The 2024 Minnesota Lynx season was the 26th season for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the fifteenth season under head coach Cheryl Reeve.
The season tipped-off on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Seattle against the Seattle Storm.
The Lynx went 4–1 in the WNBA Commissioner's Cup Western Conference standings, and clinched a spot in the Cup Final against the New York Liberty on June 13, 2024. This is the first time in the Lynx history that they represented the Western Conference in the Cup, since it started in 2021. Napheesa Collier was named MVP of the 2024 WNBA Commissioner's Cup Final, as the Lynx defeated the Liberty 94–89.
Cheryl Reeve was named the Coach of the Year and Napheesa Collier was named the Defensive Player of the Year on September 22, 2024. Collier was also named to the AP All-WNBA First team.
The Lynx wrapped the season having won 14 out of the 16 games after the Olympic break. The team had the highest number of assists per game and highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. A little over 76% of their baskets were done with an assist in the regular season. They finished the regular season with a 30–10 record and headed into the playoffs ranked second in the league.
The players have noted the early chemistry of the team even with several players added to the roster this season. Alanna Smith on this year's team: "We've all acknowledged that we've never been on a team quite like what we are now and it's kind of fitting we've drawn it out as long as possible, with both series' going to five games, because we don't want to leave each other," Smith laughs.
"We've all had so much fun playing together, it's been an absolute joy to be around this team, the coaches and staff. It's really rare to be a part of something like this and it's really rare to experience that and also win as well."
Seimone Augustus commented on the 2024 team chemistry and culture: "Every player kind of resembles one of the players from the original dynasty team, as far as their game and how they approach the game. Even their character, their personalities, I’m like, ‘We’re back, we’re back in the mix‘."
Playoffs In the postseason opener against the Phoenix Mercury at Target Center on September 22, 2024, the Lynx made playoff history by having seven players with 3+ assists. This had never happened in the playoffs and only happened six times in the regular season. The team also had the largest assist rate in WNBA playoffs history with 30 assists on 34 field goals made. The Lynx won over the Mercury with a score of 102–95. The Lynx swept the Mercury by winning the second game on September 25, 2024, with a score of 101–88, advancing to the semifinals against the Connecticut Sun. In these two games, the Lynx set the highest amount of assists on field goals made (FGM) with 58 assists on 68 FGM (85.3% of makes assisted on).
Semifinals With the Lynx win against the Sun on October 8, 2024, in game 5 of the semifinals, the Lynx have the most postseason wins in WNBA history (with 48). In this same game, the Lynx set another league record by having three players in a postseason game have 16+ field goal attempts while shooting 50+%. The three Lynx players were Napheesa Collier, Courtney Williams, and Kayla McBride. The Lynx went to the finals for the seventh time, the most in WNBA history.
Finals In Game 1 of the finals against the New York Liberty on October 10, 2024, the Lynx became the first WNBA team in postseason history to win after trailing by 15+ points in the final five minutes of regulation. The Lynx won in overtime 95–93. The Lynx also became the first team to win a WNBA finals game in overtime on the road. The trio of Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, and Courtney Williams became the first in Lynx history to each score 20+ points in a finals game. The game had the highest number of viewers of any WNBA Finals Game 1 with 1.1 million viewers and 1.5 million viewers at the peak.
