For the first time in nearly two decades, Portland and Seattle have a basketball rivalry.
The Seattle Storm and Portland Fire announced on Wednesday the creation of the “Rivalry Series,” a season-long celebration of the four regular-season meetings between the Pacific Northwest’s two WNBA franchises.
The series marks the first professional hoops competition between Seattle and Portland since the original Fire folded after the 2002 season, and since the Seattle SuperSonics’ 2008 move to Oklahoma City, which killed the I-5 Rivalry.
The original Storm-Fire rivalry dates back to the WNBA’s early years. Both franchises entered the league in 2000 and faced off nine times before the Fire was extinguished. Seattle won four of those meetings, while Portland claimed five, including the first-ever matchup back on June 3, 2000.
As it turned out, nine games across two years weren’t enough to create a decades-long feud, but they were enough to establish a foundation ahead of this week’s announcement.
Looking at the big picture, the timing couldn’t be better. The WNBA is growing at an unprecedented pace, and despite fierce regional rivalries, the Pacific Northwest is one of the most passionate fan bases for women’s sports in the country. Portland and Seattle are monumental reasons for that.
This season, the Fire have wasted no time becoming competitive. They’re surprising teams and fans across the league while shooting up weekly Power Rankings. And while Seattle’s start to 2026 has been disappointing, the Storm remain one of the WNBA’s model organizations, always carrying expectations that come with a championship pedigree.
That’s a compelling basketball matchup on its own, with two teams building identities and re-learning how to win. But when you add in geography, history, cultural differences, and even cultural similarities, it becomes something bigger.
As Storm President and CEO Alisha Valavanis said in Wednesday’s announcement, “The return of Portland reignites something special in the Pacific Northwest. There’s pride that comes with representing this region—and Seattle and Portland are connected in so many ways—but when the ball goes up, both cities want to win.”
Anyone who knows PNW sports feels that to their core. The region has always punched above its weight when it comes to fan support. Seattle helped establish one of the WNBA’s premier franchises and fan cultures. Portland spent years proving it was ready for a team again, all while movements like the Portland Diamond Project (MLB) and rumors of relocating NHL franchises stole the spotlight.
That shared investment between both franchises and cities is part of what makes this rivalry real, and as Fire Interim President Clare Hamill said in Wednesday’s joint statement: “The history between the Fire and the Storm carries such rich stories, both for the athletes competing and the fans who have rallied behind these teams. The Rivalry Series games are circled on everyone’s calendars for a reason: world-class WNBA basketball in the Pacific Northwest, and what this represents for the next generation of fans, players and our communities.”
The four matchups this season (June 17 and August 8 in Portland, plus July 4 and August 14 in Seattle) will write the first chapter of this new era. The results will matter, but what matters more is that these games exist again, and that bragging rights are on the line not just game to game but season to season.
For years, the Northwest lacked a basketball rivalry that truly belonged to and was part of the region. Fans from both cities—and fans of both the WNBA and NBA—were left with memories of what once was, mixed with speculation about what it could someday be again.
Nothing will fully replace the Sonics-Blazers rivalry in the hearts of longtime Northwest basketball fans—at least not until the SuperSonics return.
But rivalries aren’t reserved for the NBA, and the Storm and Fire have everything they need to write their own history.
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