2024 Minnesota Lynx season
WNBA team season
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The 2024 Minnesota Lynx season was the 26th season for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the fifteenth season under head coach Cheryl Reeve.
| 2024 Minnesota Lynx season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Cheryl Reeve |
| Arena | Target Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 30–10 (.750) |
| Place | 1st (Western) |
| Playoff finish | 2nd seed; Lost in Finals 2–3 to New York |
| Media | |
| Television | Bally Sports North ESPN CBS Sports Network ION Amazon Prime Video |
The season tipped-off on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Seattle against the Seattle Storm.[1]
The Lynx went 4–1 in the WNBA Commissioner's Cup Western Conference standings, and clinched a spot in the Cup Final against the New York Liberty on June 13, 2024.[2] This is the first time in the Lynx history that they represented the Western Conference in the Cup, since it started in 2021. Napheesa Collier was named MVP of the 2024 WNBA Commissioner's Cup Final, as the Lynx defeated the Liberty 94–89.[3]
Cheryl Reeve was named the Coach of the Year and Napheesa Collier was named the Defensive Player of the Year on September 22, 2024.[4] Collier was also named to the AP All-WNBA First team.[4]
The Lynx wrapped the season having won 14 out of the 16 games after the Olympic break. The team had the highest number of assists per game and highest three-point shooting percentage in the league.[5] A little over 76% of their baskets were done with an assist in the regular season.[6] They finished the regular season with a 30–10 record and headed into the playoffs ranked second in the league.[7]
The players have noted the early chemistry of the team even with several players added to the roster this season.[8] Alanna Smith on this year's team: "We've all acknowledged that we've never been on a team quite like what we are now and it's kind of fitting we've drawn it out as long as possible, with both series' going to five games, because we don't want to leave each other," Smith laughs.
"We've all had so much fun playing together, it's been an absolute joy to be around this team, the coaches and staff. It's really rare to be a part of something like this and it's really rare to experience that and also win as well."[9]
Seimone Augustus commented on the 2024 team chemistry and culture: "Every player kind of resembles one of the players from the original dynasty team, as far as their game and how they approach the game. Even their character, their personalities, I’m like, ‘We’re back, we’re back in the mix‘."[10]
Playoffs
In the postseason opener against the Phoenix Mercury at Target Center on September 22, 2024, the Lynx made playoff history by having seven players with 3+ assists. This had never happened in the playoffs and only happened six times in the regular season.[11] The team also had the largest assist rate in WNBA playoffs history with 30 assists on 34 field goals made.[12] The Lynx won over the Mercury with a score of 102–95.[13] The Lynx swept the Mercury by winning the second game on September 25, 2024, with a score of 101–88, advancing to the semifinals against the Connecticut Sun.[14] In these two games, the Lynx set the highest amount of assists on field goals made (FGM) with 58 assists on 68 FGM (85.3% of makes assisted on).[15]
Semifinals
With the Lynx win against the Sun on October 8, 2024, in game 5 of the semifinals, the Lynx have the most postseason wins in WNBA history (with 48).[16] In this same game, the Lynx set another league record by having three players in a postseason game have 16+ field goal attempts while shooting 50+%.[17] The three Lynx players were Napheesa Collier, Courtney Williams, and Kayla McBride. The Lynx went to the finals for the seventh time, the most in WNBA history.[18]
Finals
In Game 1 of the finals against the New York Liberty on October 10, 2024, the Lynx became the first WNBA team in postseason history to win after trailing by 15+ points in the final five minutes of regulation.[19] The Lynx won in overtime 95–93.[20] The Lynx also became the first team to win a WNBA finals game in overtime on the road.[21] The trio of Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, and Courtney Williams became the first in Lynx history to each score 20+ points in a finals game.[22] The game had the highest number of viewers of any WNBA Finals Game 1 with 1.1 million viewers and 1.5 million viewers at the peak.[23]
Transactions
WNBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Alissa Pili |  United States |
Utah |
| 3 | 31 | Kiki Jefferson | United States |
Louisville |
Transactions
| Date | Transaction | |
|---|---|---|
| December 11, 2023 | Renounced the rights to Anna Cruz and Kelsey Griffin[24] | |
| January 12, 2024 | Extended a Qualifying Offer to Nikolina Milić[24] | |
| January 31, 2024 | Acquired Natisha Hiedeman in exchange for Tiffany Mitchell and the 19th pick in the 2024 draft[25] | |
