If it feels like the Minnesota Lynx have been waiting for the playoffs for over a month, well, it’s because they have. They clinched a playoff berth just over a month ago on August 12th. A couple of weeks later, they clinched the number one seed. They’ve essentially spent their last six games rotating rest for their starters, leading to mixed results on the court.
The 2025 WNBA playoffs officially begin on Sunday.
Our Lynx coverage team discusses what you should expect, be nervous about, and how they
can become the first team to secure banner number five.
If Napheesa Collier doesn’t win Most Valuable Player, then…
Leo Sun: If Phee doesn’t win MVP, then it’s only going to help the Lynx win the championship. The worst thing for the rest of the league is seeing a motivated Phee. Look at what she did at Unrivaled and this ensuing start to the WNBA season. If Collier is snubbed for this award, I’m expecting it to only benefit the Lynx’s postseason run. She’s been consistent with her message all season: Regular-season awards aren’t the primary goal. It’s the championship.
Mitchell Hansen: If Collier doesn’t win it, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise. Whether or not you believe she should be MVP — and for the record, I do believe she deserves it — the award is a “what have you done for me lately” award in the eyes of the voters. Like it or hate it, recency bias plays a factor and likely will in this case. If I had a vote for MVP, mine would go to Collier. She is having an incredible season, is leading players in multiple statistical categories, is a 50-90-40 player (50% from the field, 90% from the free throw line, 40% from three), and is deserving of the award. To me, it’s time to give Phee her first MVP. But I believe when it is all said and done, Wilson will be viewed as the MVP in the eyes of the voters and will edge Collier in the voting by a very narrow margin.
Benny Hughes: We riot… I’m kidding… kind of. Napheesa Collier has been the best player in the WNBA all season. Hard stop. Not taking away from anything from A’ja Wilson, who has played phenomenally the past 15 games. No shade to Alyssa Thomas, who has also had an incredible year. What it all comes to is that not only is Napheesa Collier the best player on the best team, but she is right up there with being exactly what the award is about – the most valuable. This is a 44-game award, and Napheesa Collier has been the most valuable player taking into account that entire stretch of time.
Ryan Eicten: It will be viewed with the benefit of hindsight as a mistake by the voters. Phee has put up the WNBA’s second 50/40/90 season and the first to do so while scoring 20 or more points per game. Elena Delle Donne was the first to do it in 2019 on her way to the MVP award.
Collier and Wilson’s counting numbers are incredibly similar, while Phee has the advantage in net rating, where she leads the league and team success, as the Lynx tied the WNBA record for wins in a season. Wilson has the leg up in games played and recency bias as the Aces’ over the Lynx last week has had a lot more weight than when Minnesota blasted Las Vegas by 53 in August.
It feels as though Collier is getting punished for having a better supporting cast. The Lynx clinched the number one seed with weeks to go in the season, allowing them and Collier to take their foot off the gas and rest many of their players down the stretch of the season, including Collier on Tuesday against the Indiana Fever.
The player who has the most to prove is…
LS: Courtney Williams. C-Dub penned a beautiful piece on The Players’ Tribune the other day, where she spoke on her journey, identity, and even how game five of the 2024 WNBA Finals still haunts her. “And at the end of the day, I feel like my mind and my body just weren’t where they needed to be. I wasn’t ready for the moment. And that’s been my motivation all this year. That’s why I’ve been locked the f*** in.” Williams may be having a career year playing as a pure point guard, but she’ll need to dial in her shooting stroke.
MH: Bridget Carleton. To be different and name someone other than Courtney Williams — who I agree with the rest of the guys here has plenty to prove in providing that spark, energy, and consistency in the postseason — I’m going with Bridget Carleton as a player who has the most to prove. Carleton is a player who does a lot behind the scenes and helps the team beyond the stat sheet and the amount of points she is scoring in the game, but she needs to be a little more consistent offensively and step up when her team needs her the most in the playoffs. We saw Carleton do that on numerous occasions last season, but not so much this year thus far. I think she needs to dial it in and step up even more when the postseason begins.
BH: Courtney Williams. It’s very hard to pick anyone else for this one. As Leo mentioned, she wrote an amazing piece in The Players’ Tribune talking about exactly this. She can take over games with her scoring and playmaking, as well as being one of the best options to get points when the going gets tough. Her juice from the starting PG spot can make all the difference
RE: Napheesa Collier. Maybe this is overly simplistic, but in basketball, how a team’s best player performs is going to be a gigantic determining factor during the playoffs. Collier showed last offseason that she can lead to playoff success. If she wants to prove people wrong who did not give her their MVP vote, the Collier and the Lynx are probably going to have to win it all.
The biggest concern I have heading into the playoffs is…
LS: The rebounding issue. It’s mentioned countless times that Minnesota isn’t the largest/tallest/girthiest team, and it’s obvious when it comes to cleaning the glass. Specifically, the defensive glass. On the season, the Lynx are in the bottom three in second-chance points allowed. After they clinched the first seed and started resting players, they’ve tumbled down to dead last. Other than San Francisco, there aren’t any particularly “small” teams they’ll meet.
