The 2023 Minnesota Lynx season was the 25th season for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the fourteenth season under head coach Cheryl Reeve.
Reeve signed a multi-year contract extension to return as Head Coach in November, while also moving from general manager to president of basketball operations. On December 13, 2022, the Lynx announced Clare Duwelius as the fourth General Manager in franchise history.
The Lynx earned the second overall pick through the 2023 WNBA Draft Lottery. They went into the lottery selection holding the fourth best odds to get the first overall pick, but still moved up two selections.
On November 22, 2022, Natalie Achonwa announced her pregnancy via Instagram.
The WNBA announced that the first WNBA Canada Game would feature the Chicago Sky and the Lynx on Saturday, May 13, 2023, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON. This would be the first-ever WNBA preseason game in Canada.
On September 4, Napheesa Collier was announced as the first-ever winner of the Sylvia Fowles Altruism Award. The Sylvia Fowles Altruism Award will be an annual award recognizing a Lynx player who best embodies the altruistic traits of kindness, selflessness and overall regard for the well-being of others throughout the community.
The Lynx season started out slowly as they lost five straight games to start the season, ending May 0–5. The losing streak was extended to six as the Lynx lost their first game in June. They won their first game of the season on June 3. They followed up the win with another loss, but then beat Los Angeles back to back. They lost two of their next three games, but won two straight games against Seattle to end June with a 6–4 record. Their two-game win streak carried over into July, where the Lynx won their first three games of the month. This five game winning streak was followed by a three-game losing streak. The Lynx would win four of their last five games of the month to finish July with a 7–4 record, and make it back to .500 overall. The better fortunes would not stick around to begin August as the Lynx lost three of their first four games. They did win three of their next four before losing the last two games of the month to finish August 4–6. Entering September, the Lynx were solidly in the hunt for a playoff spot. They won their first two games of the month and secured a playoff spot on September 5. They would lose their last two games of the season and finish September 2–2.
The Lynx finished the season 19–21, which saw them finish in a tie for fifth place in the playoff standings. In the tiebreaker with the Atlanta Dream and the Washington Mystics they finished second. The tiebreaker was overall record against the teams and Minnesota was 3–3. As the sixth overall seed in the 2023 WNBA Playoffs the Lynx would face off against the Connecticut Sun, with the first two games of the series being in Connecticut. In the first game of the series, the Sun got off to a hot start and ended up winning game one 90–60. Needing to win to force a third game, the Lynx won a close game in Connecticut 82–75. However, they could not seal the series at home, losing 75–90 to end their season.
Transactions
WNBA draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country 1 2 Diamond Miller Maryland 1 12 Maïa Hirsch ESB Villeneuve-d'Ascq 2 16 Dorka Juhász UConn 2 24 Brea Beal South Carolina 3 28 Taylor Soule Virginia Tech
