What a time it is to be a basketball fan in Minnesota right now.
On Sunday, the WNBA Playoffs started with the Minnesota Lynx kicking things off with a 101-72 drubbing of the Golden State Valkries. The atmosphere at Target Center was electric as Lynx fans hope this is just the start of an extended playoff run that brings home the franchise’s fifth championship.
The crowds in downtown Minneapolis have been sensational all season as the Lynx dominated the entire WNBA en route to the number one seed,
something they virtually clinched with a whole month left in the season. The atmosphere at Target Center has been almost euphoric as the Lynx seem primed for a run of sustained success similar to the 2010s, when Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus, Lindsey Whalen, and others won four championships in seven seasons.
Possibly the most unforgettable night of this season came in the final game of the regular season, when the Lynx handed out pink wigs to every fan, matching the pink hair of Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman, whose StudBudz live streams have taken Minneapolis and the WNBA by storm.
The promotion showcased the love the Minnesota basketball community has for their team. While the Lynx have by no means been a dumpster since the end of their dynastic days of dominating the league, it has taken time to build back into being a yearly title contender.
The night was also strikingly similar to a night about a year and a half earlier at Target Center when the Timberwolves, having a magical season of their own, held a Naz Reid towel night. It led to a memorable moment late in the game when, during an extended timeout, fans held their towels up in appreciation for their cult hero.
The television voice of the Timberwolves, Michael Grady, called Naz’s relationship with Wolves fans “As strong a love affair as one player can have with a fan base.” Those feelings have only grown since that point, with the Wolves making it to the Western Conference Finals in back-to-back seasons.
The two Minnesota basketball franchises have never been successful at the same time. The Wolves had limited success with Kevin Garnett in the early 2000s, and by the time the Lynx started rolling off championships, the Wolves were in the midst of a 15-year-long playoff drought. Last year marked the first season in which both teams won a playoff series in the same calendar year.
Both the Lynx and Wolves are set up for long-term success, something that the Lynx may be familiar with, but the Timberwolves certainly are not.
With Napheesa Collier and Anthony Edwards as faces of their respective leagues, leading each team on the court, with Cheryl Reeve, Chris Finch, and Tim Connelly heading each organization on the sideline and in the front office, and with the ownership transition from Glen Taylor to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez finally complete, the foundation for both teams are set to go an extended period of winning.
While Minnesota is well-known for hockey, and football is going to dominate any area with an NFL team, the state is currently experiencing a professional basketball renaissance on both the men’s and women’s sides, making Target Center the current epicenter of Minnesota sports.
