT1USATODAY23034635_RTRMADP_3_WNBA-DRAFT.jpg?width=600)
USA Today via Reuters
Apr 15, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Nika Muhl poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after she is selected with the number fourteen overall pick to the Seattle Storm in the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The Seattle Storm continued their tremendous run of form by securing their 12th win of the season. In a dominant display, the 4x WNBA champions made full use of their fans’ support and clipped the Dallas’ wings 97-76. On top of that, all the 5 starters for the Storm ended their night with a double-digit score next to their name. In spite of that, their supporters feel that there is still one concern within the franchise. And that is overlooking the talent possessed by the 14th overall WNBA draft pick Nika Muhl.
For yet another night, the former UConn point guard didn’t spend a significant amount of time on the hardwood. However, the 9,080 present at the Climate Pledge Arena hoped to see more of her tonight when head coach Noelle Quinn decided to introduce her to the game in the first quarter itself. With just 4.0 seconds remaining on the clock, Muhl made her way onto the court in place of Jewell Loyd. Sadly, to her supporters’ dismay, the thrill of witnessing her in action quickly ended as Skylar Diggins-Smith entered the game and replaced her in the very first minute of the second quarter.
Anyhow, Nika Muhl was given another chance to make her mark in the game. But it came at the very end when the game had already run its course. In the final quarter when the hosts were already sitting on a healthy 22-point lead and just 2:46 left, the 23-year-old took the court for the second time and was just able to contribute a single offensive rebound in her total allotted time of 3 minutes on the floor.
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Consequently, this apparent waste of her talent is now starting to enrage her fans.
Storm ignoring Nika Muhl frustrates fans
Hardly anyone would argue that Nika Muhl was one of the best prospects who graduated from UConn. The 6-foot-point guard is a 2× Big East Defensive Player of the Year. In addition to this, she ended up grabbing the program’s career assists record with a total of 686 assists. Keeping that in mind, some people feel that the franchise is doing an injustice to her potential. Therefore, one fan demanded justice through his comment. The fan, along with a picture of Nika Muhl, wrote, “justice for nika muhl”
justice for nika muhl pic.twitter.com/XwPMoeN5uv
— 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚘 ⓟ | ✞ baby bieber (@5HCCJB) June 30, 2024
What’s your perspective on:
"Is the criticism of Nika Muhl justified, or are fans being too harsh on the rookie?"
Have an interesting take?
Evidently, this season has seen a lot of talented players getting waived by their respective franchises. The list includes the Aces parting ways with Dyaisha Fair, Indiana laying off Celeste Taylor, and the Chicago Sky recently bidding adieu to Kysre Gondrezick. This compelled the fans to fear the worst for Nika Muhl as well. Channeling this chain of thought, one X user expressed, “Nika Muhl is getting waived yall. I can feel it They literally NEVER gave her a chance.”
On the other hand, there were still some people who were hopeful. The kind of brilliance that Nika Muhl showcased with the Huskies evoked a lot of admiration for her. Putting forth this range of emotions, one of her followers commented, “nika muhl i love you forever your time will come.”
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In her rookie season so far, Muhl has been a part of 8 games in total. In those 8 games, the Seattle Storm entrusted her with an average of 2 minutes per contest. Such limitations on her are now starting to annoy her supporters as they are unable to witness a growth in her game. Addressing that, one X user wrote, “nika muhl will never be able to grow her game on the storm.”
Meanwhile, some people targeted the Storm’s head coach Noelle Quinn in this regard. Seattle was comfortably leading for the most part of the game. This made reasonable grounds for Quinn to utilize Muhl and give her some decent minutes in the middle. Unable to see that from happening, some fans wished for the media to step in and find out the actual reason behind Quinn’s decision. Subsequently, the fan said, “I really want one of these reporters to be bold enough to ask Noelle Quinn why didn’t she give Nika muhl more mins tonight after being up 15 points for most of the game. Shxts not adding up.”
Clearly, the dissatisfaction among fans is brewing. Unable to see more of this skillful baller on the court is a great concern for them. Nonetheless, they still hope to see more of her in the upcoming games. It will be interesting to see if their wishes can become reality.
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Stay tuned for more such updates. And, to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.
Debate
"Is the criticism of Nika Muhl justified, or are fans being too harsh on the rookie?"