Transactions DateTransaction November 3, 2022 Signed Head Coach Cheryl Reeve to Multi-Year Contract Extension. Reeve also promoted to President of basketball operations December 13, 2022 Named Clare Duwelius as General Manager January 13, 2023 Extended Qualifying Offers to Bridget Carleton and Anna Cruz January 16, 2023 Maya Moore officially announced her retirement from the WNBA February 3, 2023 Signed Damiris Dantas, Bridget Carleton, Lindsay Allen, Nikolina Milić, and Tiffany Mitchell February 4, 2023 Signed Kiana Williams, Stephanie Watts, and Maya Dodson to Training Camp Contracts February 18, 2023 Signed Rachel Banham March 15, 2023 Hired Kristin Haynie as Assistant Coach April 14, 2023 Signed Diamond Miller, Dorka Juhász, Brea Beal, and Taylor Soule to Rookie Scale Contracts Signed Myah Selland and Keishana Washington to Training Camp Contracts April 20, 2023 Assistant Coach Kristin Haynie announces she will leave to become the head coach at Central Michigan April 26, 2023 Hired Elaine Powell as Assistant Coach May 3, 2023 Waived Keishana Washington May 8, 2023 Waived Stephanie Watts and Kiana Williams May 14, 2023 Waived Maya Dodson and Myah Selland May 16, 2023 Waived Brea Beal May 18, 2023 Waived Damiris Dantas and Taylor Soule Placed Natalie Achonwa on the Inactive List due to Pregnancy/Child-Birth June 14, 2023 Signed Emily Engstler to a Hardship Contract June 26, 2023 Signed Kayana Traylor to a Hardship Contract July 20, 2023 Released Kayana Traylor from the Hardship Contract July 26, 2023 Released Emily Engstler from the Hardship Contract July 28, 2023 Signed Emily Engstler to a 7-Day Contract September 8, 2023 Signed Kayla McBride to a Contract Extension
Roster Changes
Additions
PersonnelSignedFormer team Tiffany Mitchell Free Agency Indiana Fever Diamond Miller Draft Pick 2023 Draft Pick Dorka Juhász Draft Pick 2023 Draft Pick
Subtractions PersonnelReasonNew team Sylvia Fowles Retired Moriah Jefferson Free Agency Phoenix Mercury Damiris Dantas Waived -
Roster
Depth Pos.StarterBench PG Lindsay Allen Tiffany Mitchell SG Kayla McBride Rachel Banham SF Diamond Miller Bridget CarletonAerial Powers PF Napheesa Collier Nikolina Milić C Jessica Shepard Dorka JuhászNatalie Achonwa(inactive)
Schedule
Preseason
| 1 | May 5 | Washington | W 72–69 | Diamond Miller (19) | Dorka Juhász (10) | Tiffany Mitchell (6) | Target Center5,001 | 1–0 |- | 2 | May 13 | vs. Chicago | L 74–82 | Tiffany Mitchell (19) | JuhászMcBride (6) | Tiffany Mitchell (6) | Scotiabank Arena19,800 | 1–1
Regular season
| 1 | May 19 | Chicago | L 66–77 | Napheesa Collier (17) | Jessica Shepard (8) | Jessica Shepard (7) | Target Center8,024 | 0–1 |- | 2 | May 23 | Atlanta | L 77–83 | Napheesa Collier (20) | Jessica Shepard (10) | Napheesa Collier (5) | Target Center7,803 | 0–2 |- | 3 | May 25 | @ Phoenix | L 81–90 | Aerial Powers (20) | Napheesa Collier (7) | CollierMitchell (4) | Footprint Center6,057 | 0–3 |- | 4 | May 28 | @ Las Vegas | L 73–94 | Napheesa Collier (21) | Jessica Shepard (15) | Jessica Shepard (7) | Michelob Ultra Arena7,970 | 0–4 |- | 5 | May 30 | @ Dallas | L 89–94 | Kayla McBride (18) | Jessica Shepard (10) | Jessica Shepard (5) | College Park Center3,484 | 0–5
| 6 | June 1 | Connecticut | L 84–89 | Napheesa Collier (30) | Jessica Shepard (12) | CollierShepard (4) | Target Center8,124 | 0–6 |- | 7 | June 3 | @ Washington | W 80–78 | Kayla McBride (24) | Napheesa Collier (9) | Jessica Shepard (6) | Entertainment and Sports Arena3,534 | 1–6 |- style="background:#ccc;" | 8 | June 7 | @ New York | colspan=4 | Postponed until July 28 due to poor air quality | Barclays Center
| 9 | June 9 | Indiana | L 69–71 | Napheesa Collier (28) | Napheesa Collier (14) | AllenShepard (4) | Target Center8,510 | 1–7 |- | 10 | June 11 | Los Angeles | W 91–86 | Napheesa Collier (24) | Jessica Shepard (13) | Napheesa Collier (6) | Target Center8,025 | 2–7 |- style="background:#bbffbb" | 11 | June 16 | @ Los Angeles | W 77–72 | Napheesa Collier (25) | Napheesa Collier (6) | Rachel Banham (6) | Crypto.com Arena5,265 | 3–7 |- | 12 | June 18 | @ Las Vegas | L 62–93 | Napheesa Collier (18) | Dorka Juhász (9) | CarletonJuhász (3) | Michelob Ultra Arena8,036 | 3–8 |- | 13 | June 20 | @ Los Angeles | W 67–61 | Napheesa Collier (26) | Napheesa Collier (14) | Lindsay Allen (8) | Crypto.com Arena4,180 | 4–8 |- | 14 | June 22 | Connecticut | L 68–89 | Napheesa Collier (21) | CollierEngstler (7) | Lindsay Allen (7) | Target Center7,024 | 4–9 |- | 15 | June 27 | Seattle | W 104–93 | Napheesa Collier (33) | Dorka Juhász (12) | Lindsay Allen (9) | Target Center7,014 | 5–9 |- | 16 | June 29 | @ Seattle | W 99–97 (OT) | Napheesa Collier (31) | CollierJuhász (8) | Lindsay Allen (6) | Climate Pledge Arena6,894 | 6–9
