2022 Minnesota Lynx season
24th season for the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2022 Minnesota Lynx season was the 24th season for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the 13th season under head coach Cheryl Reeve.
| 2022 Minnesota Lynx season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Cheryl Reeve |
| Arena | Target Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 14–22 (.389) |
| Place | 5th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Media | |
| Television | Bally Sports North ESPN ESPN2 ABC NBA TV CBS Sports Network Amazon Prime |
The season tipped-off on May 6, 2022, versus the Seattle Storm.[1]
On November 28, 2021, Napheesa Collier announced her pregnancy with an announcement in People Magazine. Collier stated, "“I am very excited to start a family with my fiancé Alex. Having a child is truly a beautiful journey and I am grateful to have the support of our families, friends and the Lynx as I begin this special chapter of motherhood.”[2] On December 8, 2021, Cheryl Reeve was named the new United States women's national basketball team head coach for the 2021-2024 cycle.[3]
On February 1, 2022, the Lynx opened free agency and re-signed Sylvia Fowles to a one-year deal. Fowles also announced at this time that this season would be her last and she would be retiring following the 2022 season.[4]
The Lynx struggled to start the season, losing their first four games and only winning two games in the first month of the season. They finished May 2–7 overall. Their struggles continued into June as they won only one of the first seven games in the month and went on a five game losing streak. However, their fortunes improved at the end of the month as they won three of their last four games to finish the month 4–7. The momentum carried over into July and the Lynx won four of their first six games, but then only won two of their last five games to finish the season 6–5. A better August might have seen the Lynx qualify for the playoffs, but they finished the month 2–3, which left them one game out of the eighth and final playoff spot. This was the first time since 2010, the Lynx missed the playoffs and had a sub-.500 record. This ended the WNBA’s longest active playoff streak at 12 straight years.
Moriah Jefferson recorded the first-ever triple-double in Lynx history on June 28, 2022. She had 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 92–64 victory over her former team, the Dallas Wings. The 10 assists were also a career-high for Jefferson.[5]
Napheesa Collier returned to the court on August 7, 2022, just 10 and half weeks after giving birth to her daughter. She finished with 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block in the game.[6]
Transactions
WNBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/team/country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 22 | Kayla Jones |  United States |
NC State |
| 3 | 28 | Hannah Sjerven | United States |
South Dakota |
Trades and Roster Changes
| Date | Transaction | |
|---|---|---|
| January 3, 2022 | Extended Qualifying Offers to Anna Cruz and Bridget Carleton[7] | |
| January 4, 2022 | Signed Bridget Carleton to a Qualifying Offer[8] | |
| January 12, 2022 | Promoted Katie Smith to Associate head coach[9] | |
| February 1, 2022 | Re-signed Sylvia Fowles to a One-Year Deal[10] | |
| February 2, 2022 | Signed Angel McCoughtry to a One-Year Deal[11][12] | |
| February 8, 2022 | Signed Layshia Clarendon to a One-Year Deal[13] | |
| Signed Rachel Banham to a training-camp contract[14] | ||
| February 18, 2022 | Signed Yvonne Turner and Natasha Mack to training-camp contracts[15] | |
| April 10, 2022 | Traded the #8 and #13 picks in the 2022 WNBA draft to the Las Vegas Aces in exchange for a First and a Second Round Pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft[16] | |
| April 13, 2022 | Signed Kayla Jones and Hannah Sjerven to rookie-scale contracts | |
| Signed Chloe Bibby, CeCe Hooks, and Moon Ursin to training-camp contracts[17] | ||
| April 15, 2022 | Waived Natasha Mack[18] | |
| April 28, 2022 | Waived CeCe Hooks[19] | |
| May 2, 2022 | Signed Napheesa Collier to a Multi-Year Extension[20] | |
| Waived Chloe Bibby and Moon Ursin[21] | ||
| May 3, 2022 | Signed Odyssey Sims to a training-camp contract | |
| Waived Layshia Clarendon, Crystal Dangerfield, Yvonne Turner, Rennia Davis, Hannah Sjerven, and Kayla Jones[22] | ||
| May 5, 2022 | Temporarily Suspend Kayla McBride due to Overseas Commitments | |
| May 6, 2022 | Signed Yvonne Turner and Nina Milić[23] | |
| May 10, 2022 | Signed Rennia Davis to a Hardship Contract | |
| May 12, 2022 | Waived Angel McCoughtry and Odyssey Sims[24] | |
| Released Rennia Davis, Nikolina Milić, and Yvonne Turner from their Hardship Contracts[25] | ||
| May 13, 2022 | Signed Moriah Jefferson and Evina Westbrook | |
| Signed Yvonne Turner, Nikolina Milić, and Hannah Sjerven to Hardship Contracts[26] | ||
| May 16, 2022 | Signed Jessica Shepard to a Multi-Year Contract Extension[27] | |
| Activated Kayla McBride from her Temporary Suspension | ||
| Released Yvonne Turner from her Hardship Contract[28] | ||
| May 22, 2022 | Released Hannah Sjerven from her Hardship Contract[29] | |
| May 31, 2022 | Signed Elissa Cunane to a Hardship Contract[30] | |
| June 1, 2022 | Signed Kamiah Smalls to a Hardship Contract[31] | |
| June 9, 2022 | Released Kamiah Smalls from her Hardship Contract | |
| June 21, 2022 | Released Elissa Cunane from her Hardship Contract[32] | |
