February 27, 2023 by Philip Lewenstein
Looking Back, Ahead for WNBA and Lynx
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) completed its most successful season in September 2022 and is ready to build on its success May 19 when the league begins its 27th year.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Lynx suffered a disappointing season in 2022, ending a streak of 11 winning seasons and 11 straight playoff appearances starting in 2011. However, the organization is energized to celebrate its 25th anniversary season.
Many story lines dominated the 2022 season: the Los Vegas Aces first title in franchise history, the long detainment in Russia of Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner, and the retirements of two WNBA legends—Sue Bird of Seattle and Sylvia Fowles of Minnesota.
Behind a game-high 20 points from finals MVP Chelsea Gray, another double-double from A’ja Wilson, and the clutch shooting of Riquna Williams with 17 points off the bench, the Aces earned a 78-71 road win over the Connecticut Sun to win the best-of-five championship series three games to one.
New young stars have been emerging: Kelsey Plum and Wilson of the Aces, Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty, Kahleah Copper of the Chicago Sky, and Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream.
Increased Engagement in 2022
The WNBA in 2022 delivered its most-watched regular season in 14 years, the league reported (“WNBA Delivers Most-Watched Regular Season in 14 Years and Shatters Fan Engagement and on-Court Records,” Official League Release, August 17, 2022).
Viewership across the league’s national television partners—ABC, CBS, ESPN, and ESPN2—was up 16 percent over the 2021 season, averaging 379,000 viewers.
The league set records for social media engagements with 186 million viewers, up 36 percent from 2021. Traffic to WNBA.com almost doubled from 2021, and WNBA League Pass, the league’s out-of-market live game package, had a 10 percent growth in subscribers in 2022.
In September, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league had narrowed its focus to about 10 cities that could host an expansion team. The goal is two teams that could begin play no later than the 2025 season (“wnba expansion plans narrowed to 10 cities with goal to announce by end of the year,” by Johanna Huybers, Connecticut Sun, yahoo/sports, September 12, 2022).
The WNBA success was part of the growing popularity of women’s sports over the past few years as 2022 saw increases in viewership and ratings, sponsorship deals, and prime-time coverage (“Women’s sports saw pivotal growth in deals, interest in 2022,” by Alanis Thames, yahoo, December 27, 2022).
ESPN, which aired 25-regular season games and the entire postseason, reported that the 2022 playoffs averaged 456,000 viewers—up 22 percent over the 2021 postseason—making it the most-viewed WNBA postseason since 2007.
Engelbert said the WNBA and women’s college games build off each other, and she wants to see how far the growth can go.
“I’m never satisfied,” Engelbert said. “My team is like ‘Ask for more.’ When you’re in hyper growth mode, that’s how you have to do it. We don’t rest. We have to take advantage of the momentum when you have it…You have to keep pushing, too. We’re underinvested and undervalued.”
The WNBA has a deal with ESPN/ABC through 2025; the league was paid $27 million in 2021 and $28.5 million in 2022. The number increases $1.5 million per season until it hits $33 million in 2025.
Lynx Recorded Worst Record in 12 Years
Meanwhile, the Lynx started the 2022 season losing the first four games and 13 of the first 16 games. The team finished 14-22, tied for ninth with Atlanta. It was the team’s worst record since 13-21 in 2010. In 2021, the Lynx were 22-10.
After their 2017 championship, the Lynx made the playoffs the next four seasons despite the departure of most of the title-team core. But for most of the 2022 season, the Lynx sorely missed Napheesa Collier, who gave birth to a daughter in late May.
Fowles, the remaining championship-team star, led the WNBA in rebounding last season at 9.8 per game and in field goal percentage. Jessica Shepard was eighth in rebounds. Point guard Moriah Jefferson was 10th in assists.
During her time in Minnesota, Fowles has been an advocate for youth health and wellness. She was named recipient of the July WNBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by State Farm for her passion and continued efforts in giving back to youth and the community.
Also, in 2022, Fowles received the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award presented each season to a player who exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court, including ethical behavior, fair play, and integrity. Perrot helped guide the Houston Comets to their first two WNBA championships before passing away in August 1999 after a seven-month battle with cancer.
