Tanisha Wright reserves place on Storm

"I guess I owe you an apology," is the way fans usually open their intended compliment.

"I was one of your critics," is the way they often end it.

Tanisha Wright simply signs their memorabilia and moves on.

Forward Sheryl Swoopes listened to such comments during a recent Storm event at the Seattle Aquarium and admired the way Wright handled it.

"I reminded her that it was maybe one or two people that said something like that; everybody else praised her for playing well," Swoopes said. "I told her you've got to take the bad with the good, and she's doing a great job handling the bad criticism."

As the Storm (11-7) prepares for a road game at Sacramento (8-10) tonight, Wright has shrugged off the criticism by becoming one of the WNBA's better reserves. In fact, coach Brian Agler says the 5-foot-11 guard is considered a starter, often finishing tight games in place of veteran Yolanda Griffith.

That move places star Lauren Jackson at center and Wright on the wing with Swoopes and point guard Sue Bird. But when Wright brings the ball upcourt at Bird's request, some at KeyArena wince.

"My first year, I took offense to it," Wright said. "But if they don't like me, what can I do?"

Since being drafted 12th overall by former Storm coach Anne Donovan in 2005, Wright has heard it from coaches and fans. She made incremental improvements after leaving Penn State as the Big Ten scoring leader (19.3) and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, but 2007 was the worst.

A scowl seemed to be Wright's daily dress as Donovan forced the natural shooting guard to play predominantly at the point to relieve Bird. Wright averaged a career-high 1.6 turnovers with 2.0 assists, starting five games when Bird needed minor knee surgery.

"At the time, I didn't like it because I wasn't comfortable," said Wright, who remains friends with Donovan. "Now that I'm here [with Agler], I see that maybe it was better for me. It allows me to be more versatile, and in this league you have to be versatile — especially with Brian, because he uses a lot of different people in a lot of different ways."

And, yes, that means Wright sometimes is at the point. Wright and Bird are friends, giving up Philly cheesesteaks together when they tried to lose weight. Bird visited Wright when her friend played two seasons in Israel.

Wright was the one who originally helped Bird understand Agler's jargon on offense when the point guard arrived at training camp.

When they're on the court together, the plays are more exciting, sometimes capped with Wright high-stepping to the basket for a layin. Or dishing in traffic for an assist. Or simply bringing the ball up to give Bird a break.

"I'm a lot more comfortable when she's on the court because if nobody else will help, Sue will because she understands," Wright said of Bird.

The reserves' combined 40-point outing, including 11 from Wright, on Saturday in a win against Minnesota was the bench's best showing as a group. Wright leads the reserves with 6.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.

"It's good to have two strong ballhandlers on the court together," said Bird, who leads the league with 6.3 assists. "It's been easy to play with her because we have a good feel."

Note

• Jackson was named Player of the Week on Monday for the Western Conference. She averaged 33.5 points on 64.3 percent shooting from the field to help the Storm win three consecutive home games. It's her first weekly honor of the season and 13th of her career.

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com