For a moment, it looked like the Seattle Storm might lose one of their brightest young stars before the season even began. Dominique Malonga, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 draft, found herself at the center of a contract dispute with Turkish team Fenerbahçe. And it did cast a real doubt on her availability for the upcoming season.

However, as things stand now, that issue has been resolved. The 20-year-old center has received her letter of clearance from FIBA, which officially confirms her eligibility to play in the WNBA this season. For players moving between international leagues and the WNBA, this letter is essential. It confirms that the players have resolved any contractual obligations and that they are eligible to compete elsewhere. 

Dominique Malonga had signed a three-year deal with Fenerbahçe in 2025. That contract reportedly allowed her to play in the WNBA during the offseason. However, just months later, the situation took a dramatic turn when the club announced that she had “unilaterally terminated” the agreement without justified cause. This announcement stemmed from the fact that Malonga didn’t report to the club for the European season.

From Malonga’s side, she didn’t travel to Turkey for the European season because of the wrist injury she sustained while playing for the Seattle Storm, which required surgery. She said that she needed time to recover and would be in a cast for six weeks. And that of course, would have been an understandable reason. However, her next move of deciding to join the Unrivaled 3-on-3 league shortly after gave Fenerbahçe reasons to think otherwise. For them, they believed there was more at play than just rehabilitation, and so, they wanted to pursue legal consequences for Malonga’s actions. 

Of course, it’s also understandable why Malonga might have decided to join the Unrivaled league while reportedly still recovering from her injury. Reports indicated that Unrivaled salaries significantly outpaced what she was earning in Turkey. Specifically, reports from BeBasket indicated that the Turkish club offered Dominique Malonga a salary of approximately $104,000. On the other hand, the inaugural average salary in the Unrivaled league was approximately $222,000. And as a rookie at the time, Malonga only earned $78,831 as her base salary with the Seattle Storm.

As of now, Dominique Malonga’s contract with Fenerbahçe remains terminated. This is due to the “unilateral termination” that the club announced in October 2025. The clearance from FIBA also confirms that she has no outstanding international contractual holds preventing her from playing for the Seattle Storm this season. However, while she is cleared to play, the club’s pursuit of “material and moral damages” may still be active in the form of a financial settlement behind the scenes. But this no longer blocks her from the court. 

Malonga remains one of Seattle’s most important pieces. Last season, she appeared in all 42 regular-season games. Now with the absence of key players like Ezi Magbegor due to injury, her role will expectedly grow significantly in her second year. And the timing of this clearance letter couldn’t have been better. The Storm’s first preseason game is just two days away. The expectation now is that she’ll feature in that game.

Dominique Malonga Downplays Heightened Expectations Despite Bigger Role Ahead

The Seattle Storm are entering the 2026 season with a heavily altered roster. The team saw all five of their top scorers from 2025 leave. With all these changes, and especially with veteran center Ezi Magbegor slated to miss the first six to eight weeks of the 2026 season due to a foot injury, and the late arrival of Seattle drafted center Awa Fam, the expectation for Dominique Malonga is to now take on a significantly more prominent role. 

However, the 2025 No. 2 draft pick does not seem fazed by the weight of expectations. As she said, “There is nothing crazy that is expected from me.” For her, the expectation of her still remains the same, only with more efficiency. “They just expect me to be me. To bring what I know, to bring energy, to run the floor, to be versatile, play defense, the basics. They don’t ask me to be out of character,” Malonga said.

According to her, the team’s current situation also gives her more opportunity to be in different positions on the floor. But also, to maintain efficiency in whatever position she’s in. As she said, “I think the word for this season is really ‘efficiency.’

Malonga enters the season coming off a strong finish to her 2025 rookie campaign, where her averages jumped from 4.3 points to 12.0 points and her minutes doubled to 20.7 per game over the final 19 contests.

The stats from last season signal an upward progression. Perhaps that’s an indication of her readiness to shoulder the responsibility ahead.