February 26, 2018 by Philip Lewenstein

Whalen Defines Greatness With Skills and Character

Jim Petersen, TV analyst for the Minnesota Timberwolves, sometimes references the Minnesota Lynx during broadcasts. He refers to Lynx point guard Lindsay Whalen as “greatness.” Petersen should know because he was an assistant Lynx coach for nine years after his college and NBA careers. He states that Whalen is one of Minnesota’s all-time great athletes.

“Greatness” was on full display October 4 as the Lynx defeated the Los Angeles Sparks in game five of the WNBA championship. Whalen and her teammates won their fourth WNBA title in seven years (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017). The Lynx finished second in 2012 and 2016. Four championships may equal a dynasty. The Houston Comets won four straight titles in the initial years of the WNBA from 1997 to 2001.

Four months after the final game, having transitioned to watching NBA games, I am still reveling in the excitement of the final victory, the skill and determination exhibited by the league’s oldest team (by age of players) forever etched in my mind. Furthermore, I am looking forward to the start of training camp in May for the 2018 season—the drive for five.

And I am continually reminded of the Lynx as I listen to Whalen do commentary on several Timberwolves’ telecasts. I nodded approvingly in December as Coach Cheryl Reeve was named Star Tribune’s 2017 Sportsperson of the Year and was promoted to general manager. Most recently, Whalen and 1970s’ high school star Janet Karvonen-Montgomery were named to the inaugural Minnesota Hall of Fame class. Both women are superb role models for both girls and boys. I have long been a fan of both Whalen and Karvonen, whose careers span 41 years.

Greatness includes two components: basketball skills such as shooting, assisting, and rebounding; and character traits such as leadership and teamwork. For Lindsay Whalen, the two components are inextricably linked. Thus, Whalen is my all-time favorite Minnesota basketball player.

Whalen, having completed 14 years, is one of the greatest WNBA players based on many measures of team and individual success. She has played in more winning games than any WNBA player. Last season, the Lynx were 20-2 before Whalen was injured and 7-5 during the rest of the regular season. With Whalen, the Lynx were 6-2 in the playoffs.

Whalen was the first player in WNBA history with 5,000 points, 2,000 assists, and 1,500 rebounds. She is one of six players in WNBA history with 3,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists in a career.

For her career, Whalen is among league leaders in several categories. She is third in assists (2,249), fourteenth in points (5,341), and twenty-ninth in rebounds (1,731). For her career, she has averaged 11.9 points, 5 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game.

Whalen is first all time in playoff assists (336), fourth in points (944), fourteenth in rebounds (273), and ninth in steals (68). She and teammate Rebekkah Brunson have each performed in 81 playoff games. Whalen’s playoff averages are 11.7 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game.

Whalen has been a WNBA first team selection three times and a second team selection twice. She has been an all-star selection six times.

In recent years, Whalen has been playing fewer minutes, and her individual statistics are down; but her contributions to team success are as strong as ever. Whalen’s teams have made the WNBA playoffs in 12 of her 14 years, six in Connecticut and eight in Minnesota. Whalen has been to the finals eight times. She was a member of 2012 and 2016 U.S. Olympic teams, which won gold medals; and she was a key member of two U.S. world championship teams.

After her high-school career in Hutchinson, Whalen came to the University of Minnesota. During her four years, attendance grew from 1,087 to 9,866. The all-American led the Gophers to the NCAA tournament three times including the Final Four in 2004. Her number 13 jersey was retired in 2005. She became Minnesota’s all-time leading scorer on January 25, 2004.

Whalen was chosen by the Connecticut Sun in the first round (fourth overall pick) in the 2004 draft and was re-signed by Connecticut to a three-year extension in February 2008. Minnesota acquired Whalen from Connecticut in January 2010. The Lynx signed Whalen to a three-year contract extension in September 2013 and re-signed her to a two-year extension in September 2016.

The criteria for a champion include more than individual skills and performances. The criteria also include character attributes, most notably leadership and teamwork. Whalen and her teammates exemplify all these criteria.

Some of the adjectives used to define Whalen are the following: inspirational, role model, sincere, unassuming, grounded, humble, grace under pressure, grit, competitive spirit, sense of humor, dry wit, aplomb, down to earth, transparent, unselfish, tough, dedicated, low key, deadpan humor, resilient, and punctual.

