2020 Minnesota Lynx season

Last updated

2020 Minnesota Lynx season
Coach Cheryl Reeve
ArenaOriginally: Target Center
Rescheduled to: IMG Academy gymnasiums, Bradenton, Florida
Attendance0 per game
Results
Record14–8 (.636)
Place4th (Western)
Playoff finish4th Seed, Lost in Semifinals to Seattle Storm
Team Leaders
Points Crystal Dangerfield – 16.2 ppg
Rebounds Sylvia Fowles – 9.7 rpg
Assists Crystal Dangerfield – 3.6 apg

The 2020 WNBA season is the 22nd season for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season began on July 26, 2020, versus the Connecticut Sun. [1]

Contents

This WNBA season will feature an all-time high 36 regular-season games. [2] However, the plan for expanded games was put on hold on April 3, when the WNBA postponed its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [3] Under a plan approved on June 15, the league is scheduled to hold a shortened 22-game regular season at IMG Academy, without fans present, starting on July 24. [4] [5]

The Lynx' season started strongly, as the team won five of their first six games, with their only loss coming to the Seattle Storm. They won three of the next five to hold a 8–3 record at the halfway mark of the season. The team finished the season with a 3–2 stretch of five games and a 3–3 stretch of the last six games. Their overall 14–8 record earned them the fourth seed in the playoffs.

As the fourth seed, the Lynx earned a bye into the Second Round. They faced off against the Phoenix Mercury, and won a very close game 80–79. With that win, they advanced to face Seattle in the Semifinals. The Lynx lost the first game in the series by two points, and then were defeated by ten points and twenty-one points in games two and three. The three game sweep ended the Lynx' season.

Transactions

WNBA draft

RoundPickPlayerNationalitySchool/Team/Country
16 Mikiah Herbert Harrigan Flag of Anguilla.svg  Anguilla
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 		South Carolina
216 Crystal Dangerfield Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Connecticut

Trades/Roster Changes

DateDetails
February 11, 2020F Rebekkah Brunson retired and was hired as an assistant coach of the Lynx. [6]
February 25, 2020Acquired G Rachel Banham from the Connecticut Sun in exchange for a 2nd round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft. [7]
February 29, 2020Signed F Cecilia Zandalasini [8]
March 6, 2020Traded the 14th pick in the 2020 WNBA draft and their second round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft to Indiana Fever in exchange for G Shenise Johnson and the 16th pick in the 2020 WNBA draft. [9]
April 17, 2020Traded F Stephanie Talbot to New York in exchange for the draft rights for G Erica Ogwumike. [10]
May 25, 2020Waived G Linnae Harper and G Erica Ogwumike [11]
May 31, 2020Moved G Odyssey Sims to an Inactive List and suspended F Jessica Shepard [12]
June 17, 2020F Cecilia Zandalasini announces she will be opting out of the season due to COVID-19 and signed F Megan Huff [13] [14]
July 30, 2020Waived F Karima Christmas-Kelly and signed F Erica McCall [15]
August 6, 2020Activated G Odyssey Sims and waived F Megan Huff [16]

Roster

2020 Minnesota Lynx roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
C 40 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alexander, Kayla 6' 4" (1.93m)186 lb (84kg)1991-01-05 Syracuse 7
G 15 Flag of the United States.svg Banham, Rachel 5' 9" (1.75m)172 lb (78kg)1993-07-15 Minnesota 4
G 4 Flag of the United States.svg Brown, Lexie 5' 9" (1.75m)160 lb (73kg)1994-10-27 Duke 2
G/F 6 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Carleton, Bridget 6' 1" (1.85m)180 lb (82kg)1997-05-22 Iowa State 1
F 24 Flag of the United States.svg Collier, Napheesa 6' 2" (1.88m)181 lb (82kg)1996-09-23 Connecticut 1
G 2 Flag of the United States.svg Dangerfield, Crystal 5' 5" (1.65m)122 lb (55kg)1998-05-11 Connecticut R
F 92 Flag of Brazil.svg Dantas, Damiris 6' 3" (1.91m)201 lb (91kg)1992-11-17 Brazil 5
C 34 Flag of the United States.svg Fowles, Sylvia   Cruz Roja.svg 6' 6" (1.98m)217 lb (98kg)1985-10-06 LSU 12
F 21 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Herbert Harrigan, Mikiah 6' 2" (1.88m)152 lb (69kg)1998-08-21 South Carolina R
G 42 Flag of the United States.svg Johnson, Shenise 5' 11" (1.8m)168 lb (76kg)1990-12-08 Miami (FL) 7
F 24 Flag of the United States.svg McCall, Erica 6' 2" (1.88m)184 lb (83kg)1995-08-21 Stanford 3
G 1 Flag of the United States.svg Sims, Odyssey 5' 8" (1.73m)163 lb (74kg)1992-07-13 Baylor 6
Head coach
Flag of the United States.svg Cheryl Reeve (La Salle)
Assistant coaches
Flag of the United States.svg Plenette Pierson (Texas Tech)
Flag of the United States.svg Katie Smith (Ohio State)
Flag of the United States.svg Rebekkah Brunson (Georgetown)
Athletic trainer
Flag of the United States.svg Chuck Barta (UW–La Crosse)
Assistant trainer
Flag of the United States.svg Kate Taber (Iowa)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured

