Juneau’s Talisa Rhea, who joined the Seattle Storm six years ago as a video coordinator, is the WNBA team’s new general manager.
A standout for the Crimson Bears, Rhea was Alaska’s Class 4A player of the year in 2005 and 2006 and the Gatorade player of the year in 2007. She played college basketball at Oregon State and Seattle University before playing professionally in Poland.
Rhea joined the Storm in 2015 and quickly advanced, becoming director of basketball operations in 2016 and assistant general manager in 2019. She has been an active participant in the team’s draft strategy, helping to build rosters that captured WNBA titles in 2018 and 2020.
She replaces Alisha Valavanus, who will remain as president and CEO.
“I feel fortunate to have experienced the Storm’s championship culture for the past six seasons and I look forward to leading our team in the pursuit of sustained excellence,” Rhea, 31, said in a statement released by the team.
Rhea becomes the second Alaskan serving as a general manager of an NBA or WNBA team. Former East Thunderbirds great Trajan Langdon is the GM of the New Orleans Pelicans.