There is no more living in the past for the Minnesota Lynx.
The 2022 Lynx were put together with the hopes of one last championship run with future Hall of Famer Sylvia Fowles. That didn’t go so well, as Minnesota stumbled badly out of the gate and ultimately had to watch the postseason, rather than participate.
The 2023 version is expected to focus around a core player who’ll be available all season.
There is no doubt that this is Napheesa Collier’s team.
A two-time All-Star, she became a mother last May and pushed hard to return for the season’s final few games. Now, the Olympian has a full offseason of conditioning under her belt and is ready to be the focal point.
“I feel like it’s a good pressure,” she said after the team’s first practice Sunday. “Obviously this is a dynasty organization so to have that be on my shoulders now I take it really seriously and I definitely want to appreciate the people who came before me and make sure I’m leading the team in the right direction.”
She is the team’s lone captain, something coach Cheryl Reeve, entering her 14th season at the helm, isn’t sure she’s done before.
Traits of a good leader have been evident since Collier was taken sixth overall in the 2019 draft and was named Rookie of the Year.
“We were in the locker room, and somebody was maybe behaviorally outside something we hoped for,” Reeve said. “It was the rookie, not the veterans, it was the rookie, Napheesa Collier, who expressed that was disappointing and wasn’t going to be the path for us. We need that all the time.
“Basketball-wise, that’s not where the pressure is. I think whatever perceived pressure for her is you can’t have a bad day as a leader; you have to show up every day as a leader. … It’s her that has the space at any time to say what she needs to say. She’s an extension of the coaching staff. That comes naturally for her. Her work ethic and everything that you stand for, that’s what you hope you have in your captain, and that’s Phee.”
Collier already has an elite offensive assortment, but consistent 3-point shooting has been an offseason focus. In 2020, she made 40.8% of her 3-point tries, but just 25.3% in 2021. Sunday it was often swish, swish, swish when she put up multiple shots in a row from outside the arc.
“The shot gravity that she now has by having that opens up the areas that she’s terrific in. … She’s just going to be a matchup nightmare,” Reeve said.
As for who else will join her on the Target Center hardwood for the May 19 opener? There’ll be some serious decisions made to get down to the final 11- or 12-player roster.
Sixteen players took part Sunday at Mayo Clinic Square. However, four returnees were absent: Bridget Carleton and Nikolina Milić were in playoffs overseas, Kayla McBride just finished her European commitment last weekend and is expected to join the Lynx next weekend, and Natalie Achonwa is pregnant.
Four weeks ago, the Lynx had what many considered to be a tremendous draft night, starting with Diamond Miller, the second overall pick out of Maryland. Also here are forward Dorka Juhasz (16th overall), guard and Defensive Player of the Year finalist Brea Beal (24th) and forward Taylor Soule (28th).
“I get excited for every training camp, but this one has a little extra kind of energy to it. The newness, the excitement, the uncertainty, the expectations I put on myself to get this group to do things that people don’t think they can do that’s pretty exciting for me,” Reeve said.
With her versatility, quickness, defensive prowess, and transition game, the 6-foot-3 Miller, listed as a guard, should be a go-to player.
“Luckily for me, I know how to play the 3 or the 4 spot so they can put me anywhere and I can guard. Wherever I’m needed, that’s where I got to go,” she said.
Players are going to have to earn spots largely against one another. Minnesota has just two preseason games: home Friday against Washington and Chicago in Toronto May 13.