| 17 | July 1 | @ Phoenix | W 86–76 | Diamond Miller (25) | Napheesa Collier (9) | Lindsay Allen (8) | Footprint Center8,777 | 7–9 |- | 18 | July 5 | Indiana | W 90–83 | Napheesa Collier (32) | Napheesa Collier (8) | Lindsay Allen (6) | Target Center7,624 | 8–9 |- | 19 | July 7 | Phoenix | W 75–64 | Napheesa Collier (12) | Napheesa Collier (12) | Napheesa Collier (5) | Target Center7,714 | 9–9 |- | 20 | July 9 | Las Vegas | L 89–113 | Napheesa Collier (18) | CarletonCollierMilić (5) | Rachel Banham (7) | Target Center7,701 | 9–10 |- | 21 | July 12 | Dallas | L 67–107 | Napheesa Collier (11) | AllenMilić (5) | AllenBanham (6) | Target Center13,351 | 9–11 |- | 22 | July 18 | @ Atlanta | L 73–82 | Napheesa Collier (35) | Dorka Juhász (12) | Lindsay Allen (5) | Gateway Center Arena2,394 | 9–12 |- | 23 | July 20 | Los Angeles | W 73–70 | Napheesa Collier (22) | Dorka Juhász (10) | Diamond Miller (9) | Target Center7,014 | 10–12 |- | 24 | July 22 | Las Vegas | L 81–98 | Diamond Miller (17) | CollierJuhász (8) | Lindsay Allen (4) | Target Center7,801 | 10–13 |- | 25 | July 26 | Washington | W 97–92 | Napheesa Collier (24) | Napheesa Collier (11) | Diamond Miller (9) | Target Center7,024 | 11–13 |- | 26 | July 28 | New York | W 88–83 | Kayla McBride (26) | Dorka Juhász (10) | AllenMcBrideShepard (4) | Barclays Center6,129 | 12–13 |- | 27 | July 30 | @ Connecticut | W 87–83 | Kayla McBride (19) | Jessica Shepard (14) | Lindsay Allen (6) | Mohegan Sun Arena8,275 | 13–13
| 28 | August 1 | @ Connecticut | L 69–79 | Lindsay Allen (16) | Dorka Juhász (11) | Diamond Miller (6) | Mohegan Sun Arena4,894 | 13–14 |- | 29 | August 4 | New York | L 66–76 | Napheesa Collier (18) | Jessica Shepard (11) | Lindsay Allen (10) | Target Center7,631 | 13–15 |- | 30 | August 8 | @ Chicago | W 88–79 | Napheesa Collier (29) | Diamond Miller (11) | Kayla McBride (7) | Wintrust Arena5,099 | 14–15 |- | 31 | August 10 | @ Indiana | L 73–91 | Rachel Banham (18) | Jessica Shepard (7) | Lindsay Allen (5) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse2,551 | 14–16 |- | 32 | August 18 | @ Seattle | W 78–70 | Napheesa Collier (24) | Dorka Juhász (12) | CollierJuhászMcBride (4) | Climate Pledge Arena8,865 | 15–16 |- | 33 | August 20 | Seattle | L 74–88 | Kayla McBride (18) | Napheesa Collier (9) | Diamond Miller (6) | Target Center6,525 | 15–17 |- | 34 | August 22 | Dallas | W 91–86 | Napheesa Collier (29) | Napheesa Collier (7) | Dorka Juhász (7) | Target Center6,291 | 16–17 |- | 35 | August 24 | @ Dallas | W 90–81 | Napheesa Collier (25) | CollierMcBride (7) | Tiffany Mitchell (7) | College Park Center3,931 | 17–17 |- | 36 | August 26 | New York | L 76–111 | Diamond Miller (18) | Diamond Miller (9) | Rachel Banham (4) | Target Center7,101 | 17–18 |- | 37 | August 29 | @ Washington | L 72–83 | Diamond Miller (25) | Napheesa Collier (10) | CollierJuhász (4) | Entertainment and Sports Arena3,708 | 17–19
| 38 | September 1 | Atlanta | W 91–85 (OT) | Napheesa Collier (27) | Napheesa Collier (17) | JuhászMitchell (6) | Target Center7,114 | 18–19 |- | 39 | September 3 | Phoenix | W 86–73 | Kayla McBride (23) | Napheesa Collier (16) | Dorka Juhász (8) | Target Center7,314 | 19–19 |- | 40 | September 8 | @ Chicago | L 87–92 | Napheesa Collier (28) | Dorka Juhász (10) | CollierJuhászMitchell (5) | Wintrust Arena7,994 | 19–20 |- | 41 | September 10 | @ Indiana | L 72–87 | Kayla McBride (24) | CollierJuhász (10) | Tiffany Mitchell (3) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse4,009 | 19–21
Playoffs
| 1 | September 13 | @ Connecticut | L 60–90 | Kayla McBride (16) | CollierJuhász (6) | Kayla McBride (3) | Mohegan Sun Arena 5,056 | 0–1 |- | 2 | September 17 | @ Connecticut | W 82–75 | Kayla McBride (28) | Napheesa Collier (13) | Dorka Juhász (6) | Mohegan Sun Arena 6,673 | 1–1 |- | 3 | September 20 | Connecticut | L 75–90