August 10, 2017 by Philip Lewenstein
I Love the Lynx
With the start of August, the media are saturated with coverage of the Vikings training camp and the inaugural Gopher football season of Coach P.J. Fleck. Yet the biggest sports story that should not be ignored is the ongoing success of the Minnesota Lynx basketball team.
In the past six years, from 2011 to 2016, the Lynx won three WNBA championships and lost twice in the finals. This year, the Lynx compiled a 19-2 record, the best start in franchise history, through the end of July as the team chases the greatest record in WNBA history. Remarkably, the Lynx secured a playoff berth before August with 13 games remaining.
I have followed the Twins, Vikings, Timberwolves, and Wild since their inception as well as Gopher athletics. But for the past seven years, my favorite team has been the Lynx. I love the Lynx for its competent management, outstanding coaching leadership, and its players, who have melded their individual talents into a coherent team. The players are superb role models and positive contributors to the community.
I am proud to own a Lynx T-shirt, two Lindsay Whalen bobble heads ( One from the Connecticut Sun, her first team, and one from Lynx), and an autographed copy of The Lindsay Whalen Story by R.S. Oatman.
My love affair was casual and took several years to develop, but now I can’t get enough of the team. It’s not a matter of addiction but of respect.
The Lynx was founded before the 1999 WNBA season and was 15-17 that year. The team’s first winning records were 18-16 in 2003 and 2004, and the Lynx lost in the first round of the playoffs both years.
It took seven losing seasons until the Lynx became a winning team. Several key factors contributed to the success. In December 2009, Cheryl Reeve was hired as coach. And former Gopher Lindsay Whalen was acquired in January 2010 in a trade with the Connecticut Sun.
The Lynx finished with a 13-21 record in 2010, but in 2011 selected Maya Moore from the University of Connecticut as the first pick in the first round of the draft. In 2011, the Lynx compiled a 27-7 record and won the championship with a 7-1 playoff record. In 2012, the team again finished 27-7 but lost in the playoffs.
A second WNBA title was earned in 2013 as the Lynx finished 26-8 and swept through the playoffs with a 7-0 record. In 2014, however, the Lynx lost to the Phoenix Mercury 3-2 in the playoffs after finishing 25-9 in the regular season. Then, after acquiring Sylvia Fowles in July 2015, the Lynx won its third WNBA championship with a 22-12 regular season and 7-3 playoff record. The Lynx almost won a fourth title in six years in 2016 but lost to the Los Angeles Sparks in the final seconds of the deciding championship game.
The Lynx stand apart by experience and age. Seven of the eleven players are age 30 or older. Four of the five starters are age 31 or older. Rebekka Brunson and Lindsay Whalen are in their 14th year in the league; both Brunson, acquired in December 2009, and Whalen are 35. Seimone Augustus, the first pick in the 2006 draft, is 33 and in her 12th season. Fowles, in her 10th year, will be 32 in early October. The fifth starter, Moore, is 28 and in her seventh season
Of the bench players, Plenette Pierson is 36 and in her 15th season, Jia Perkins is 35 and in her 14th season, and Renee Montgomery is 30 and in her 9th season.
An aging team is often a concern in professional sports, but Coach Reeve manages the players’ minutes effectively, and the players manage their physical condition well.
The 6-6 Fowles is having an MVP year, averaging almost 21 points and 10 rebounds per game. She has been the Western Conference player of the month three times. Maya Moore again is playing at an all-star caliber level after a slow start. But the key to success is not one or two players— success involves the other three starters (Augustus, Brunson, and Whalen) and a productive bench.
“We have something we know is really special here that we’ve been building since 2010 and 2011,” Whalen says. “We put the team first and want what is best for each other.”
The leadership comes from Reeve in her eighth season as coach. She presided over the most prolific six-year run in league history. The Lynx won at least 25 of 34 games during the period. Before coming to Minnesota, Reeve advanced to the WNBA finals four times as an assistant coach with Detroit and Charlotte. Detroit won championships in 2006 and 2008.
As a coach, Reeve is a superb teacher, motivator, and tactician. Not only does she plan well for opponents, but she is quick to adapt to changes during games. Reeve is a strong advocate for women’s professional teams and for increased media coverage for women’s sports.
Although the Lynx is Minnesota’s most successful sports franchise, the team receives much less coverage than the professional male teams. For example, Twin Cities newspapers rarely send a reporter to cover Lynx road games. On the other hand, the media cover most road games of Minnesota’s male professional teams.
In a recent Star Tribune interview, Reeve expressed frustration with limited media coverage, noting that only one media representative from the Twin Cities covered the WNBA All-Star game in Seattle even though the Western Conference team had four Lynx players and the Lynx coaching staff.
“I’m sure if there was an all-star game that had four starters, we would have had some sort of presence if it was a men’s sport,” Reeve said. “I think it’s unfair, to be honest, that there wasn’t some level of commitment to bringing the news back to our fans. We’ve got tremendous fan base, and they deserve better coverage.
“Media here is quick to remind me that coverage here is better than anywhere else, but that’s not my standard. My standard is that women’s sports deserve more coverage…I’m appreciative of the work that’s been done. I just want to raise the bar. The most important thing I want people to know is that I’m not saying people are more interested in women’s sports than men’s sports. I’m saying ‘and’.”
Despite receiving less coverage than men’s team, the Lynx appears to be receiving more coverage this season (although I have not measured current coverage versus previous years). Celebrating its 19th year of televising Lynx games, the TV station Fox Sports North has expanded coverage with 17 games, 12 locally and 5 on the road. Also, ESPN2 is televising seven regular season Lynx games. All games are on radio at 106.1 BOB FM.
I watch almost all Lynx games on TV and appreciate the expanded broadcast schedule. And this summer, I attended my first game against the Phoenix Mercury at Xcel Energy Center. It was disappointing that Phoenix did not have available its two all-stars: Brittney Griner, injured, or Diana Taurasi, home resting. Seeing the game in person was insightful and enjoyable. I was especially impressed by the intensity, physicality, speed, and skill of the players.
As a bonus, the team was celebrating the birthday of Prowl, the mascot, whom I was not familiar with. Birthday hats were handed out. On hand to share the occasion were P.K of Minnesota United, T.C. Bear of the Twins, Crunch of the Timberwolves, Viktor of the Vikings, Nordy of the Wild, and Goldy Gopher.
The mark of a great team is its success over several seasons, not one isolated championship. The Lynx meet this criterion, and the sports media should recognize that success even in the excitement of a new football season.
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