Cooke joined the Sparks after winning an NCAA national championship with South Carolina where she was a four-year starter and could count the number of games she lost on one hand. In Los Angeles, her minutes were wildly inconsistent, and her team finished in ninth place her rookie year, last place in 2024.
“It’s extremely difficult. I would never sit here and say that it’s easy,” Cooke told The Next of the shift from starting her entire career to coming off the bench. “It’s extremely difficult but you’ve got to be locked in. You got to do all the little things that you have to do to keep your body ready for when you go in. And then sometimes you just got to keep up with the momentum. The tables always turn, it’s crazy. … I’ve just got to keep finding those little pieces to help me be ready.”
The biggest challenge Cooke feels she has faced in the WNBA so far has had nothing to do with the game itself but with willing herself to keep going.
“It’s a huge challenge to keep going, especially when things aren’t going your way, when you feel like people don’t believe in you and you know what you’re capable of, it’s easy to slip off,” Cooke said.
In Seattle, Cooke’s role is not wildly different, but she feels like she is in the perfect environment to help her grow.
“I think I’ve grown in a lot of areas when it comes to just being a pro, taking care of my body, watching film,” Cooke said. “All of my coaches pour into me. They want to help me get better, and I just think I’ve grown a lot. I think it hasn’t shown as much as I would like on the court yet, but it’s just all a part of the journey. But I’m appreciative that this whole coaching staff is behind me. They want to help me get to where I used to be, and they just want the best for me. …
“I think being here, it just makes it very hard to not keep going. I have great players ahead of me that I look up to and I see what they go through, and it just makes me motivated to just keep going because I know eventually it’ll all pay off.”
Even though Cooke is hard on herself and doesn’t feel like she has grown enough yet, her teammates from Los Angeles now in Seattle have noticed the difference in the 24-year-old.
“She’s transformed as a person and player since she came to Seattle,” forward Nneka Ogwumike said of the player she mentored as a rookie in 2023. “She’s totally locked in. She pays attention to everything; she asks the right questions. I have to say that she is kind of the energizer when she comes off the bench. It’s very rare that she comes in and makes mistakes. She comes in and she can easily get a couple buckets here and there and is attentive to her defensive matchup. And I think it shows exactly how much she can grow in a system like this.”
Seattle Storm guard Zia Cooke drives against a New York Liberty defender in a game on June 22, 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Wash. Photo provided by Seattle Storm
Guard Lexie Brown, who played the previous two seasons with the Sparks and Cooke, has noticed a big shift in her confidence specifically.
“I think that’s something that’s huge in the W is building your confidence and being in an environment that empowers you to be better, to come in here, work every day. I think the best thing for her is having access to this facility,” Brown told The Next. “For a rookie, first year out of college, you come to a place that has no facility for you, you’re probably like what am I supposed to do with this.
“So just seeing her being in the gym all the time, I knew she was a gym rat, so I think that’s been huge for her. … I mean, she’s glowing. You can tell on the court. She’s still really young in this league, still learning a lot, but just seeing her grow from year one to now has been really good for me to see.”
Erica Wheeler, a guard who went through her own career tribulations as a player undrafted out of Rutgers and has played bench and starting roles alike, thinks Cooke has done a tremendous job transitioning from LA to Seattle and the role she has been given.
“Just being able to adapt, go from two minutes to 10 minutes [played], and just staying ready, I think she’s been doing a good job of that,” Wheeler told The Next. “All players have the lows, and all players have the highs, and she’s one of those that’s kind of up and down because you don’t know where your minutes come from. So, it’s just being staying ready, and she’s been ready.”
Seven-time All-Star, Skylar Diggins, also praised Cooke’s work ethic and improvement after a June 27th win over Connecticut.
“She’s another young player on our team who wasn’t even sure at the start of camp if she was going to make the team. But she worked her tail off, and she made this team. She earned her time,” Diggins said. “I was really proud of our young players … and just how they continue to get better.
“It’s not easy playing a role. It’s not easy having to come off [the bench] and not be able to make a lot of mistakes. But hopefully we, as the starters, put our bench in positions to be successful. And I thought they capitalized off of it tonight, and not only sustained it, but made us go up.”
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An unexpected offseason move
It was sort of serendipity that Cooke ended up in Seattle after the Sparks waived her in February. When she was waived, she called Ogwumike, not looking to join the team but rather to vent to someone she considers like a big sister. That’s when Ogwumike told Cooke that she would love to play with her and would talk to the Storm about a possible opportunity.
Two days later, head coach Noelle Quinn called Cooke personally to tell her that she could give her a training camp opportunity while being transparent that Cooke could explore other places because she was going to be looking at other guards too. That was fine with Cooke.
