![\"Dominique](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2230678102.jpg\")
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Dominique Malonga embraces the league\u2019s physical style, proving her toughness while earning respect from teammates and opponents across the WNBA.<\/p>\n
The Seattle Storm\u2019s rookie Dominique Malonga has discovered that the transition to professional basketball has focused more on strength than skill.<\/p>\n
Malonga, 19, is the youngest player in the WNBA<\/a>, but she is already making a difference by focusing on the intricate parts of the game.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest part for me is being more physical,\u201d Malonga explained. \u201cI\u2019m a post player, and players in this league are very physical. If I want to finish plays, I have to finish strong, box out, and rebound. So I\u2019m working on being tougher and bringing that physical presence.\u201d<\/p>\n In a league where veterans relentlessly exploit weaknesses, awareness is essential. Malonga\u2019s learning curve has been the steepest because she has had to learn not only to withstand the physical demands, but also to impose her own.<\/p>\n Building Confidence Through Trust<\/p>\n Despite the challenges, Malonga has embraced the opportunity to grow. With more minutes and increased reps, she\u2019s gained the confidence that comes from trust \u2014 both from coaches and teammates.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s going well,\u201d she said<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m getting good reps now, good minutes, and I feel the trust from my coaches and teammates. That shows on the court. I just go out there, give 100 percent, and don\u2019t think too much.\u201d<\/p>\n Coach Quinn\u2019s Praise<\/p>\n Malonga, who is an intriguing piece of Seattle\u2019s future, was highlighted by Storm head coach Noelle Quinn\u2019s unique blend of skill and sense for the game.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are things we see every day,\u201d Quinn said<\/a>. \u201cShe works on them and has a natural feel. It\u2019s about her comfort, understanding the league\u2019s physicality, and our offense. Even on the three, she read the rotation and knew she\u2019d be open. She works on her rhythm shots, has great touch around the rim, great hands, and is very agile. It\u2019s cool to see her production and development in real time. I\u2019m super proud of her.\u201d<\/p>\n In Quinn\u2019s eyes, Malonga is the type of player who can rapidly develop in the right system. Despite already possessing her touch, mobility, and instincts, she was adding the toughness and durability needed to thrive against seasoned competition.<\/p>\n Earning Respect Around the League<\/p>\n Seattle is not alone in noticing her growth. The opponents, who include some of the league\u2019s biggest stars, have taken note. Alyssa Thomas, known for being one of the top forwards in the WNBA and consistently named to the All-WNBA team, praised Malonga\u2019s rapid development.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I mean, she\u2019s only 19. Most of us entered the league at 21 or 22, so to be that young and competing at this level is really impressive,\u201d Thomas said in an interview with LandonBuford.com<\/a>. \u201cShe still has so much room to grow, and playing alongside such experienced players will only help her. We faced her in the first half of the season, and she\u2019s already improved so much since then. I\u2019m excited to keep watching her development\u2014definitely sky\u2019s the limit for her.\u201d<\/p>\n Malonga\u2019s transition has been remarkable, as Thomas\u2019 endorsement highlights. From spacing and defensive rotations to shot selection and rebounding, she\u2019s making a significant improvement month by month.<\/p>\n A Bright Future<\/p>\n The story of Malonga has only just started. Despite being 19 years old, she still has more opportunities to advance than most of her classmates, and she is already showing that she belongs in the group. The combination of her physical abilities, emerging strength, and guidance given by both her coaches and veteran teammates can accelerate her development in a way that many rookies have never experienced.<\/p>\n Seattle is looking forward to this, which is an encouraging sign. The league is eyeing a young player with the potential to become one of the next big stars. According to Alyssa Thomas, Malonga\u2019s potential is limitless.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tLandon Buford<\/strong><\/a> Landon Buford is a Heavy Sports contributor. I’m a Washington State graduate with a Bachelors degree in Sociology. In the past, I’ve had stops at RESPECT Magazine, The Dallas Observer, USA Today, SI, Forbes, PlayersTV, Vayner Media, and The Hype Magazine. My interest is in Sports, Entertainment, Culture, and Tech. More about Landon Buford<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Storm\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Images Dominique Malonga embraces the league\u2019s physical style, proving her toughness while earning respect from teammates and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":191145,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[62,67,132,68,232],"class_list":{"0":"post-191144","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-united-states","10":"tag-unitedstates","11":"tag-us","12":"tag-wnba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115128207407493191","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}