2018 Minnesota Lynx season
CoachCheryl Reeve
ArenaTarget Center
Attendance10,036 per game
Results
Record18–16 (.529)
Place4th (Western)
Playoff finish7th seed, lost in the First Round to Los Angeles 68–75
Team Leaders
PointsMaya Moore – 18.0 ppg
ReboundsSylvia Fowles – 11.9 rpg
AssistsDanielle Robinson – 3.3 apg
Media
TelevisionFox Sports North, ESPN, NBATV

The 2018 WNBA season of the Minnesota Lynx was their 20th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Lynx finished the 2017 season with a record of 27–7, finishing first in the Western Conference (and the league as a whole) and qualifying for the playoffs, before ultimately beating Los Angeles in the WNBA Finals to win their league-tying best fourth championship.

The Lynx returned to the home arena, Target Center, for the 2018 season, following a year playing at the Xcel Energy Center and Williams Arena due to renovations.

The season started out shakily for the Lynx, going 2–3 in May. The Lynx lost their season opener in a re-match of last years finals to Los Angeles. They also lost on the road to the eventual #2 and #3 playoff seeds, Atlanta and Washington. However, the Lynx turned it around in June, posting a 7–3 record. This included a 6-game winning streak, which included wins over 4 eventual playoff teams. Momentum slowed in July, with the Lynx going 6–4. Three of their four losses in July came versus teams that ended up missing the playoffs. The Lynx finished the season on a cold note, going 3–6 in August. A two-game winning streak separated two three game losing streaks. However, the team won their last game of the season to secure the 7th seed in the playoffs.

The Lynx first-round playoff matchup saw them play in Los Angeles versus the Los Angeles Sparks. This match-up was a re-match of the past 3 WNBA Finals. The Lynx lost the game 68–75.

Transactions

WNBA draft

Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
2 17 Park Ji-su  South Korea Cheongju KB Stars (South Korea)
2 24 Kahlia Lawrence  United States Mercer
3 36 Carlie Wagner  United States Minnesota

WNBA Draft Trades

The Lynx traded the drafts rights to Park Si-Ju and Kahlia Lawrence to the Las Vegas Aces in exchange for the draft rights to Jill Barta and the rights to the Aces's 2nd Round Pick in the 2019 Draft.

Trades and Roster Changes

Date Trade
February 1, 2018 Re-Signed F Rebekkah Brunson[1]
February 7, 2018 Traded F Natasha Howard to the Seattle Storm for a 2018 2nd Round Pick and the ability to swap 2019 1st Round Picks [2]
February 7, 2018 Re-Signed F Cecilia Zandalasini and Signed F Lynetta Kizer and F Endy Miyem[3]
February 28, 2018 Signed F Breanna Richardson[4]
March 6, 2018 Acquired G Danielle Robinson via trade from the Phoenix Mercury and a 2nd Round Pick in 2019 in exchange for the 12th Pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft [5]
March 13, 2018 Signed G Tanisha Wright[6]
April 17, 2018 Signed 3rd Round Picks F Jill Barta and G Carlie Wagner, F G'mrice Davis, F Camille Zimmerman, and C Vionise Pierre-Louis [7]
May 4, 2018 Waived F G'mrice Davis [8]
May 5, 2018 Signed F Jillian Alleyne[9]
May 9, 2018 Waived F Jill Barta, F Breanna Richardson, and C Vionise Pierre-Louis [10]
May 15, 2018 Waived F Jillian Alleyne and G Carlie Wagner [11]
May 17, 2018 Waived F Endy Miyem [12]
June 6, 2018 Re-signed F Endy Miyem [13]
June 30, 2018 Waived F Lynetta Kizer
July 5, 2018 Signed F Lynetta Kizer to a 7-Day Contract
July 12, 2018 Signed F Erlana Larkins to a 7-Day Contract [14]
July 19, 2018 Signed F Erlana Larkins to a 2nd 7-Day Contract
July 30, 2018 Signed F Erlana Larkins to Rest-Of-Season Contract
August 13, 2018 Waived F Endy Miyem
August 14, 2018 Signed G Sydney Colson to Rest-Of-Season Contract