Fowles was named to the WNBA’s all-defensive first team, the 11th time in her career she made that postseason team and the eighth time she was on the first team in her 15 years.
It will be difficult to replace Fowles, who played her final eight seasons with Minnesota after seven seasons with Chicago. Fowles played on the 2015 and 2017 Lynx championship teams and was finals MVP both times. She was league MVP in 2017.
Fowles is an eight-time WNBA all-star and won four gold medals with Team USA. She is a four-time defensive player of the year. Fowles ended her career with 721 blocks, third most in league history.
Honors Accrue for Retired Lynx Legends
The Lynx have moved on from their four-title dynasty (championships in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017), but honors continue to accrue for their retired stars, leaving the fans hungry for a return to the glory years.
Lindsay Whalen was inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 11. She is the first of the Lynx championship core to earn this honor.
“Whalen was the women’s basketball version of Paul Bunyan except she was 100 percent real,” wrote ESPN writer M.A. Voepel. “And it’s why she was so beloved by teammates and fans,” (“Lindsay Whalen was a Minnesota legend long before Basketball Hall of Fame 2022 call,” September 8, 2022, ESPN.com).
She led the Gopher women’s basketball team—where she is now head coach—to the 2004 Final Four and was selected fourth by Connecticut in that year’s WNBA draft. Whalen played in two WNBA finals with the Sun before being traded to Minnesota in 2010.
Whalen’s number 13 jersey was retired by the Gophers in 2005. The Lynx and Sun did the same in 2019, a year after she transitioned into coaching.
Whalen is among five women who will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame April 29 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Maya Moore officially retired on MLK Day this January. The first overall selection in the 2011 draft, Moore played her final game, a playoff loss to the Sparks, in 2018.
Among her many achievements, Moore was a two-time NCAA champion with Connecticut, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and four-time WNBA champion and WNBA most valuable player with the Lynx.
In February 2019, she announced her decision to step away from the WNBA for the 2019 season to focus on “family and ministerial dreams,” in part to help with the appeal of Jonathan Irons, a family friend wrongfully convicted and imprisoned at age 16 for a 65-year sentence.
On January 23, 2020, Moore announced she would not return in 2020 to focus her time and effort on criminal justice reform, specifically the case of Irons.
Charges against Irons were vacated in March 2020, and he was released from prison in July 2020. The next day Irons proposed to Moore, and they were married weeks later.
In January 2023, Moore and Irons released a memoir (Love & Justice: A Story of Triumph on Two Different Courts), recounting their love story. Now a wife, mother, and author, Moore is focusing on social justice reform.
“Maya Moore has forever left a mark on the state of Minnesota, the Lynx franchise, and the hearts of Lynx fans everywhere,” said Timberwolves and Lynx owner Glen Taylor. “Maya’s accolades are numerous; her leadership and talent both fearless and inspirational set the foundation for the most exciting and historic championship run in the league from 2011-2017. While today culminates Maya’s basketball career, there is no doubt she will continue to impact the game we all love. We wish Maya the best and will root for her always.”
Last summer, the Lynx retired the jersey numbers of Rebekkah Brunson and Seimone Augustus. Brunson’s 32 and Augustus’s 33 are the second and third numbers officially retired in franchise history, joining Whalen’s number 13.
Brunson, a 15-year veteran, appeared in eight WNBA finals; she won four of her five championships with the Lynx. When she retired after sitting out the 2019 season while recovering from a concussion, Brunson was the league’s all-time rebounding leader before Fowles passed her during the 2020 season. She is a Lynx assistant coach and analyst on Timberwolves broadcasts.
Acquired by Minnesota from Sacramento on December 14, 2009, Brunson played in 261 Lynx games, totaling 2,463 points, 267 steals, 174 blocked shots, and 56 double-doubles. She leads the franchise in three rebounding categories—offensive, defensive, and total.
Brunson played in 81 postseason games, including a league-record 34 WNBA finals games. She had 57 postseason wins, most in WNBA history.