Transactions
WNBA draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country 1 8 Alissa Pili Utah 3 31 Kiki Jefferson Louisville
Transactions DateTransaction December 11, 2023 Renounced the rights to Anna Cruz and Kelsey Griffin January 12, 2024 Extended a Qualifying Offer to Nikolina Milić January 31, 2024 Acquired Natisha Hiedeman in exchange for Tiffany Mitchell and the 19th pick in the 2024 draft Suspended Jessica Shepard for the season due to Prioritization Rules February 1, 2024 Signed Courtney Williams Signed Alanna Smith Re-signed Bridget Carleton February 2, 2024 Signed Elizabeth Dixon to a Training Camp Contract Signed Kayana Traylor to a Training Camp Contract February 6, 2024 Signed Taylor Soule to a Training Camp Contract February 13, 2024 Signed Jaime Nared to a Training Camp Contract February 16, 2024 Signed Ruthy Hebard to a Training Camp Contract March 4, 2024 Signed Olivia Époupa to a Training Camp Contract April 14, 2024 Acquired Sika Koné, the eighth pick in the 2024 draft, the Chicago Sky's 2025 second-round pick, and the rights to swap first-round picks with Chicago in the 2026 draft in exchange for the seventh pick in the 2024 draft and Nikolina Milić. April 19, 2024 Signed Cecilia Zandalasini to a Training Camp Contract Waived Elizabeth Dixon April 23, 2024 Signed Camryn Taylor to a Training Camp Contract Signed Mimi Collins to a Training Camp Contract Signed Quinesha Lockett to a Training Camp Contract May 5, 2024 Waived Mimi Collins and Jaime Nared May 9, 2024 Waived Ruthy Hebard, Kiki Jefferson, and Quinesha Lockett May 11, 2024 Waived Camryn Taylor and Kayana Traylor May 13, 2024 Suspended the contract of Dorka Juhász May 24, 2024 Activated Dorka Juhász Waived Taylor Soule August 20, 2024 Minnesota acquired Myisha Hines-Allen from the Washington Mystics in exchange for Olivia Époupa, Sika Koné, and a 2026 second-round pick.September 19, 2024Re-signed Olivia Époupa
Roster changes
Additions PersonnelSigned/TradeFormer team Olivia Époupa Signed — Natisha Hiedeman Trade Connecticut Sun Myisha Hines-Allen Trade Washington Mystics Kiki Jefferson Draft Louisville Sika Koné Trade Chicago Sky Alissa Pili Draft Utah Alanna Smith Signed Chicago Sky Taylor Soule Signed Chicago Sky Courtney Williams Signed Chicago Sky Cecilia Zandalasini Signed —
Subtractions PersonnelReasonNew team Lindsay Allen Free Agency Chicago Sky Rachel Banham Free Agency Connecticut Sun Olivia Époupa Trade Washington Mystics Sika Koné Trade Washington Mystics Nikolina Milić Trade Chicago Sky Kiki Jefferson Waived – Tiffany Mitchell Trade Connecticut Sun Aerial Powers Free Agency Atlanta Dream Jessica Shepard Prioritization Rules — Taylor Soule Waived —
Roster
Depth Pos.StarterBench PG Courtney Williams Natisha HiedemanOlivia Époupa SG Kayla McBride Diamond Miller SF Bridget Carleton Cecilia Zandalasini PF Napheesa Collier Myisha Hines-AllenAlissa Pili C Alanna Smith Dorka Juhász
Schedule Pre-season
| 1 | May 3 | Chicago | W 92–81 | Collier, Williams (17) | Époupa, Traylor (5) | Natisha Hiedeman (6) | Target Center7,010 | 1–0 |- | 2 | May 8 | @ Washington | W 83–77 | Napheesa Collier (15) | Napheesa Collier (7) | Courtney Williams (6) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,112 | 2–0
Regular season
| 1 | May 14 | @ Seattle | W 83–70 | Alanna Smith (22) | Napheesa Collier (12) | Courtney Williams (7) | Climate Pledge Arena8,508 | 1–0 |- | 2 | May 17 | Seattle | W 102–93 (2OT) | Napheesa Collier (29) | Napheesa Collier (9) | Natisha Hiedeman (7) | Target Center7,208 | 2–0 |- | 3 | May 23 | @ Connecticut | L 82–83 (OT) | Napheesa Collier (31) | Napheesa Collier (11) | Courtney Williams (6) | Mohegan Sun Arena6,152 | 2–1 |- | 4 | May 25 | New York | W 84–67 | Smith, Collier (15) | Napheesa Collier (12) | McBride, Williams (5) | Target Center7,010 | 3–1 |- | 5 | May 26 | @ Atlanta | W 92–79 | Kayla McBride (31) | Napheesa Collier (8) | Napheesa Collier (7) | Gateway Center Arena3,265 | 4–1 |- | 6 | May 29 | Las Vegas | L 66–80 | Napheesa Collier (18) | Napheesa Collier (13) | Courtney Williams (8) | Target Center7,409 | 4–2 |- | 7 | May 31 | Phoenix | W 95–71 | Alissa Pili (20) | Napheesa Collier (11) | Hiedeman, Williams (5) | Target Center7,035 | 5–2