Additions

Player Date Former Team
Lynetta Kizer February 7, 2018 Connecticut Sun[15]
Danielle Robinson March 6, 2018 Phoenix Mercury
Tanisha Wright March 13, 2018 New York Liberty
Endy Miyem June 6, 2018 PF Schio (Italy)

Subtractions

Player Date New Team
Plenette Pierson August 21, 2017 Retired [16]
Renee Montgomery February 1, 2018 Atlanta Dream[17]
Jia Perkins February 1, 2018 Retired [18]
Natasha Howard February 7, 2018 Seattle Storm[19]

Roster

2018 Minnesota Lynx roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
G 33 United States Augustus, Seimone 6' 0" (1.83m) 172 lb (78kg) 04-30-1984 LSU 12
F 32 United States Brunson, Rebekkah 6' 2" (1.88m) 181 lb (82kg) 12-11-1981 Georgetown 14
G 51 United States Colson, Sydney 5' 8" (1.73m) 140 lb (64kg) 08-06-1989 Texas A&M 4
F 14 United Kingdom Fagbenle, Temi 6' 4" (1.93m) 180 lb (82kg) 09-08-1992 USC 1
C 34 United States Fowles, Sylvia 6' 6" (1.98m) 220 lb (100kg) 10-06-1985 LSU 10
G 12 United States Jones, Alexis 5' 9" (1.75m) 166 lb (75kg) 05-08-1994 Baylor 1
F 2 United States Larkins, Erlana 6' 2" (1.88m) 200 lb (91kg) 04-02-1986 North Carolina 8
F 23 United States Moore, Maya 6' 0" (1.83m) 175 lb (79kg) 06-11-1989 Connecticut 7
G 3 United States Robinson, Danielle 5' 9" (1.75m) 128 lb (58kg) 05-10-1989 Oklahoma 6
G 13 United States Whalen, Lindsay 5' 9" (1.75m) 170 lb (77kg) 05-09-1982 Minnesota 14
G 30 United States Wright, Tanisha 5' 11" (1.8m) 166 lb (75kg) 11-29-1983 Penn State 12
F 9 Italy Zandalasini, Cecilia 6' 2" (1.88m) 175 lb (79kg) 03-16-1996 Italy 1
Head coach
United States Cheryl Reeve (La Salle)
Assistant coaches
United States Shelley Patterson (Washington State)
United States James Wade (Kennesaw)
United States Walt Hopkins (University of Nevada, Reno)
Athletic trainer
United States Chuck Barta (Wisconsin-La Crosse)
Assistant trainer
United States Kate Taber (Iowa)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Schedule

Preseason

2018 pre-season game log
Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
May: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
1 May 6 vs. Washington L 85–90 Danielle Robinson (18) Lynetta Kizer (6) Tanisha Wright (4) Wells Fargo Arena
4,203 		0–1
2 May 12 Chicago W 87–58 Sylvia Fowles (17) Sylvia Fowles (9) Maya Moore
Danielle Robinson (5) 		Target Center
5,024 		1–1
2018 season schedule