Game log

Regular season

2020 game log
Total: 14–8
July
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
1July 26 Connecticut Sun W 77–69 Sylvia Fowles (17) Sylvia Fowles (18) Damiris Dantas (5) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		1–0
2July 28 Seattle Storm L 66–90 Damiris Dantas (18) Sylvia Fowles (11) Napheesa Collier (5)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		1–1
3July 30 Chicago Sky W 83–81 Napheesa Collier (20) Napheesa Collier (10) Collier, Johnson (4)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		2–1
August
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
4August 1 Connecticut Sun W 78-69 Sylvia Fowles (21) Sylvia Fowles (13) Napheesa Collier (4) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		3–1
5August 5 New York Liberty W 92–66 Bridget Carleton (25) Carleton, Collier (7) Rachel Banham (5)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		4–1
6August 7 Indiana Fever W 87–80 Lexie Brown (26) Brown, Fowles (6) Lexie Brown (9)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		5-1
7August 9 Los Angeles Sparks L 81-97 Crystal Dangerfield (29) Damiris Dantas (7) Lexie Brown (6)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		5–2
8August 11 Washington Mystics W 68–48 Sylvia Fowles (16) Sylvia Fowles (13) Crystal Dangerfield (4)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		6–2
9August 13 Las Vegas Aces L 77–87 Napheesa Collier (21) Napheesa Collier (14) Damiris Dantas (7)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		6–3
10August 15 New York Liberty W 94-64 Napheesa Collier (26) Napheesa Collier (13) Collier, Sims (5)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		7–3
11August 19 Dallas Wings W 91-84 Crystal Dangerfield (21) Bridget Carleton (9) Crystal Dangerfield (6)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		8–3
12August 21 Phoenix Mercury W 90-80 Napheesa Collier (20) Napheesa Collier (9) Collier, Carleton (6)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		9–3
13August 23 Atlanta Dream L 75–78 Napheesa Collier (18) Damiris Dantas (9) Carleton, Dantas, Dangerfield (3)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		9–4
14August 28 Atlanta Dream W 88–79 Crystal Dangerfield (23) Napheesa Collier (12) Odyssey Sims (9)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		10–4
15August 30 Phoenix Mercury L 79–83 Crystal Dangerfield (20) Napheesa Collier (6) Odyssey Sims (5)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		10–5
16August 31 Los Angeles Sparks W 96–78 Napheesa Collier (25) Collier, Dantas (9) Bridget Carleton (10)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		11–5
September
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
17September 2 Chicago Sky W 86–83 Damiris Dantas (28) Napheesa Collier (9) Crystal Dangerfield (7) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		12–5
18September 4 Dallas Wings W 88–75 Damiris Dantas (18) Napheesa Collier (14) Crystal Dangerfield (5)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		13–5
19September 6 Seattle Storm L 88–103 Damiris Dantas (22) Damiris Dantas (9) Odyssey Sims (4)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		13–6
20September 8 Washington Mystics L 86–89 Napheesa Collier (21) Napheesa Collier (11) Crystal Dangerfield (7)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		13–7
21September 10 Las Vegas Aces L 89–104 Crystal Dangerfield (24) Napheesa Collier (11) Napheesa Collier (10)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		13-8
22September 12 Indiana Fever W 98–86 Rachel Banham (29) Napheesa Collier (8) Rachel Banham (10)IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance		14–8
2020 season schedule

Playoffs

2020 playoff game log
Total: 1–3
Second Round
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1September 17 Phoenix Mercury W 80–79 Damiris Dantas (22) Napheesa Collier (9) Napheesa Collier (6) IMG Academy 1–0
Semifinals
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1September 22 Seattle Storm L 86–88 Napheesa Collier (25) Napheesa Collier (9) Crystal Dangerfield (6) IMG Academy 0–1
2September 24 Seattle Storm L 79–89 Damiris Dantas (23) Carleton, Dantas (7) Crystal Dangerfield (7) IMG Academy 0–2
3September 27 Seattle Storm L 71–92 Napheesa Collier (22) Napheesa Collier (15) Dantas & Sims (4) IMG Academy 0–3
2020 playoff schedule