| June 23, 2022 | Released Nikolina Milić from her Hardship Contract[33] | |
| June 24, 2022 | Waived Evina Westbrook[34] | |
| June 26, 2022 | Signed Nikolina Milić to a 7-day contract[35] | |
| July 3, 2022 | Signed Nikolina Milić to a 2nd 7-day contract[36] | |
| July 11, 2022 | Signed Nikolina Milić to a 3rd 7-day contract[37] | |
| July 19, 2022 | Signed Nikolina Milić to a Hardship Contract[38] | |
| July 21, 2022 | Signed Lindsay Allen to a 7-Day Hardship Contract[39] | |
| July 28, 2022 | Signed Lindsay Allen to a 2nd 7-Day Hardship Contract[40] | |
| August 7, 2022 | Signed Lindsay Allen to a 3rd 7-Day Hardship Contract[41] | |
| Signed Nikolina Milić to a Hardship Contract | ||
| August 9, 2022 | Released Nikolina Milić and Lindsay Allen from their Hardship Contracts | |
| August 10, 2022 | Signed Lindsay Allen to a Hardship Contract[42] | |
Roster
| 2022 Minnesota Lynx roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Depth
Schedule
Preseason
| 2022 pre-season game log Total: 1–1 (Home:1–0; Road: 0–1) | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)
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May
: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
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| 2022 pre-season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
Standings
| # | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 13–5 | 13–5 | 9–1 |
| 2 | x – Chicago Sky | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 14–4 | 12–6 | 9–1 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 25 | 11 | .694 | 1.0 | 11–7 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 5–5 |
| 4 | x – Seattle Storm | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–4 |
| 5 | x – Washington Mystics | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 6 | x – Dallas Wings | 18 | 18 | .500 | 8.0 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 7 | x – New York Liberty | 16 | 20 | .444 | 10.0 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–4 |
| 8 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 15 | 21 | .417 | 11.0 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 3–7 |
| 9 | e – Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 4–6 |
| 10 | e – Atlanta Dream | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 11 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 13 | 23 | .361 | 13.0 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 12 | e – Indiana Fever | 5 | 31 | .139 | 21.0 | 2–16 | 3–15 | 2–16 | 2–8 |
Statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | TO | Turnovers per game |
| PF | Fouls per game | Team leader | League leader | ||||
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sylvia Fowles | 30 | 30 | 27.7 | .622 | .000 | .660 | 9.8 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 14.4 |
| Aerial Powers | 35 | 31 | 26.9 | .385 | .308 | .815 | 4.7 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 14.4 |
| Kayla McBride | 31 | 31 | 29.8 | .405 | .356 | .909 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 13.3 |
| Moriah Jefferson≠ | 30 | 30 | 26.8 | .452 | .474 | .815 | 2.5 | 4.9 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 10.8 |
| Odyssey Sims‡ | 2 | 0 | 27.0 | .304 | .250 | .444 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 9.5 |
| Jessica Shepard | 36 | 22 | 26.1 | .500 | .250 | .734 | 7.4 | 3.0 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 8.1 |
| Rachel Banham | 36 | 5 | 17.5 | .430 | .383 | .800 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 7.9 |
| Napheesa Collier | 4 | 4 | 22.8 | .423 | .286 | .714 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 7.3 |
| Lindsay Allen≠ | 9 | 0 | 14.9 | .526 | .571 | .923 | 1.6 | 3.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 6.7 |
| Yvonne Turner‡ | 4 | 2 | 22.0 | .308 | .429 | .857 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 6.3 |
| Nikolina Milić‡ | 31 | 4 | 11.7 | .548 | .273 | .738 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 6.0 |
| Angel McCoughtry‡ | 2 | 2 | 10.0 | .375 | .000 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 6.0 |
| Natalie Achonwa | 22 | 0 | 15.1 | .304 | .262 | .815 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 5.3 |
| Damiris Dantas | 15 | 15 | 17.5 | .304 | .262 | .833 | 3.8 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 5.1 |
| Bridget Carleton | 36 | 2 | 16.8 | .403 | .354 | .731 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 4.3 |
| Evina Westbrook‡ | 14 | 2 | 12.4 | .318 | .143 | .667 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 2.6 |
| Rennia Davis‡ | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Kamiah Smalls‡ | 3 | 0 | 11.3 | .250 | .000 | .000 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 1.3 |
| Elissa Cunane‡ | 3 | 0 | 3.3 | .500 | .000 | .000 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Hannah Sjerven‡ | 3 | 0 | 3.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
‡Waived/Released during the season
†Traded during the season
≠Acquired during the season
Awards and honors
| Recipient | Award/Milestone | Date Awarded | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sylvia Fowles | WNBA All-Star Starter & Co-Captain | June 22 | [43] |
| Peak Performer:Rebounds | August 15 | [44] | |
| Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award | August 19 | [45] | |
| All-Defensive First Team | August 30 | [46] | |
| All-WNBA Second Team | September 15 | [47] | |
| Aerial Powers | Western Conference Player of the Week | July 8 | [48] |