MINNEAPOLIS — Some of the names on the back of the jerseys have changed, but the expectations that come with wearing ‘Lynx’ across the front remain the same. This has been the sentiment of an offseason filled with turnover for the Minnesota Lynx.
All five members of Minnesota’s starting lineup of the last two seasons, a group that led the league with 64 wins over those two seasons, are playing under some version of a max contract under the new CBA. It’s just that two of them, Bridget Carleton (Portland Fire) and Alanna Smith (Dallas Wings) are cashing those checks elsewhere.
And the league’s biggest free agent frenzy to date didn’t ignore the Lynx’s bench contributors either. By the time the dust settled, Minnesota had to bid a fond farewell to role players like DiJonai Carrington (Chicago Sky), Natisha Hiedeman (Seattle Storm) and Jessica Shepard (Dallas Wings).
However, there are more than a few players returning to Minneapolis in 2026, and with them comes the same old expectations and goals of lifting trophies in a sea of confetti months down the road. As Courtney Williams succinctly put it when asked where amongst the league the Lynx viewed themselves on the eve of this year’s training camp: “The top,” she said without hesitation. “We’re at the top. That’s what we think.”
Kayla McBride, her all-star teammate seated beside her added, “ain’t nothing changed.”
Here’s a look at where the Lynx stand as they head into another season with championship aspirations.
Minnesota’s more than a ‘big three’
According to the timeline provided by the team, the earliest fans can hope to see Napheesa Collier back on the court is early June. The Lynx have eight games on the schedule in the month of May and three more games within the first week of June. But the Lynx, under head coach and president of basketball operations Reeve, have navigated ‘Phee-less’ waters before, and went 7-4 in 11 games without their star in 2025.
When she does return, she’ll join Minnesota’s two other all-star selections of the past two seasons (McBride and Williams) as they continue the chase of that ever-elusive fifth banner to hang in the Target Center rafters.
“We know the chemistry we have, especially with the three of us playing together for so many years now,” Collier said at the press conference announcing the return of all three players. “Then also adding the new people that we’re adding, it’s going to be really exciting to see what they bring to the table.”
Much of the media attention in April focused on those who were departing Minnesota. The Lynx, however, zeroed in on retaining their all-star core and figuring out the best ways in which to add around those three to hang onto their place among the best teams in the WNBA.
“Everything we do has a purpose towards building sustained success,” Reeve said to reporters after the second day of training camp. “That’s not making any panic moves and things like that … It is hard to have a team like we’ve had here the last two years. Our big three may not be, as compared to other big threes, other people might find sexier big threes out there, but our strength has been in the balance that we are so much more than a big three.”
Ensuring the collective return of Collier, McBride and Williams to Minnesota was a top priority for Reeve in the offseason. But for Minnesota to shine as bright as it has spearheaded by its big three over the last two seasons, it’s going to take contributions from every part of the roster.
The rookie sensation
The opportunity to select point guard Olivia Miles out of TCU by way of Notre Dame was Minnesota’s prize acquisition of this offseason. Before Miles had even touched down in Minnesota, Reeve wasted no time in making it known that the possibilities for her new point guard reach the Target Center rafters and beyond.
“She’s the first real point guard we’ve had since Lindsay Whalen,” Reeve said during her post-draft media availability. “When I say ‘real,’ you know, that kind of generational [passer], and makes a living doing it. We’re really excited, for sure. [She’s] really excited. [Whalen] feels like Olivia Miles is a way better point guard than she was, the way she sees the floor and pick and roll. It’s just a great story, a great connection, and we’re excited for Liv’s future as a Lynx.”
Reeve doesn’t throw the term ‘generational’ around lightly. That kind of high praise from the coaching for Miles’ game and the level she’s already reached at a young age is consistent with the praise she’s already received from her veteran teammates, including a very excited text McBride reportedly sent to Reeve moments after Miles’ draft selection was official.