Standings

#Team W L PCT GB Conf.
1x – Las Vegas Aces 184.818–8–2
2x – Seattle Storm 184.818–8–2
3x – Los Angeles Sparks 157.68235–5
4x – Minnesota Lynx 148.63644–6
5x – Phoenix Mercury 139.59154–6
6x – Chicago Sky 1210.54566–4
7x – Connecticut Sun 1012.45587–3
8x – Washington Mystics 913.40996–4
9e – Dallas Wings 814.364101–9
10e – Atlanta Dream 715.318115–5
11e – Indiana Fever 616.273124–6
12e – New York Liberty 220.091162–8

Playoffs

First round:
Single elimination
(September 15)		Second round:
Single elimination
(September 17)		Semifinals:
Best-of-five
(September 20–29)		 WNBA Finals:
Best-of-five
(October 2–11)
1 Las Vegas Aces 6283688466
4 Minnesota Lynx 807 Connecticut Sun 8775777563
5 Phoenix Mercury 855 Phoenix Mercury 791 Las Vegas Aces 809159
8 Washington Mystics 842 Seattle Storm 9310492
2 Seattle Storm 888992
3 Los Angeles Sparks 594 Minnesota Lynx 867971
6 Chicago Sky 817 Connecticut Sun 73
7 Connecticut Sun 94

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

Statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage 3P%  3-point field-goal percentage FT%  Free-throw percentage TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per gameTeam leaderLeague leader

Regular season

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
Crystal Dangerfield 211930.047.133.392.22.03.60.90.016.2
Napheesa Collier 222234.252.340.882.99.03.31.81.316.1
Sylvia Fowles 7724.160.9082.89.70.90.91.114.6
Damiris Dantas 222226.646.44..672.76.12.61.10.212.9
Odyssey Sims 13718.540.433.390.92.03.50.50.16.9
Rachel Banham 20117.046.247.280.01.32.40.50.16.9
Bridget Carleton 221525.852.045.764.33.52.50.706.6
Lexie Brown 171322.034.226.979.21.92.41.806.4
Shenise Johnson 17412.534.135.389.31.91.20.90.15.1
Mikiah Herbert Harrigan 21011.136.642.471.42.30.30.40.43.8
Erica McCall 1909.435.625.081.82.50.20.30.42.7
Kayla Alexander 1605.653.3062.50.90.20.10.22.3

Awards and Milestones

RecipientAward/MilestoneDate AwardedReference
Napheesa Collier Western Conference Player of the Week August 17, 2020 [17]
2nd Team All-Defense September 29, 2020 [18]
All-WNBA Second Team October 4, 2020 [19]
Crystal Dangerfield WNBA Rookie of the Month – August September 1, 2020 [20]
WNBA Rookie of the Month – September September 15, 2020 [21]
Rookie of the Year September 17, 2020 [22]
All-Rookie Team September 27, 2020 [23]
Cheryl Reeve Coach of the Year September 17, 2020 [24]

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References

  1. ↑ "2020 Minnesota Lynx Schedule". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Atlanta Dream Announce 2020 Schedule - Atlanta Dream". dream.wnba.com. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  3. ↑ "WNBA Statement Regarding the Start of the 2020 Regular Season". April 3, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  4. ↑ "WNBA Announces Plan To Tip Off 2020 Season". WNBA. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  5. ↑ "WNBA announces plans for 2020 season to start late July in Florida". NBC Sports Washington. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Brunson's Retirement Launches Next Chapter Of Her Lynx Career". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. February 11, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Acquire Rachel Banham". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Lynx Re-Sign Forward Cecilia Zandalasini". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. February 29, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Acquire Shenise Johnson from Indiana". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Get To Know Erica Ogwumike". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Waive Linnae Harper and Erica Ogwumike". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. May 25, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Lynx finalize roster; Shepard, Sims not among initial 12". startribune.com. Star Tribune. May 31, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Lynx's Cecilia Zandalasini skipping 2020 WNBA season". startribune.com. Star Tribune. June 17, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Lynx Sign Forward Megan Huff". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. June 17, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Lynx Awarded Erica McCall From Waivers". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. July 30, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Lynx Activate Odyssey Sims". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Bonner, Collier Earn Players Of The Week Honors For Week 3". wnba.com. WNBA. August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Two Atlanta Dream Players And Seattle Storm's Alysha Clark Headline 2020 WNBA All-Defensive Team". wnba.com. WNBA. September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  19. ↑ "A'ja Wilson And Candace Parker Unanimously Selected To 2020 All-WNBA First Team". wnba.com. WNBA. October 4, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Crystal Dangerfield Earns Rookie of the Month Honors". wnba.com. WNBA. September 1, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Crystal Dangerfield Earns Rookie of the Month". wnba.com. WNBA. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Crystal Dangerfield Named WNBA Rookie Of The Year". wnba.com. WNBA. September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Rookie Of The Year Crystal Dangerfield Headlines 2020 WNBA All-Rookie Team". wnba.com. WNBA. September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Cheryl Reeve Named WNBA Coach Of The Year". wnba.com. WNBA. September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
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