| Suspended Jessica Shepard for the season due to Prioritization Rules[26] | ||
| February 1, 2024 | Signed Courtney Williams[27] | |
| Signed Alanna Smith[27] | ||
| Re-signed Bridget Carleton[27] | ||
| February 2, 2024 | Signed Elizabeth Dixon to a Training Camp Contract[28] | |
| Signed Kayana Traylor to a Training Camp Contract[28] | ||
| February 6, 2024 | Signed Taylor Soule to a Training Camp Contract[29] | |
| February 13, 2024 | Signed Jaime Nared to a Training Camp Contract[30] | |
| February 16, 2024 | Signed Ruthy Hebard to a Training Camp Contract[31] | |
| March 4, 2024 | Signed Olivia Époupa to a Training Camp Contract[32] | |
| April 14, 2024 | Acquired Sika Koné, the eighth pick in the 2024 draft, the Chicago Sky's 2025 second-round pick, and the rights to swap first-round picks with Chicago in the 2026 draft in exchange for the seventh pick in the 2024 draft and Nikolina Milić.[33] | |
| April 19, 2024 | Signed Cecilia Zandalasini to a Training Camp Contract[34] | |
| Waived Elizabeth Dixon | ||
| April 23, 2024 | Signed Camryn Taylor to a Training Camp Contract[35] | |
| Signed Mimi Collins to a Training Camp Contract[35] | ||
| Signed Quinesha Lockett to a Training Camp Contract[35] | ||
| May 5, 2024 | Waived Mimi Collins and Jaime Nared[36] | |
| May 9, 2024 | Waived Ruthy Hebard, Kiki Jefferson, and Quinesha Lockett[37] | |
| May 11, 2024 | Waived Camryn Taylor and Kayana Traylor[38] | |
| May 13, 2024 | Suspended the contract of Dorka Juhász (temporary) | |
| May 24, 2024 | Activated Dorka Juhász[39] | |
| Waived Taylor Soule | ||
| August 20, 2024 | Minnesota acquired Myisha Hines-Allen from the Washington Mystics in exchange for Olivia Époupa, Sika Koné, and a 2026 second-round pick.[40] | |
| September 19, 2024 | Re-signed Olivia Époupa[41] | |
Roster changes
Additions
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Subtractions
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Roster
| 2024 Minnesota Lynx roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Depth
Schedule
Pre-season
| 2024 pre-season game log Total: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0)
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| 2024 pre-season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
| 2024 game log Total: 30–10 (Home: 16–4; Road: 14–6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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May: 5–2 (Home: 3–1; Road: 2–1)
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June
: 9–2 (Home: 6–0; Road: 3–2)
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July
: 3–4 (Home: 2–2; Road: 1–2)
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August
: 6–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 3–1)
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September
: 7–1 (Home: 2–1; Road: 5–0)
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| 2024 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playoffs
| 2024 playoff game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First round vs. Phoenix Mercury Won Series: 2–0
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Semifinals vs. Connecticut Sun Won Series: 3–2
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Finals vs. New York Liberty Lost Series: 2–3
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| 2024 playoff schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | yx – New York Liberty | 32 | 8 | .800 | — | 16–4 | 16–4 | 16–4 | 5–0 |
| 2 | cx – Minnesota Lynx | 30 | 10 | .750 | 2 | 14–6 | 16–4 | 14–6 | 4–1 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 28 | 12 | .700 | 4 | 14–6 | 14–6 | 14–6 | 4–1 |
| 4 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 27 | 13 | .675 | 5 | 12–8 | 13–7 | 14–6 | 2–3 |
| 5 | x – Seattle Storm | 25 | 15 | .625 | 7 | 13–7 | 14–6 | 11–9 | 4–1 |
| 6 | x – Indiana Fever | 20 | 20 | .500 | 12 | 11–9 | 12–8 | 8–12 | 3–2 |
| 7 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 19 | 21 | .475 | 13 | 10–10 | 10–10 | 9–11 | 3–2 |
| 8 | x – Atlanta Dream | 15 | 25 | .375 | 17 | 7–13 | 8–12 | 7–13 | 1–4 |
| 9 | e – Washington Mystics | 14 | 26 | .350 | 18 | 7–13 | 5–15 | 9–11 | 1–4 |
| 10 | e – Chicago Sky | 13 | 27 | .325 | 19 | 5–15 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 1–4 |
| 11 | e – Dallas Wings | 9 | 31 | .225 | 23 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 2–18 | 0–5 |
| 12 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 8 | 32 | .200 | 24 | 5–15 | 5–15 | 3–17 | 2–3 |
Notes
- (#) – League Standing
- c – Commissioner's Cup winners
- y – Regular Season Champion
- x – Clinched playoff berth
- e – Eliminated from playoff contention
- Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings
Playoffs
