The Seattle Storm are in a freefall. Just weeks ago, they were a top-five team with championship aspirations. Now, they’re mired in a shocking five-game losing streak, tumbling down the standings and fighting for their playoff lives. The on-court product has been disjointed and listless, but as new reports surface, it seems the real storm is brewing inside the locker room.

The first crack in the facade was the sudden trade of veteran forward Alysha Clark. A key piece of their 2020 championship team, her return to Seattle was supposed to be a stabilizing force. Instead, it ended abruptly with a trade she requested, reportedly to find a place where she felt “happy and comfortable.” But the diplomatic language couldn’t hide the truth for long. A new report alleges the real reason for her departure was a series of “verbal altercations” with teammates, rooted in frustration over her “lack of production.”

For Storm fans, this feels like a painful case of déjà vu. The whispers of locker room turmoil immediately bring back the drama of the 2024 season, which was plagued by an investigation into the coaching staff for player mistreatment and a subsequent trade request from franchise cornerstone Jewell Loyd. Even center Li Yueru, who was traded to the Wings this season, reportedly felt underappreciated and sought more playing time elsewhere.

With trouble brewing once again, a frustrated fanbase is connecting the dots. As one fan bluntly put it: “2 players who requested a trade out of Seattle due to locker room issues. lol it’s time to start looking at who may be the problem.”

That question—who is the problem?—has led many fans to one answer: Skylar Diggins. The All-Star guard has a well-documented history of being a demanding and often polarizing leader. Her tenure in Seattle has been no different. She famously called out her team’s effort in 2024, saying, “It’s unacceptable how we’re playing on both sides of the basketball.” While some see that as holding teammates accountable, others see it as a divisive approach, especially now that reports are linking altercations to a player’s “lack of production.”

This perception was only amplified by the infamous social media drama of 2024, when she and Nneka Ogwumike unfollowed Jewell Loyd, creating a very public fracture within the team’s “Big 3.” Add to that her contentious exit from the Phoenix Mercury in 2023, where she publicly accused the team of barring her from their practice facility while she was on maternity leave, and a clear pattern emerges for fans: where Skylar Diggins goes, drama seems to follow. This history has fans convinced they know exactly who is responsible for the team’s current collapse.

“She’s in Seattle doing the same thing”: Fans blame Skylar Diggins for recurring drama

The news that another player had forced her way out of Seattle due to internal conflict sent the fanbase into a frenzy.One fan didn’t mince words, directly naming the player they see as the instigator:“Diggins is def stirring the pot”

This sentiment is rooted not just in her history, but in her own words. Diggins has acknowledged her intense locker room presence, admitting that she’s not “everyone’s cup of tea.” For fans, that admission, combined with reports of “verbal altercations” over performance, paints a picture of a leader whose demanding style may be crossing the line and creating a toxic environment that is driving teammates away.

The criticism isn’t just about her attitude, it’s about her performance during the team’s collapse. One fan pointed out the hypocrisy of a demanding leader who isn’t consistently delivering: “Skylar needs to look in a damn mirror. Most inconsistent player on that roster.”

The stats during the Storm’s five-game losing streak tell the story. Diggins’ scoring has been a rollercoaster: 18 points, then 13, then a solid 11, followed by a shocking 0-point performance on 0-for-3 shooting against the Aces, before bouncing back with 17. For a player reportedly at the center of altercations, her own inconsistency makes her a prime target for fan frustration.

However, many fans and analysts believe singling out Diggins is an oversimplification. They see a broader cultural issue, a sentiment captured by another fan’s comment: “Skylar / Nekka are toxic.”

While the comment is pointed, it reflects a wider discussion that the issues in Seattle are not about one player, but a fractured leadership core. As one insider discussion noted, the real question is, “What is it about those three leaders—Nneka, Skylar, and Jewell—that made it a toxic place to be? … I don’t think it’s fair to put it on any one of the three players alone.”

Finally, for some long-time WNBA watchers, this pattern of drama feels all too familiar, extending beyond her time in Seattle. As one fan put it: “Skylar Diggins weird a— gotta go…this is to much bull— for a players who’s not even winning…Skylar tried to ruin Phoenix but they told her to bounce & shes in Seattle doing the same thing”

This sentiment captures the core of the fanbase’s frustration: the drama feels pointless when the team is in a nosedive. It echoes the reports from Jewell Loyd’s 2024 trade request, which stemmed from an environment described as “toxic” and “emotionally challenging.” With Alysha Clark now leaving for similar reasons, fans see the internal conflict not as the byproduct of a demanding, winning culture, but as the direct cause of a talented team’s inexplicable collapse.