The 2011 Minnesota Lynx season was the 13th season for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the 2nd season under head coach Cheryl Reeve.
The Lynx qualified for the WNBA Playoffs for the first time since 2004 and won their first Western Conference championship.
The Lynx finished the season with a 27–7 record, best in the WNBA and the best regular-season record in franchise history. They then defeated the San Antonio Silver Stars in three games and the Phoenix Mercury in two to reach the 2011 WNBA Finals.
The Lynx swept the Atlanta Dream to win their first WNBA championship.
Offseason
2011 WNBA draft
The Lynx held the first overall pick in the 2011 draft, and surprised nobody by selecting Maya Moore, a 6'0" forward out of Connecticut. Moore had won three consecutive Wade Trophies as the best player in women's college basketball, the only player to have done so. She had also won two championships with the Huskies.Maya Moore heads to Lynx as top pick The Lynx also held the fourth overall pick, which they used to select Amber Harris from Xavier. Both Moore and Harris would ultimately make the team out of training camp.
In the second round, the Lynx selected Jessica Breland, Felicia Chester, and Kachine Alexander. The Lynx ultimately released Alexander.
Round Pick Player Nationality School/team/country 1 1 Maya Moore Connecticut 1 4 (from Conn.) Amber Harris Xavier 2 13 (from Tul. via Conn.) Jessica Breland North Carolina 2 14 Felicia Chester DePaul 2 26 Kachine Alexander Iowa
Free agency The Lynx declined to re-sign Hamchetou Maiga-Ba and Kristen Mann. Instead, they signed veteran center Taj McWilliams-Franklin and center/forward Jessica Adair, who had played one game with the Lynx in the 2010 season.
Trades The Lynx traded the draft rights to Jessica Breland to the New York Liberty for Angel Robinson and a second-round pick in the 2012 WNBA draft. They traded Felicia Chester to the Atlanta Dream for Rachel Jarry and a second-round pick in the 2012 draft. They traded Quanitra Hollingsworth to the Liberty for the rights to swap third-round picks in the 2012 draft, and they traded Nicky Anosike for a first-round pick in the 2012 draft. The Lynx ultimately waived Jarry and Robinson.
DateTradeApril 9, 2011To Minnesota LynxTo Washington Mystics first-round pick in 2012 draft Nicky AnosikeApril 11, 2011To Minnesota LynxTo New York Liberty Angel Robinson and a second-round pick in 2012 draft Jessica BrelandApril 11, 2011To Minnesota LynxTo Atlanta Dream Rachel Jarry and a second-round pick in 2012 draft Felicia ChesterMay 27, 2011To Minnesota LynxTo New York Liberty right to swap third-round picks in 2012 draft Quanitra Hollingsworth
Transaction log February 1: The Lynx signed Jessica Adair. February 18: The Lynx signed Taj McWilliams-Franklin. April 9: The Lynx traded Nicky Anosike to the Washington Mystics in exchange for their first-round pick in the 2012 draft. April 11: The Lynx traded draft rights to Jessica Breland to the New York Liberty for the draft rights to Angel Robinson and New York's second-round pick in the 2012 draft. April 11: The Lynx traded Felecia Chester to the Atlanta Dream for Rachel Jarry and a 2012 second-round draft pick. May 12: The Lynx waived Hamchetou Maiga-Ba. May 27: The Lynx waived Angel Robinson and Kachine Alexander. May 27: The Lynx traded Quanitra Hollingsworth to the New York Liberty in exchange for the right to swap third-round picks in the 2012 draft.