| 8 | June 2 | Dallas | W 87–76 | Kayla McBride (25) | Napheesa Collier (14) | Carleton, Collier, McBride (4) | Target Center7,024 | 6–2 |- | 9 | June 5 | @ Los Angeles | W 86–62 | Napheesa Collier (25) | Napheesa Collier (9) | Hiedeman, Smith, Williams (4) | Crypto.com Arena8,104 | 7–2 |- | 10 | June 7 | @ Phoenix | L 80–81 | Kayla McBride (25) | Napheesa Collier (12) | Collier, Smith (6) | Footprint Center9,052 | 7–3 |- | 11 | June 9 | Seattle | W 83–64 | Kayla McBride (32) | Napheesa Collier (14) | Époupa, Smith (7) | Target Center7,121 | 8–3 |- | 12 | June 11 | @ Las Vegas | W 100–86 | Alanna Smith (18) | Napheesa Collier (6) | Courtney Williams (9) | Michelob Ultra Arena10,368 | 9–3 |- | 13 | June 14 | Los Angeles | W 81–76 | Napheesa Collier (30) | Courtney Williams (8) | Courtney Williams (10) | Target Center8,117 | 10–3 |- | 14 | June 17 | Dallas | W 90–78 | Kayla McBride (19) | Alanna Smith (9) | Kayla McBride (7) | Target Center8,314 | 11–3 |- | 15 | June 19 | Atlanta | W 68–55 | Napheesa Collier (16) | Dorka Juhász (11) | Courtney Williams (6) | Target Center8,206 | 12–3 |- | 16 | June 22 | Phoenix | W 73–60 | Napheesa Collier (23) | Napheesa Collier (14) | Alanna Smith (5) | Target Center8,769 | 13–3 |- | Commissioner'sCup Final | June 25 | New York | W 94–89 | Bridget Carleton (23) | Collier, Smith (6) | Courtney Williams (8) | UBS Arena7,015 | — |- | 17 | June 27 | @ Dallas | L 88–94 | Napheesa Collier (29) | Napheesa Collier (11) | Carleton, Collier, McBride,Smith, Williams (4) | College Park Center6,251 | 13–4 |- | 18 | June 30 | @ Chicago | W 70–62 | Kayla McBride (16) | Napheesa Collier (11) | Napheesa Collier (6) | Wintrust Arena9,025 | 14–4
| 19 | July 2 | @ New York | L 67–76 | Kayla McBride (17) | Napheesa Collier (10) | Collier, Smith (6) | Barclays Center10,846 | 14–5 |- | 20 | July 4 | Connecticut | L 73–78 | Alanna Smith (14) | Kayla McBride (8) | Courtney Williams (6) | Target Center7,508 | 14–6 |- | 21 | July 6 | Washington | W 74–67 | McBride, Williams (17) | Dorka Juhász (11) | Courtney Williams (7) | Target Center7,610 | 15–6 |- | 22 | July 9 | @ Los Angeles | W 82–67 | Bridget Carleton (16) | Juhász, Smith (6) | Courtney Williams (5) | Crypto.com Arena9,533 | 16–6 |- | 23 | July 12 | @ Seattle | L 63–91 | Kayla McBride (27) | Dorka Juhász (7) | Alanna Smith (5) | Climate Pledge Arena8,320 | 16–7 |- | 24 | July 14 | Indiana | L 74–81 | Alanna Smith (18) | Alanna Smith (8) | Courtney Williams (7) | Target Center18,978 | 16–8
| 25 | July 17 | Atlanta | W 86–79 | Kayla McBride (30) | Alanna Smith (10) | Courtney Williams (9) | Target Center15,013 | 17–8
| 26 | August 15 | Washington | W 79–68 | Napheesa Collier (17) | Napheesa Collier (12) | Courtney Williams (5) | Target Center7,224 | 18–8
| 27 | August 17 | @ Washington | W 99–83 | Napheesa Collier (30) | Smith, Williams (7) | Natisha Hiedeman (6) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 19–8
| 28 | August 21 | @ Las Vegas | W 98–87 | Napheesa Collier (23) | Collier, Williams (7) | Courtney Williams (10) | Michelob Ultra Arena10,429 | 20–8 |- | 29 | August 23 | Las Vegas | W 87–74 | Napheesa Collier (27) | Napheesa Collier (18) | Napheesa Collier (5) | Target Center9,124 | 21–8
| 30 | August 24 | Indiana | W 90–80 | Napheesa Collier (31) | Napheesa Collier (5) | Courtney Williams (6) | Target Center19,023 | 22–8
| 31 | August 28 | @ Phoenix | W 89–76 | Kayla McBride (19) | Napheesa Collier (8) | Carleton, Collier, Williams (5) | Footprint Center9,482 | 23–8 |- | 32 | August 30 | @ Dallas | L 76–94 | Napheesa Collier (17) | Napheesa Collier (10) | Napheesa Collier (5) | College Park Center5,581 | 23–9
| 33 | September 1 | Chicago | W 79–74 | Courtney Williams (22) | Dorka Juhász (6) | Courtney Williams (6) | Target Center8,421