Regular season

2018 game log
Total: 18–16 (Home: 9–8; Road: 9–8)
May: 2–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
1 May 20 Los Angeles L 76–77 Lindsay Whalen (17) Sylvia Fowles (12) Lindsay Whalen (9) Target Center
13,032 		0–1
2 May 23 Dallas W 76–68 Sylvia Fowles (23) Sylvia Fowles (20) Lindsay Whalen (8) Target Center
7,834 		1–1
3 May 25 @ New York W 78–72 Seimone Augustus (21) Sylvia Fowles (11) Danielle Robinson (5) Westchester County Center
2,315 		2–1
4 May 27 @ Washington L 78–90 Maya Moore (18) Sylvia Fowles (8) Tied (4) Capital One Arena
5,723 		2–2
5 May 29 @ Atlanta L 74–76 Maya Moore (18) Sylvia Fowles (13) Danielle Robinson (6) McCamish Pavilion
3,785 		2–3
June: 7–3 (Home: 4–1; Road: 3–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
6 June 1 Phoenix L 85–95 Maya Moore (25) Sylvia Fowles (11) Tanisha Wright (4) Target Center
8,830 		2–4
7 June 3 @ Los Angeles L 69–77 Maya Moore (18) Sylvia Fowles (8) Sylvia Fowles (5) Staples Center
13,500 		2–5
8 June 7 @ Washington W 88–80 Sylvia Fowles (21) Sylvia Fowles (12) Danielle Robinson (5) Capital One Arena
8,587 		3–5
9 June 9 @ Connecticut L 75–89 Sylvia Fowles (20) Sylvia Fowles (14) Alexis Jones (4) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,771 		3–6
10 June 16 New York W 85–71 Sylvia Fowles (25) Sylvia Fowles (9) Danielle Robinson (8) Target Center
9,114 		4–6
11 June 19 Dallas W 91–83 Maya Moore (21) Sylvia Fowles (17) Maya Moore (7) Target Center
8,023 		5–6
12 June 22 @ Phoenix W 83–72 Maya Moore (23) Rebekkah Brunson (11) Maya Moore (5) Talking Stick Resort Arena
11,349 		6–6
13 June 24 @ Las Vegas W 88–73 Maya Moore (23) Sylvia Fowles (10) Lindsay Whalen (9) Mandalay Bay Arena
4,814 		7–6
14 June 26 Seattle W 91–79 Maya Moore (32) Sylvia Fowles (17) Rebekkah Brunson (6) Target Center
8,634 		8–6
15 June 29 Atlanta W 85–74 Maya Moore (24) Sylvia Fowles (15) Lindsay Whalen (7) Target Center
9,209 		9–6
July: 6–4 (Home: 3–3; Road: 3–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
16 July 1 @ Dallas W 76–72 Maya Moore (26) Sylvia Fowles (9) Lindsay Whalen (6) College Park Center
4,448 		10–6
17 July 3 Indiana L 59–71 Rebekkah Brunson (13) Rebekkah Brunson (12) Rebekkah Brunson (6) Target Center
8,632 		10–7
18 July 5 Los Angeles W 83–72 Sylvia Fowles (27) Rebekkah Brunson (12) Sylvia Fowles (7) Target Center
9,303 		11–7
19 July 7 @ Chicago L 63–77 Maya Moore (16) Sylvia Fowles (13) Danielle Robinson (5) Wintrust Arena
6,139 		11–8
20 July 11 @ Indiana W 87–65 Sylvia Fowles (20) Sylvia Fowles (10) Sylvia Fowles (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
10,006 		12–8
21 July 13 Las Vegas L 77–85 Lindsay Whalen (22) Sylvia Fowles (17) Tied (5) Target Center
9,813 		12–9
22 July 15 Connecticut L 64–83 Sylvia Fowles (12) Sylvia Fowles (8) Temi Fagbenle (4) Target Center
9,234 		12–10
23 July 18 Indiana W 89–65 Sylvia Fowles (30) Sylvia Fowles (16) Erlana Larkins (8) Target Center
17,933 		13–10
24 July 21 @ Phoenix W 80–75 Maya Moore (38) Rebekkah Brunson (11) Danielle Robinson (3) Talking Stick Resort Arena
11,473 		14–10
25 July 24 New York W 85–82 Sylvia Fowles (27) Sylvia Fowles (11) Seimone Augustus (5) Target Center
9,830 		15–10
August: 3–6 (Home: 1–3; Road: 2–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
26 August 2 @ Los Angeles L 57–79 Sylvia Fowles (14) Sylvia Fowles (8) Danielle Robinson (6) Staples Center
9,542 		15–11
27 August 3 @ Seattle L 75–85 Sylvia Fowles (20) Sylvia Fowles (16) Rebekkah Brunson (5) KeyArena
12,064 		15–12
28 August 5 Atlanta L 66–86 Sylvia Fowles (17) Sylvia Fowles (10) Maya Moore (4) Target Center
9.333 		15–13
29 August 7 @ Chicago W 85–64 Maya Moore (31) Sylvia Fowles (11) Danielle Robinson (11) Wintrust Arena
6,388 		16–13
30 August 9 @ Las Vegas W 89–73 Maya Moore (34) Sylvia Fowles (19) Tanisha Wright (6) Mandalay Bay Arena
4,497 		17–13
31 August 12 Seattle L 72–81 Sylvia Fowles (28) Sylvia Fowles (13) Seimone Augustus (6) Target Center
9,123 		17–14
32 August 14 Chicago L 88–91 Maya Moore (21) Sylvia Fowles (13) Tanisha Wright (6) Target Center
9,730 		17–15
33 August 17 @ Connecticut L 79–96 Sylvia Fowles (25) Sylvia Fowles (8) Maya Moore (8) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,089 		17–16
34 August 19 Washington W 88–83 Sylvia Fowles (26) Sylvia Fowles (14) Lindsay Whalen (6) Target Center
13,013 		18–16
2018 season schedule