Additions
PlayerSignedFormer team Jessica Adair February 1, 2011 free agent Taj McWilliams-Franklin February 18, 2011 New York Liberty Maya Moore April 11, 2011 draft pick Amber Harris April 11, 2011 draft pick
Subtractions PlayerLeftNew team Nicky Anosike April 9, 2011 Washington Mystics Hamchetou Maiga-Ba May 12, 2011 free agent Kristen Mann May 13, 2011 free agent Quanitra Hollingsworth May 27, 2011 New York Liberty
Roster
Depth Pos.StarterBench C Taj McWilliams-Franklin Jessica Adair PF Rebekkah Brunson Amber HarrisCharde Houston SF Maya Moore Monica Wright SG Seimone Augustus Candice Wiggins PG Lindsay Whalen Alexis Hornbuckle
Season standings
Schedule
Preseason
|- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 1 || May 24 || 1:00pm || Indiana || 71–66 || Brunson (11) || Harris (10) || Wright (4) || Concordia University 2,055 || 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 2 || May 31 || 7:00pm || @ Indiana || 76–70 || Whalen (12) || McWilliams-Franklin (8) || Wiggins (4) || Conseco Fieldhouse 3,817 || 2–0
Regular season
|- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 1 || June 3 || 11:00pm || @ Los Angeles || NBATVPRIME || 74–82 || Moore (21) || Brunson (12) || Whalen (5) || Staples Center 13,589 || 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 2 || June 5 || 3:30pm || Los Angeles || FS-NPRIME || 86–69 || Augustus (17) || Brunson (15) || Whalen (7) || Target Center 10,123 || 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 3 || June 7 || 8:00pm || Tulsa || || 75–65 || Brunson (17) || Brunson (15) || Whalen (4) || Target Center 7,713 || 2–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 4 || June 9 || 10:00pm || @ Seattle || || 81–74 || Brunson (22) || Brunson (14) || Whalen (10) || KeyArena 6,291 || 3–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 5 || June 17 || 8:00pm || Atlanta || || 96–85 || Augustus (25) || Brunson (14) || Whalen (8) || Target Center 7,556 || 4–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 6 || June 19 || 3:00pm || @ Atlanta || SSO || 77–64 || Augustus (19) || McWilliams-Franklin (12) || MooreWhalen (5) || Philips Arena 7,274 || 5–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 7 || June 24 || 10:00pm || @ Seattle || KONG || 55–65 || Augustus (17) || McWilliams-Franklin (8) || Whalen (3) || KeyArena 7,914 || 5–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 8 || June 26 || 7:00pm || Indiana || NBATVFS-N || 75–78 || Moore (21) || Brunson (11) || Whalen (4) || Target Center 7,117 || 5–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 9 || June 30 || 8:00pm || @ Tulsa || || 101–73 || Whalen (21) || McWilliams-Franklin (9) || Whalen (5) || BOK Center 3,970 || 6–3
|- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 10 || July 9 || 8:00pm || Connecticut || NBATVFS-N || 90–67 || Moore (26) || BrunsonMcWilliams-Franklin (10) || Whalen (8) || Target Center 8,205 || 7–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 11 || July 13 || 1:00pm || Phoenix || NBATVFS-NFS-A || 105–112 || Augustus (22) || Brunson (16) || Whalen (6) || Target Center 11,820 || 7–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 12 || July 15 || 7:00pm || @ Indiana || || 80–70 || Brunson (20) || McWilliams-Franklin (9) || Whalen (7) || Conseco Fieldhouse 7,538 || 8–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 13 || July 16 || 8:00pm || Seattle || || 69–62 || Augustus (19) || Moore (9) || McWilliams-Franklin (4) || Target Center 7,733 || 9–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 14 || July 20 || 3:30pm || @ Phoenix || NBATVFS-A || 106–98 || Augustus (25) || AugustusBrunson (6) || Whalen (8) || US Airways Center 12,118 || 10–4 |- | colspan="11" align="center" valign="middle" | All-Star break |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 15 || July 26 || 8:00pm || Los Angeles || || 85–72 || Augustus (22) || McWilliams-Franklin (9) || Whalen (7) || Target Center 8,044 || 11–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 16 || July 29 || 8:00pm || Seattle || || 92–67 || AugustusWiggins (16) || Augustus (5) || Moore (6) || Target Center 7,856 || 12–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 17 || July 31 || 3:00pm || @ San Antonio || NBATV || 70–69 || Whalen (23) || Brunson (13) || Whalen (6) || AT&T Center 7,260 || 13–4
|- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 18 || August 2 || 8:00pm || Phoenix || ESPN2 || 90–73 || Moore (22) || McWilliams-Franklin (10) || Whalen (5) || Target Center 7,126 || 14–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 19 || August 4 || 8:00pm || San Antonio || NBATVFS-SW || 62–60 || McWilliams-Franklin (18) || Brunson (13) || Whalen (6) || Target Center 8,123 || 15–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 20 || August 7 || 8:30pm || @ Los Angeles || NBATV || 84–78 || Whalen (24) || AugustusBrunson (7) || Whalen (8) || Staples Center 13,528 || 16–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 21 || August 9 || 10:00pm || @ Phoenix || || 80–85 || Moore (28) || Brunson (11) || Whalen (6) || US Airways Center 6,726 || 16–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 22 || August 12 || 8:30pm || @ Chicago || CN100 || 79–76 || Whalen (16) || Brunson (11) || Whalen (6) || Allstate Arena 6,289 || 17–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 23 || August 14 || 7:00pm || Tulsa || NBATVFS-NCOX || 82–54 || Augustus (16) || Brunson (6) || Whalen (9) || Target Center 8,388 || 18–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 24 || August 16 || 7:30pm || @ Connecticut || CSN-NE || 79–108 || Whalen (20) || BrunsonMoore (5) || McWilliams-Franklin (3) || Mohegan Sun Arena 9,323 || 18–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 25 || August 18 || 7:00pm || @ Washington || || 81–62 || Augustus (18) || McWilliams-Franklin (7) || Whalen (7) || Verizon Center 9,483 || 19–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 26 || August 20 || 8:00pm || Los Angeles || || 87–68 || Augustus (17) || McWilliams-Franklin (8) || Whalen (5) || Target Center 8,816 || 20–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 27 || August 23 || 8:00pm || @ Tulsa || || 78–72 || McWilliams-Franklin (18) || Brunson (10) || McWilliams-FranklinWhalen (4) || BOK Center 3,750 || 21–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 28 || August 26 || 8:00pm || San Antonio || NBATV || 85–75 || Augustus (19) || Brunson (8) || Whalen (9) || Target Center 9,212 || 22–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 29 || August 28 || 3:00pm || @ San Antonio || || 72–61 || Augustus (20) || Brunson (14) || 4 players (3) || AT&T Center 7,924 || 23–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 30 || August 30 || 8:00pm || Washington || || 73–56 || Whalen (21) || Brunson (7) || Whalen (5) || Target Center 8,065 || 24–6
|- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 31 || September 2 || 8:00pm || New York || || 62–78 || Augustus (17) || Brunson (8) || Augustus (6) || Target Center 8,929 || 24–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 32 || September 4 || 4:00pm || @ New York || || 86–68 || Moore (19) || BrunsonMcWilliams-FranklinMoore (6) || Whalen (7) || Prudential Center 8,247 || 25–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 33 || September 8 || 8:00pm || Chicago || NBATVFS-NCN100 || 78–69 || Augustus (22) || MooreWhalen (7) || Whalen (10) || Target Center 8,781 || 26–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 34 || September 11 || 6:00pm || @ Phoenix || FS-A || 96–90 || AugustusMooreWright (15) || Adair (13) || Wright (6) || US Airways Center 12,666 || 27–7
| All games are viewable on WNBA LiveAccess or ESPN3.com
Postseason
|- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 1 || September 16 || 9:00pm || San Antonio || NBATV || 66–65 || Whalen (20) || Brunson (14) || Whalen (5) || Target Center 11,891 || 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 2 || September 18 || 5:00pm || @ San Antonio || ESPN2 || 75-84 || Augustus (24) || Brunson (16) || Whalen (3) || AT&T Center 7,023 || 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 3 || September 20 || 8:00pm || San Antonio || ESPN2 || 85–67 || Augustus (22) || Brunson (9) || AugustusMcWilliams-FranklinMoore (4) || Target Center 8,734 || 2–1
|- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 1 || September 22 || 9:00pm || Phoenix || ESPN2 || 95–67 || Augustus (21) || Brunson (13) || Augustus (7) || Target Center 8,912 || 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 2 || September 25 || 5:00pm || @ Phoenix || ESPN2 || 103–86 || McWilliams-FranklinMoore (21) || Brunson (9) || McWilliams-Franklin (7) || US Airways Center 8,617 || 2–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 1 || October 2 || 8:30pm || Atlanta || ESPN || 88–74 || Brunson (26) || Brunson (11) || Augustus (7) || Target Center 15,258 || 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 2 || October 5 || 8:00pm || Atlanta || ESPN2 || 101–95 || Augustus (36) || Augustus (8) || Whalen (4) || Target Center 15,124 || 2–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb"