After a few weeks packed full of games, the Minnesota Lynx had a bit of a lighter week to conclude June, finishing a perfect 2-0 with a pair of road wins to remain at top the league.
Along the way, Minnesota saw a few player moves made, could have its two players who have not stepped on the court yet return soon, and saw its legendary coach get celebrated while on the verge of history.
Week in Review
The Lynx’s first game of the week came last Wednesday when they traveled to Washington D.C. to take on the Mystics
for the second time in four days. Minnesota arguably played one of its worst games of the season, but clawed and scratched back into the game in the second half and squeezed out a two-point road win.
To conclude the week on Sunday afternoon in Texas, Minnesota got off to a hot shooting start against Dallas, connecting on nine threes in the first half, and led by as much as 23 points on the road. The Wings battled back, bring the game back to single digits in the fourth quarter, but the Lynx held strong to grab back-to-back road wins while improving to 9-1 on the road this season.
- Wednesday, June 24: Lynx 78, Mystics 78
- Sunday, June 28: Lynx 85, Wings 77
WEEK 7:
OFFRTG: 110.8 (3rd) ↓
DEFRTG: 97.4 (1st) –
NETRTG: 13.4 (1st) –
eFG%: 54.3 (T-2nd) ↓
FTr: 24.9 (14th) ↑
TOV%: 17.7 (9th) ↓
OREB%: 33.7 (2nd) –
WEEK 6:
OFFRTG: 112.6 (T-1st) ↑
DEFRTG: 98.2 (1st) –
NETRTG: 14.4 (1st) –
eFG%: 55.2 (1st) –
FTr: 24.6 (15th) –
TOV%: 18.2 (9th) ↓
OREB%: 35.3 (2nd) –
Pair of Moves … With More Changes Coming Soon?
Towards the end of the week, Minnesota announced a few more roster moves, waiving veteran center Teaira McCowan and shortly after announcing the signing of Liatu King to the roster.
McCowan, who signed with the Lynx as a free agent on May 28 to help with Minnesota’s lack of depth in the post, wasn’t really able to find her footing with the Lynx while playing in 10 games. Over her time in Minnesota, McCowan averaged 1.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.5 blocks over 6.8 minutes off the bench.
On Sunday hours before the Wings game, the Lynx announced the signing of King to a standard contract, removing her as a developmental player and adding her to the main roster. King was originally signed as a developmental player on May 8 after spending training camp in Minnesota. She has appeared in five games this season, averaging 3.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks over 11.3 minutes.
With those two roster moves made, a few more key decisions could be made in the coming days as well. For starters, the Lynx now have an open developmental spot with King being signed to a standard contract. Perhaps Minnesota looks at a player like Saylor Poffenbarger, who was recently waived by the Chicago Sky. Or the Lynx could look at a guard to add to the guard depth.
Now to the two names everyone has had on their minds to start the season: Napheesa Collier and Dorka Juhász. Collier and Juhász, who have been practicing with the team and have been ramping up to make their debuts, could return to action soon. And what better story would it be than for them to return to help Cheryl Reeve break an all-time record on Friday in New York?
Reeve Ties a Record, Enters the Hall
On Saturday, the great Cheryl Reeve entered the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, a fitting and well-deserved honor for one of the best the game has ever seen.
Reeve was part of the Class of 2026 — which included the likes of Candace Parker, Elena Della Donne and more — that was inducted and honored with a ceremony in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Just hours later, Reeve was back with the Lynx in Texas the next morning ahead of Minnesota’s afternoon showdown against the Dallas Wings. And in that game, Reeve made even more history.
Reeve, who already owns the all-time record for playoff wins, secured regular season win No. 379, tying former WNBA coach Mike Thibault — father of Lynx Associate Head Coach Eric Thibualt — for the most regular season wins in league history.
Reeve will have a chance to break that record and sit at the top of the list as soon as this Friday when the Lynx travel to play the New York Liberty in New York — which would be a fitting location for this record to be broken.