Playoffs

2018 playoff game log
Total: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
WNBA First Round: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 August 21 @ Los Angeles L 68–75 Sylvia Fowles (18) Sylvia Fowles (12) Lindsay Whalen (5) Staples Center
8,598 		0–1
2018 playoff schedule

Standings

# Western Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
1 Seattle Storm (1)268.765–13–413–411–5
2 Phoenix Mercury (5)2014.58869–811–68–8
3 Los Angeles Sparks (6)1915.559711–68–99–7
4 Minnesota Lynx (7)1816.52989–89–89–7
5 Dallas Wings (8)1519.4411110–75–127–9
6 e –Las Vegas Aces1420.412128–96–114–12

Notes

(#) – Conference Standing, Playoff Seeds shown to the right of team name
x – Qualified for playoffs
e – Eliminated from playoffs

Playoffs

First round:
Single elimination
(Aug. 21)		Second round:
Single elimination
(Aug. 23)		Semifinals:
Best-of-five
(Aug. 26 – Sept. 4)		WNBA Finals:
Best-of-five
(Sept. 7 – Sept. 12)
1Seattle Storm9191668494
4Connecticut Sun865Phoenix Mercury8787868684
5Phoenix Mercury1015Phoenix Mercury961Seattle Storm897598
8Dallas Wings833Washington Mystics767382
2Atlanta Dream8478817681
3Washington Mystics963Washington Mystics8775769786
6Los Angeles Sparks756Los Angeles Sparks64
7Minnesota Lynx68

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

Statistics

Legend
  GP Games 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 game Team leader League leader

Regular season

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% PPG RPG APG SPG BPG
Maya Moore 34 34 31.8 .423 .365 .833 18.0 5.4 2.6 1.7 0.4
Sylvia Fowles 34 34 32.0 .619 .000 .757 17.7 11.9 2.2 1.4 1.2
Seimone Augustus 33 33 26.2 .467 .318 .706 10.8 1.8 2.6 0.4 0.2
Rebekkah Brunson 25 25 27.6 .405 .375 .673 7.2 6.8 2.4 0.8 0.5
Danielle Robinson 28 2 18.6 .445 .158 .854 6.5 1.8 3.3 0.9 0.0
Lindsay Whalen 32 29 19.3 .363 .357 .881 5.7 2.6 3.1 0.7 0.1
Cecilia Zandalasini 29 6 16.5 .409 .383 .840 5.7 1.9 1.1 0.3 0.0
Tanisha Wright 33 4 17.8 .383 .396 .741 4.3 1.6 2.0 0.5 0.1
Sydney Colson 2 0 8.5 .429 .000 .500 3.5 1.0 2.0 0.0 0.5
Alexis Jones 26 0 8.8 .352 .320 .750 3.3 0.9 0.7 0.1 0.1
Temi Fagbenle 30 2 9.4 .506 .000 .696 3.1 2.0 0.6 0.3 0.3
Erlana Larkins 13 0 12.9 .444 .000 1.00 2.1 2.7 1.3 0.7 0.2