“I told her I wanted to better myself,” Cooke said. “I wanted to play for [Noelle Quinn]. I used to watch them when I was with the Sparks, I would watch how she coached, how she interacted with her players, and it was something I knew that I would want to be a part of but I was dedicated to the Sparks at that time. But once I got waived and I had the opportunity I wanted to take advantage of it.”
Seattle Storm guard Zia Cooke goes up for a layup against the Phoenix Mercury on May 23, 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Wash. Photo courtesy of Seattle Storm
Since arriving in the Emerald City, Cooke has felt how ideal the environment is.
“The first day I got here I came in the facility, it was beautiful, and I was saying to my parents this is what the WNBA should feel like,” Cooke said on media day. “For any young girls that want to get here like this keep going, because eventually you’ll be able to experience something like this. The coaching staff, my teammates, the vets, everything is a dream come true. So I’m happy I have the chance to be here and experience it all.”
During training camp, Cooke’s entire focus was on making the final roster knowing that her spot was far from guaranteed. However, her mentality has not changed much since officially taking the position.
“I think now my biggest thought is how am I going to stay here? How am I going to get opportunities to be on this roster for a very long time,” Cooke said. “This is somewhere that I would really like my career to be, so my main focus now is just to keep building a relationship. I understand it’s a business at the end of the day but just doing my job to where I can be back here next year.”
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Defense first
In Seattle, Cooke’s primary role is to be an aggressive perimeter defender. While defense has always been a part of her game it was more of a given in college where she was needed more offensively, there was no focus on becoming a defensive stopper. With players like Ogwumike, Wheeler, Diggins, Gabby Williams and Ezi Magbegor, the Storm don’t need Cooke to focus on scoring.
“That’s something I’ve always had, but I think since I’ve been in the W that’s something that they noticed about me, that can help me stick out from others,” Cooke said. “We all can score, but not everybody can play defense and be a scorer, so I think they’re just trying to help me tie that all together, be a defensive stopper and be an efficient scorer at the same time.”
Seattle Storm guard Zia Cooke defends Connecticut Sun guard Lindsay Allen during the WNBA game between the Seattle Storm and the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut on July 9, 2025. Photo Credit: Chris Poss | The Next
Quinn has been challenging Cooke’s defense since day one. The focus has been not only on defending physically but with her mind, understanding scout specifics, who you’re on the court with, rotations and all of those system-specific elements.
Shortly after making their final opening day roster decision, Quinn discussed Cooke’s defensive ability as one of the skills that helped her make the roster.
Quantifying guard defense statistically can be difficult but multiple statistics via Genius Sports courtesy of Seattle Storm PR point to Cooke’s defensive strengths showing through this season.
Opponents have scored just 0.304 points per chance against Cooke’s 26 closeouts this season, the second-lowest opponent efficiency among 154 WNBA players with at least five closeouts. On direct drives — the final action of a possession meaning that the drive ended in a shot, foul, turnover, or potential assist — Cooke has held opponents to just 0.82 points per chance, which ranks eighth among qualified guard defenders this season. As the primary defender against opponent handoffs, isolations and post-ups, Cooke allowed the fourth-fewest points per direct action (0.57) — actions ending in a shot, foul, turnover or potential assist — among 108 players with at least 40 actions defended this season.
Aside from the support of her coaches, Cooke’s defense has also benefitted from the teachings of Williams, one of the league’s best defenders this season and throughout her career.
“Gabby helps me all the time with teaching me how not to use my hands so much,” Cooke said.
“I’ve always been physical, my whole career, but not using my hands like using my feet more or playing with my hands higher, using my hands to get deflections, rather than in people’s bodies.”
Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams and guard Zia Cooke walk off the court in a game against the Las Vegas Aces on May 25, 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Wash. Photo provided by Seattle Storm
Offensive strengths
While defense is her primary focus, still Cooke brings offensive gifts to the court
“Obviously, her ability to, in transition, attack and get to the basket, get downhill, is very unique in this league, to turn the corner [too]. And now you saw her line up some spot up threes,” Diggins remarked.
“I think her ability to get downhill,” Wheeler told The Next of what impresses her most about Cooke’s game. “Then super explosive at the basket. And I think people underestimate her pull up shot, her being able to stop on a dime, going full speed and stop on a dime, to explode up, to elevate over taller guards, smaller guards. We just haven’t seen it enough [in games]. But in practice, she is lethal.”
Brown similarly brought up Cooke’s athleticism and quickness that’s been on display since her high school and college days.
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“There’s a lot of also really high-level athletes, really good, high-level defenders in this league. So, it’s just her continuing to build that confidence and take her level up a notch. And I think she’s more than capable of doing that,” Brown said.
