Scott Panitz

Katie Smith savors her past, looks to a savory future

Peering at Katie Smith in the Storm locker room post-game is quite a sight these days.

With big bags of ice wrapped from her heel to just below the knee, from a distance the veteran looks more Megatron than mega-star shooting guard.

However, Smith’s three Olympic gold medals and two WNBA championships, to go along with a spot on the league’s all-time top 15 players’ list, easily makes her one of the most accomplished basketball players on the planet -- male or female.

2012 Seattle Storm Season Preview: Winds of Change

The 2012 edition of the Seattle Storm is almost as much a study of who is not in the locker room as who is.

Most critically, Lauren Jackson, the Australian post who has been one of the team’s two signature players since she was drafted first overall by the Storm in 2001, will miss the first part of the season while training with the Australian National Team for a run at a gold medal in this summer’s Olympic Games in London.