Awards and Milestones

Recipient Award/Milestone Date Awarded
Maya Moore WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week June 24, 2018[20]
July 2, 2018 [21]
Rebekkah Brunson WNBA's All-Time Leading Rebounder (3,318) July 5, 2018 [22]
Cheryl Reeve WNBA's Winningest Female Head Coach (206) July 5, 2018 [23]
Maya Moore WNBA Cares Community Assist Award - June July 12, 2018 [24]
Seimone Augustus WNBA All-Star Selection July 17, 2018 [25]
Maya Moore
Sylvia Fowles
Maya Moore Best WNBA Player - ESPY's July 19, 2018 [26]
Rebekkah Brunson WNBA All-Star Selection Replacement July 25, 2018 [27]
Maya Moore WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week August 13, 2018[28]
Sylvia Fowles WNBA Peak Performer – Rebounds August 19, 2018[29]

Top 20 Players

With the Lynx entering their 20th season in the league, the organization began ranking their Top 20 Players of All-Time.[30]

References

  1. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Re-Sign Five-Time WNBA Champion Rebekkah Brunson". lynx.wnba.com. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Acquire Multiple Draft Picks in Exchange for Forward Natasha Howard". lynx.wnba.com. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Re-Sign Forward Cecilia Zandalasini and Add Forwards Lynetta Kizer and Endy Miyem". lynx.wnba.com. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Sign Forward Breanna Richardson". lynx.wnba.com. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Acquire Guard Danielle Robinson and a 2019 Second Round Pick in Exchange for a 2018 First Round Pick". lynx.wnba.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Sign Guard Tanisha Wright". lynx.wnba.com. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Complete 2018 Training Camp Roster". lynx.wnba.com. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Twitter". Lynx PR Twitter. twitter.com. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Lynx Sign Forward Jillian Alleyne". lynx.wnba.com. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Lynx Waive Forwards Jill Barta and Breanna Richardson and Center Vionise Pierre-Louis". lynx.wnba.com. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Waive Forward Jillian Alleyne and Guard Carlie Wagner". lynx.wnba.com. May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Finalize 2018 Roster". lynx.wnba.com. May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Re-Sign Forward Endy Miyem". June 6, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Sign Forward Erlana Larkins". July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Re-Sign Forward Cecilia Zandalasini and Add Forwards Lynetta Kizer and Endy Miyem". lynx.wnba.com. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Minnesota's Plenette Pierson to Retire After 2017 Season". wnba.com. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Atlanta Dream Sign Two-Time WNBA Champion Renee Montgomery". dream.wnba.com. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Lynx lose guard Renee Montgomery to Atlanta, creating backcourt issues". startribune.com. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Acquire Multiple Draft Picks in Exchange for Forward Natasha Howard". lynx.wnba.com. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Atlanta's McCoughtry, Minnesota's Moore Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. June 25, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Elena Delle Donne, Maya Moore Named Players of the Week". wnba.com. WNBA. July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Rebekkah Brunson Becomes WNBA's All-Time Leading Rebounder". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. July 5, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Cheryl Reeve Becomes Winningest Female Head Coach In WNBA History". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. July 5, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  24. ↑ "Minnesota's Moore Receives June WNBA Cares Community Assist Award Presented By State Farm®". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  25. ↑ "2018 WNBA All-Stars Announced; Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker To Serve As Player-Captains". wnba.com. WNBA. July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  26. ↑ "Maya Moore Wins Best WNBA Player At ESPYS". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  27. ↑ "Rebekkah Brunson to Replace Nneka Ogwumike in Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018". wnba.com. WNBA. July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Elena Delle Donne, Maya Moore Named WNBA Players Of The Week (Aug 6-12)". wnba.com. WNBA. August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Cambage, Fowles And Vandersloot Earn 2018 WNBA Peak Performer Awards". wnba.com. WNBA. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Celebrating 20 Seasons | Lynx Top 20 Players". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
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