When the Las Vegas Aces sent the Seattle Storm home in the first round of the 2025 WNBA playoffs, many figured it would also mark the end of Noelle Quinn’s run as head coach. And a few days later, the Storm made it official. With that decision behind them, the next big question was who would take her place. And after some careful thought, it seems Seattle is set to make a historic move of its own.

ESPN’s Shams Charania recently reported that the Seattle Storm has offered Sonia Raman the role of head coach, and she’s accepted, per anonymous sources. However, no official announcement has been made yet. Before this, Raman spent a year as an assistant coach under Sandy Brondello with the New York Liberty. Whenever the hiring is confirmed, Raman will make history as the first person of Indian origin to become a head coach in the WNBA.

To get to this point, Sonia Raman has had an interesting and historic journey. Sonia Raman grew up in Massachusetts and went to Framingham High before heading to Tufts University in 1992. She joined the basketball team as a walk-on and played as a guard coming off the bench. But during her junior year, a car accident left her with a broken leg, forcing her to sit out the season. While recovering, she began to see the game differently as she watched, analyzed, and guided her teammates from the sidelines.

By her senior year, she was back as a co-captain and graduated in 1996 with a degree in International Relations. A few years later, she completed her law degree at Boston College in 2001. After law school, she worked first at Fidelity Investments and then with the U.S. Department of Labor before eventually deciding to follow her passion and move into coaching full-time.

In September 2020, she made history as the first Indian-origin woman to become an assistant coach in the NBA. She spent four years with the Memphis Grizzlies and worked in various departments such as analytics, scouting, and player development. It was during her tenure that the Memphis Grizzlies developed players such as Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Desmond Bane. After four years in the NBA, she became an assistant coach for the New York Liberty. With the Liberty, she was in charge of offensive strategy and executing late-game situations.

Raman has been in the mix for WNBA head coaching jobs the past two offseasons and was even considered for the New York Liberty’s current coaching vacancy, according to sources.

How can Sonia Raman help the Seattle Storm take the next step?

By the end of the 2025 WNBA season, it became quite evident that the Seattle Storm needed a new voice in the locker room. That is nothing to take away from the job that Noelle Quinn did, but by the end, things had become stale. Now that the front office has fixed that problem (or has at least tried to), it will be interesting to see how Sonia Raman can take the next step and help Seattle take a leap next year.

The Seattle Storm head into the offseason with a lot of tasks. Despite having big names like Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, and Gabby Williams, all of whom were All-Stars this year, the team couldn’t make it past the first round for the second straight season. Another key player, center Ezi Magbegor, a former All-Star herself, is also hitting free agency and might explore other options.

One of the main things Seattle hopes to fix under Sonia Raman is its late-game performance. The Storm finished with a 14–15 record in games that went down to the wire (matchups within five points in the final five minutes) and had a minus-12 net rating in those moments, the second-worst among playoff teams.

Sonia Raman is also famous for developing young, talented players into superstars. This could be a big boost for Dominique Malonga. After a slow start to her rookie season, she ended the season on a high note. With a new coach, she could take the next step and perform at an All-Star level. Recently, she has been shrouded in controversy, but with a new coach, that all could change.