MH: Consistency. Don’t get me wrong, Minnesota has shown the ability to be consistent, and the Lynx sitting atop the WNBA leaderboards in numerous statistical categories is a testament to that. You don’t just stumble upon 34 wins in a season and the No. 1 seed. But down the stretch of the season, I have been a little concerned with the lack of consistency and will be curious to see if that impacts things at all in the playoffs. To Minnesota’s credit, it has been coasting ever since it had the top seed wrapped up about 2-3 weeks ago, but good teams that want to make a deep run in the postseason carry a trait of consistency. If the Lynx want to return to the WNBA Finals and cross the finish line this season, being consistent is so important.
BH: Turnovers/Points off turnovers. It feels like every time the Lynx get into trouble, it’s because they are throwing the ball away. For a team and an offense that is really good at staying in rhythm, this is the greatest culprit that can disrupt this rhythm. When other teams don’t have to face the ferocious half-court Lynx defense, and the offense is ending in more transition opportunities for the opposing team than shots for Minnesota, that is when things seem to get difficult.
RE: Small Sample Size. After watching an entire regular season where the Lynx dominated from start to finish, I really don’t have any concerns heading into the playoffs. The only worry that comes to mind is the fact that the first round is only three games, and the second round is only five games. If every series were seven games like the Finals, I would feel much better.
One team I am most worried about facing is the…
LS: Phoenix Mercury. I think they’re going to shock casuals and upset a Liberty team that’s had a topsy-turvy season, to say the least. Alyssa Thomas is as consistent a motor as you’ll find in the W, but she may have the best supporting cast of her career. Kahleah Copper is finding her Finals MVP form after dealing with injuries earlier this season. DeWanna Bonner has found her stride after a midseason trade from Indiana. Satou Sabally is leading the team in scoring. They have a ton of impressive role players with Sami Whitcomb, Monique Akoa Makani, and other floor spacers. Do. Not. Want. To. See. Them.
MH: Las Vegas Aces. If you had asked me about 2-3 weeks ago, I would have said the Atlanta Dream is a team I am most worried about in the playoffs — especially against the Lynx, who have had a hard time with the Dream this season. But seeing how Las Vegas has played to end the season and the momentum they are carrying into the postseason, the Aces worry me the most. Oftentimes, teams that make deep runs in the playoffs get hot at the right time and are playing their best basketball at the right time. Currently, that’s Las Vegas, and they are red-hot as the playoffs begin.
BH: Las Vegas Aces. They’ve won 15 games in a row, A’ja Wilson is back to giving Phee a run for her crown, and it’s a team with championship DNA (for as much or as little as that is worth). Have to give flowers to a team when it’s due, but they’ll be the biggest test if Minnesota makes it all the way to the Finals.
RE: New York Liberty. The Liberty controversially eliminated the Lynx last year in the WNBA Finals. While the Liberty have not been nearly as dominant as they were a year ago, they still provide a significant challenge, especially if fully healthy, which they have not been all season. The Lynx having to potentially face both the Liberty and the Aces in a run to the championship isn’t the ideal path you would have drawn up.
The Lynx will win the championship if…
LS: They regain their midseason form. Ending a regular season by going 6-6 is never a good omen, granted, you can chalk that up to letting off the gas pedal. That said, they’ve finally shown a chink in their armor for the first time all year. Early and midway through the season, they had their aura about them that no matter how poorly a game was going, they could dig deep and “flip the switch.” They need to find that remote control again because once they get that confidence back, they’ll be too hard to stop in any series.
MH: They play as they have on both ends of the court. This seems obvious, but it is so key for Minnesota right away in the playoffs and throughout the entire postseason. Cheryl Reeve often says that the Lynx defense leads to offense, and that certainly holds true for this team in 2025. Minnesota is an awfully tough team to beat when it is playing well defensively and suffocating opposing offense, while also turning that around with a balanced attack offensively and the capability of about 6-7 players taking the game over at any moment. This Lynx defense has been one of the best all season, and I’m watching to see how it performs in the playoffs. The offense will be fine, but playing on both ends is key. Minnesota does that; it will be hoisting a WNBA record fifth championship.
BH: They force teams to play in the half-court. This works in both directions. As I mentioned before, I think the Lynx get in the most trouble when they are being loose with the ball and allowing opposing squads to catch a rhythm offensively. Offensively, no one is more efficient in the half-court than in transition, but the numbers bear out that Minnesota will have the better offense when the game slows down. They have great isolation scorers in Napheesa Collier and Courtney Williams, layered with dead-eye shooters and a stretch five. Slowing down, which is typical in postseason play, will bode well for the Lynx’s chances
RE: They play like they have all year. The Lynx, by a fair margin, are the best team in the WNBA. If they play with the same quality they have shown all year, they will hoist the trophy at the end of the playoffs. They have home court advantage throughout the playoffs while only losing three games at Target Center all season. Keep that up, and no team is touching them.
Playoff action begins this Sunday at Target Center against the Golden State Valkyries, a team that swept 4-0 in the regular season. The well-coached expansion team isn’t one to sleep on and both teams are very familiar with one another. Don’t miss the action as our team brings you all the latest!