| First round Best-of-3 | Semifinals Best-of-5 | Finals Best-of-5 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | New York Liberty | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Atlanta Dream | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | New York Liberty | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Las Vegas Aces | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Las Vegas Aces | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Seattle Storm | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | New York Liberty | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Minnesota Lynx | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Minnesota Lynx | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Minnesota Lynx | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Indiana Fever | 0 | ||||||||||||
- Bold – Series winner
- Italic – Team with home-court-advantage
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 | TO | PF | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Napheesa Collier | 34 | 34 | 34.7 | .492 | .310 | .804 | 9.7 | 3.4 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 20.4 |
| Kayla McBride | 39 | 39 | 31.7 | .420 | .407 | .893 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 15.0 |
| Courtney Williams | 40 | 40 | 26.5 | .443 | .333 | .810 | 4.7 | 5.5 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 11.1 |
| Alanna Smith | 39 | 39 | 26.5 | .471 | .398 | .750 | 5.6 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 10.1 |
| Bridget Carleton | 39 | 36 | 29.9 | .444 | .444 | .789 | 3.8 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 9.6 |
| Myisha Hines-Allen ≠ | 13 | 1 | 17.7 | .500 | .364 | .839 | 4.2 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 7.5 |
| Natisha Hiedeman | 40 | 0 | 15.2 | .380 | .280 | .735 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 4.9 |
| Dorka Juhász | 34 | 7 | 16.1 | .479 | .324 | .650 | 3.8 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 4.8 |
| Cecilia Zandalasini | 40 | 0 | 12.2 | .453 | .443 | .621 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 4.6 |
| Diamond Miller | 21 | 4 | 10.1 | .304 | .192 | .583 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2.9 |
| Alissa Pili | 22 | 0 | 6.3 | .422 | .333 | .545 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 2.4 |
| Sika Koné † | 17 | 0 | 3.4 | .412 | — | .778 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.2 |
| Olivia Époupa † ≠ | 17 | 0 | 6.7 | .375 | — | 1.000 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| Taylor Soule ‡ | 2 | 0 | 1.5 | — | — | — | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
‡Waived/Released during the season
†Traded during the season
≠Acquired during the season
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PF | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Napheesa Collier | 12 | 12 | 38.8 | .525 | .414 | .847 | 9.0 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 23.8 |
| Kayla McBride | 12 | 12 | 36.5 | .441 | .382 | .900 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 15.3 |
| Courtney Williams | 12 | 12 | 29.4 | .415 | .444 | .913 | 4.1 | 6.0 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 13.8 |
| Bridget Carleton | 12 | 12 | 33.8 | .435 | .339 | .947 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 9.3 |
| Alanna Smith | 12 | 12 | 28.4 | .520 | .412 | .700 | 5.3 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 8.8 |
| Natisha Hiedeman | 12 | 0 | 14.3 | .455 | .222 | .933 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 5.7 |
| Myisha Hines-Allen | 10 | 0 | 12.3 | .415 | .000 | .750 | 3.3 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 4.0 |
| Cecilia Zandalasini | 11 | 0 | 9.5 | .370 | .250 | .500 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 2.3 |
| Dorka Juhász | 7 | 0 | 5.7 | .600 | .000 | .500 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.0 |
| Diamond Miller | 6 | 0 | 0.7 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Olivia Époupa | 4 | 0 | 0.5 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Alissa Pili | 3 | 0 | 0.3 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Awards and honors
| Recipient | Award/Milestone | Date Awarded | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridget Carleton | Sylvia Fowles Altruism Award | September 19, 2024 | [42] |
| Napheesa Collier | WNBA All-Star | July 2, 2024 | [43] |
| WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month - August | September 4, 2024 | [44] | |
| Western Conference Player of the Week | May 21, 2024 | [45] | |
| August 27, 2024 | [46] | ||
| September 10, 2024 | [47] | ||
| AP Defensive Player of the Year | September 22, 2024 | [48] | |
| AP All-WNBA First Team | |||
| WNBA Defensive Player of the Year | September 29, 2024 | [49] | |
| WNBA All-Defensive First Team | [50] | ||
| All-WNBA First Team | October 16, 2024 | [51] | |
| Kayla McBride | WNBA All-Star | July 2, 2024 | [43] |
| AP All-WNBA Second Team | September 22, 2024 | [48] | |
| Cheryl Reeve | WNBA Coach of the Month - June | July 2, 2024 | [52] |
| AP Coach of the Year | September 22, 2024 | [48] | |
| WNBA Coach of the Year | September 29, 2024 | [49] | |
| WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year | |||
| Alanna Smith | WNBA All-Defensive Second Team | September 29, 2024 | [50] |