The Lynx drafted Augustus first overall in the 2006 draft. She won all four of her WNBA championships with Minnesota. The eight-time all-star spent 14 seasons with the Lynx before playing her final season with the Los Angeles Sparks as a free agent in 2020.
Augustus is Minnesota’s all-time scoring leader with 5,881 points, almost 900 points ahead of Moore. Augustus leads the Lynx franchise in regular-season games played, games started, and minutes played. She earned three Olympic gold medals with Team USA in 2008, 2012, and 2016.
Looking forward to 2023 season, the Lynx will celebrate 25 seasons including a weekend-long commemoration June 9-11 with a 25th anniversary game June 9 and the jersey retirement of Fowles on June 11. The franchise will host “Whay Day” on August 4, celebrating Whalen’s Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction.
On March 1, the team started a countdown of the top 25 players in Lynx history, unveiling five players at a time leading to the Lynx home opener on May 19.
In 24 years, the Lynx are 433-363 for a .544 percent record with 13 playoff appearances and the four titles.
Reeve’s Continued Leadership, Early Draft Choices Give Lynx Hope
As the Lynx strive to regain their winning ways, they will benefit from two key off-season developments.
Last fall, the team re-signed Cheryl Reeve to a five-year contract extension and elevated her title from general manager to president of basketball operations so she can hire a general manager and expand what has been a lean front office. Named coach in December 2009, she is entering her 14th season.
The 2019 WNBA Executive of the Year has won 281 regular-season games in 13 seasons. She is one of two coaches to win more than 65 percent of their games. “Longevity, loyalty is the center of who I am and who I want to be and who I want to surround myself with,” Reeve, 56, told the Star Tribune (“Reeve gets 5 more years, promotion,” by Kent Youngblood, November 4, 2022).
Reeve was named head coach of the USA Basketball Women’s National Team in 2021. Last fall, she led the team to a gold medal in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Australia, securing a bid to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
By the end of the deal, Reeve will have coached the Lynx for 18 years. “I’m energized,” Reeve told Jim Souhan (“Reeve’s extension right call by Lynx,” Star Tribune, November 4, 2022). “We have been the gold standard in this league and we’re on a mission to get back to that.”
And the Lynx secured the second overall selection in the 2023 WNBA draft to be held April 10. Entering the lottery, Minnesota had a 14.5 percent chance of obtaining the second pick.
“We are excited to land the second overall pick,” Reeve said. “This selection will no doubt be an important part of our future as we shape the next era of Lynx basketball.” Minnesota also has the 12th pick. Mock drafts show the Lynx selecting Diamond Miller of Maryland or Haley Jones of Stanford as the second pick.
The 2023 season tips off May 19 and will include a record 40 games, up from 36 last year. The regular season ends September 10.
Besides the retirements of Bird and Fowles, several star players have changed teams via trade or free agency, possibly altering the league’s balance of power.
The New York Liberty signed two-time WNBA champion Breanna Stewart, who played six years in Seattle and led the WNBA in scoring last season, and 2021 WNBA champion Courtney Vandersloot, who leaves the Sky after 12 years. She is third all-time in assists. The Liberty also signed Jonquel Jones, a former league most valuable player in Connecticut.
Former two-time MVP Candace Parker, a champion in both Los Angeles and Chicago, left the Sky to play her 16th season in Las Vegas. The Mercury signed three-time WNBA champion Diana Taurasi to a multiyear contract. At 40, she will start her 19th season with the team. Phoenix signed Griner to a one-year deal.
The Lynx have not made major roster changes but have Collier back at full strength and may gain one or two impactful players from the draft. Minnesota signed free agent Tiffany Mitchell, a seven-year player for the Indiana Fever. Her career average is 9.8 points per game, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists.
The WNBA and the Lynx have built a successful foundation, contributing greatly to the growth, strength, and popularity of women’s sports (“A W for the WNBA…and the Lynx,” www.philsfocus.com, December 19, 2021).
Every Lynx game in 2022 was broadcast on TV, and I was pleased to watch all except one that I attended. This year, I plan to watch the Lynx resume their tradition of excellence and return to the playoffs.
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