The speed and athleticism that Quinn calls Cooke’s natural, God-given gifts are particularly able to shine within the Storm’s offensive system. Seattle strives to get as many easy buckets in transition off their defense as possible, a style of play Cooke credited for allowing her to score so many points as a Gamecock.
“It definitely helps me, especially when I’m on the floor with Gabby. I know for sure she gets a steal I’ve got to haul ass so I can go ahead and get me a quick, easy bucket,” Cooke said.
As much as Cooke isn’t satisfied with her improvement this season, at least one area of her game has statistically improved and that is her three-point shooting. In her first two seasons, Cooke did not shoot better than 30% from behind the arc, as low as 26.1% her rookie season, but this year she is converting 33.3% of her shots from deep, closer to her college-career percentage of 34.1.
Seattle Storm guard Zia Cooke takes a three point shot against the Connecticut Sun on June 27, 2025, at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Wash. Photo courtesy of Seattle Storm
“I think that she just has a really good all-around game. And you know, she wasn’t really known for her three-point shooting, but I see her in here every day working on her outside shooting,” Brown said. “That’s something that’s a hot commodity right now around the league and it’s going to keep you employed for a long time so I’m glad that she’s locking in on that.”
The biggest area of growth that Quinn is focusing on for Cooke is for her to be steady and solid in her minutes.
“She’s a very quick athlete. She can get downhill, and I thought she utilized her strengths in transition to make really good reads,” Quinn said after a June 27 win over the Sun. “All I’m asking for her in her minutes is to be solid, and that’s going to be a point of emphasis for her in her growth processes.”
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Different forms of veteran support
Amidst Cooke’s focus on growth, she has had support from a lot of different players.
“I think for Zia the biggest thing is environment, to be here and to be around vets,” Quinn said on July 3 ahead of a matchup in Atlanta. “How to be a pro is exemplified every day for her, something that young players need, to be able to see how other veterans work in the game. And not just the game, but on the day-to-day basis, with their preparation before they even step foot on court, and their preparation before a game.
“So, I think she’s really a sponge in this environment, and the biggest thing for her is having people who trust and believe in her, and I think she thrives with that thinking.”
Cooke confirmed as much, saying, “it’s very hard not to get better in this environment because of all the resources that we have and then all the good people that I have behind me that want to help me get better.”
On a team with a myriad of vets, they all support Cooke in their own ways.
Magbegor, who is her accountability buddy this season (assigned to all of the players on the team by Quinn), talks less about the X’s and O’s of basketball with her focuses more on the mental side of things, both able to go to each other for mental check ins.
Wheeler has taken Cooke under her wing since she arrived in Seattle, answering her questions but also supporting her like an older sister.
“I call her my youngin because she always asks me questions,” Wheeler said. “Zia is the type of person that’s always asking questions. No matter what it is she don’t care how she look or what question it is, she’s always asking because she wants to be informed. And I tell people all the time, it’s better to ask a lot of questions than not to ask questions. Because then it may seem like you don’t care, or it may seem like you know it all when you really don’t. So, she asks all type of questions. …
“I don’t want to always correct her when she’s wrong, because she has to learn on her own in certain moments. But it’s the moments when she drops her head, I just want to be there for to let her know, like, yo, you fine. Mistakes happen. However, do you want to be perfect so you can play more minutes? Yes. But mistakes happen. So, for me, it’s been more like a bigger sister.”
Seattle Storm guard Zia Cooke stands in a the middle of a team huddle during a game against the Golden State Valkyries on June 14, 2025, at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif. Photo courtesy of Seattle Storm
A lot of the game improvement comes from Cooke’s own work ethic according to Quinn.
“Zia is a student of the game,” Quinn said. “She works really hard to work on herself, constantly watching film, or asking to watch film, constantly asking us, her coaches, [what] her focus is for games.”
While Cooke appreciated the praise and is fine with Quinn giving her credit, she still feels like she can do better.
“I want to get better every day, period,” Cooke said. “I come in here, whether it’s watching film, whether it’s making sure I’m getting on the court, whether it’s in the weight room, everything that I do is intentional and I want to get better every day and I’m striving to be better. What I’m doing right now is not enough, what I do next week won’t be enough. I’m just going to continue to try to grow and succeed in the right direction.”
Cooke concluded with the following words encapsulating the mental struggle, her work ethic and dedication.
“I just want people to understand that being a pro is hard. It’s not easy,” Cooke said. “I go about my job the way that I should. Basketball is my career. This is my life. This is my livelihood. And I don’t take anything for granted. I’m super excited to be here in Seattle, I want to make this my home for as long as I can. And I just want to win games, so that’s that.”