Breaking down the rise of Ezi Magbegor
The film behind one of the WNBA's brightest young stars
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When the Seattle Storm drafted then-teenager Ezi Magbegor in 2019, they knew they weren’t getting an immediate contributor. They didn’t need one, after all, with all the star power they already had.
Magbegor made her debut a year later for the 2020 Storm team that won the championship in the bubble. Still raw, the Australian forward played just 13 minutes a game for a team that dominated the league from start to finish and probably didn’t need her.
Seattle’s willingness to play the long game has paid dividends in 2022, as Magbegor has emerged as a true impact player on both ends of the floor. Despite sliding to the bench in favor of Tina Charles, the young sensation averaged nearly as many minutes as she did in her first two seasons combined, and she consistently produced in those minutes for a team with title aspirations.
What is it that makes Magbegor so special on the court?
It starts on the defensive end. Magbegor finished second in the league in blocked shots thanks to a 6-foot-7 wingspan and a salivating combination of athleticism and timing. Her average of 1.8 blocks per game was the most of any qualifying player who played fewer than 25 minutes per game since LaToya Sanders in 2015.
Her ability to erase shots as the help defender from different spots on the court has been a perfect complement to Seattle’s aggressive ball screen defenses, and it’s covered up for teammates getting beat off the dribble as well.
And even when she gets beat, she still doesn’t get beat. You can get away with biting on the occasional pump fake when you have recovery speed like this.
There’s more to her defense than just blocked shots, of course. Not many 6-foot-4 posts can comfortably switch onto a ball-handling guard – especially an All-WNBA caliber guard like Skylar Diggins-Smith (who was 0-for-6 this season when Magbegor was her primary defender).
As for that Seattle aggressive ball screen coverage, trapping pick-and-rolls works much better when you have someone on the backside who can take away the roller like this.
That wingspan can also come in handy when Magbegor is involved in the screen herself.
The defensive development was expected, but the other end of the floor may be where Magbegor has made the biggest strides. According to Synergy, she was one of nine players in the WNBA this year to score more than 75 points as a roller on pick-and-rolls. The other eight were All-Stars, and Magbegor was the only one of the nine to do it on better than 1.2 points per possession.
She’s also excelled at scoring as an off-ball screener thanks to her quickness on the slip.
The instincts and timing aren’t just defensive attributes, either. Magbegor has shown a knack for timing up her cuts perfectly as soon as she sees her defender leave to go help.
When you play with Breanna Stewart, your defender leaves you to go help with regularity. Even when Stewart doesn’t have the ball, her gravity gives Magbegor windows to find open layups.
While her post-up game is still a work in progress, it isn’t too much of a problem given the relative lack of importance of post-ups in today’s game compared to her other skills. And still, she has shown flashes in that department. In particular, she’s found success when she’s been able to use her quickness to make a move on the catch, even with her off hand.
As the Storm gear up for a postseason run, they’ll do so with four former No. 1 picks in the starting lineup. But the X-factor may be a player who was taken at the end of the first round, not the beginning. Don’t sleep on the 23-year-old budding star from Down Under.
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also buy Her Hoop Stats gear, such as laptop stickers, mugs, and shirts!
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