Besides Whalen’s no-look passes and spinning drives to the basket is her humility. Listening to her media interviews, one hears no pretense or arrogance. For me talking to 35-year-old Whalen would be no different than talking to my 35-year-old daughter or 35-year-old niece.

In The Lindsay Whalen Story, R.S. Oatman chronicles Whalen’s career from her youth until her trade to the Lynx in 2010. Oatman’s description of Whalen as a Gopher is still applicable today after four championships. Oatman highlights Whalen’s excellence as a role model:

“Amidst the pandemonium surrounding her, from fans to accolades, a sense of additional purpose was adding to Lindsay’s love of the game. It had become clear she was having an impact on the younger generation and on the growth of the fan base in general for women’s basketball. Alongside her magic on the court, Lindsay’s inspirational role would remain a meaningful and important aspect of her work in the years ahead. She was already well-suited to be a role model, due to her unencumbered, nearly egoless personality. This sincere, ingenuous, girl-next-door quality, allied with her mesmerizing play, made her the kind of sports phenomenon that young players and fans would naturally idolize. She is private but never dismissive of anyone’s questions; she’s down to earth, polite–unless you’re standing in her way on the court—and gracious but not gushy…She’s grounded firmly in who she is and what she does—nothing more, nothing less. She’s instantly liked by all who meet her because she’s completely transparent. What you see is who she is.”

Toughness and resiliency are seen in coming back from injuries or in rebounding from a poor performance. On February 12 of her senior year in college, Whalen fractured two metacarpal bones in her right wrist and was out several weeks, ending a streak of 106 consecutive starts. She returned for the first round of the NCAA tournament on March 21, leading the Gophers past UCLA and Kansas State. Minnesota won the West Regionals and advanced to the Final Four, losing to Connecticut in the semifinals.

As a professional, Whalen has suffered ankle and knee injuries, a broken nose, and a torn iris. She was beat up and hurt in 2015 but still helped her teammates win the WNBA title. And her comeback from her hand injury last fall illustrates her resiliency.

Coach Cheryl Reeve describes how Whalen has been a common denominator for success.

“There’s a competitive drive that Lindsay has that is combined with this incredible intelligence for the game,” Reeve says. “She hates to lose and she’s really smart. Whoever she’s been around, whether it’s the Gophers, I didn’t follow her back in high school, but all along the way she’s been a common denominator for success. Throughout her professional career, whether it’s in Connecticut or her days here in Minnesota, half of her career she’s spent in the WNBA finals. And half of those, she’s winning championships.  It’s unprecedented, and it didn’t happen by chance that this team became successful; it’s Lindsay Whalen being at the lead of this group. We go as Lindsay goes.”

Whalen emphasizes the importance of building team chemistry by creating a family atmosphere.

“You have to build an atmosphere where everyone feels really comfortable in what they do, and you have to have confidence in each other, confidence in yourself,” she says. “You really create a family atmosphere…The most successful teams have found the best balance of both on-the-court chemistry and off the court and just treating each other well, treating each other the right way. Then it seems the stuff on the court all comes together.”

I had been a fan for more than 20 years before women’s high-school basketball became recognized. I divide Minnesota women’s basketball into two eras. The first period was led by Janet Karvonen, a pioneer of girls’ basketball. Playing for New York Mills, she scored more than 3,000 points in her high-school career, leading her team to state titles in 1977, 1978, and 1979, and third in 1980. Karvonen began her college career at Old Dominion and finished at Louisiana Tech. She played in two Final Fours. She scored more points than any boy or girl in state high school history. I enjoyed watching telecasts of her state tournament games.

Karvonen was the first great role model for girls wanting to play basketball. She did not have the opportunity to play in the WNBA, which launched in 1996 and began play in 1997. She was a TV news reporter who attended some of my state government agency’s news conferences in the l980s. Several years later, I heard her give an inspirational speech at the Mounds View High School National Honor Society induction that my wife and I attended for our oldest daughter. My youngest daughter, who became a hockey player, enjoyed attending Karvonen’s summer basketball camp. She is married to Dr. Alan Montgomery and lives in North Oaks.

Karvonen was a trailblazer in Minnesota women’s basketball, and Whalen, given the opportunity, has followed the trail to greatness by combining her superb skills with her exemplary character and leadership.