“Liv’s court vision and her passing ability is amazing,” Collier said of the rookie during Lynx media day. “I’ve never played with a player like that before, so it’s been fun to watch her get even better these past couple weeks, under Cheryl’s system, learning how we play and adjusting in that way. That’s been really fun so I’m excited to get out there with her and reap the benefits of it.”
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The high expectations for Miles extend beyond Minnesota around the league. Results of the recent annual WNBA GMs survey returned a 73% vote among the league’s powerbrokers predicting Miles to hoist the Rookie of the Year Trophy at season’s end.
“It’s going to be so hard to guard us,” Williams said during the team’s Zoom presser with national media on May 5. “Court is bringing up the ball full speed and then the next play you’ve gotta guard me bringing up the ball full speed, and you’ve got to worry about Mac on the corner who we’re both looking to hit for a three. It’s going to be fun, we’re going to bounce off each other. We’re going to go through some ups and downs, but the most important part is staying together and learning each other through those moments.”
Miles’ generational passing is what will always receive top-billing, but Reeve points to her curiosity as the trait setting her apart from the scores of players who have come before her, who struggled with the transition from college to the pros.
“[She’s] really stepped onto the court confident knowing not only that she belongs, but what her impact can be on our franchise,” Reeve said. “In terms of coming right out of the college season right into this, I think it can be hard on some people, but I think she’s made a seamless transition. She’s been a sponge. I’ve really appreciated her curiosity. I didn’t think anybody had Courtney topped with the curiosity, but Liv does.”
Welcome, and welcome back
Some new and familiar faces are rounding out Minnesota’s roster in 2026. Dorka Juhász is back with the Lynx after sitting out the 2025 season. She returns stateside with a EuroLeague Women MVP Award for her standout season with Galatasaray (good news), but also an ailing ankle (not so good). Natasha Howard, who won a ring in 2017 during her first stint with the Lynx, and two more with Seattle (and freshly coming off her first WCBA title in China to boot), signed a two-year deal to play in Minnesota again and brings toughness and poise to the team’s group of post players.
“I feel good being back here,” Howard told reporters after her first practice after returning from China. “I told Cheryl, when the time comes I’ll be back here to finish my career off. I’m grateful to be back playing with an amazing coach, playing with Mac, Phee, we all played in Turkey together. ”
Joining Howard in the veteran forward acquisition department is Minneapolis native Nia Coffey, who spent the last four years with the Atlanta Dream and played alongside McBride for two seasons in 2017-18 with San Antonio/Las Vegas.
“Obviously it’s tough when you lose pieces of your core,” McBride said on the team’s media day. “But we also have our core with me, Phee, and Courtney. I’ve played with [Howard] and [Coffey], I’ve played with Dorka before so we already have our chemistry, but that will come with time. Right now we’re just worried about getting to know each other … That’s the journey every year, you know, figuring out who each other is, how we can make this work. I think Cheryl’s a mastermind at putting people in places to be successful.”
The Lynx added Rachel Galligan as a full-time international scout to their basketball operations department in the offseason and added a healthy dose of European flair to this year’s roster. Emma Cechova, a 6-foot-5 center who earned All-Star 5 honors for Czechia during FIBA World Cup Qualifying, turned in an impressive WNBA preseason debut, accounting for 16 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks in a 73-66 win against the Toronto Tempo about 36 hours after she landed in Minneapolis for the first time. Her national team teammate, point guard Eliska Hamzova, featured heavily in all three of Minnesota’s preseason wins.
Belgian sharpshooter Antonia Delaere is set to make her WNBA debut after several seasons across Europe, and Dutch center Emese Hof made a little bit of franchise history by becoming the first player signed by the team to a developmental contract in the new CBA era.
Continuing the trend of standout international talent is second-year player Ola Kosu, who the Lynx took with the No. 15 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Kosu had a successful season in her native Russia, helping UMMC Ekaterinberg win its 18th Russian Premier League title and also earned Premier League Playoff MVP honors in the process.
“I think she’s somebody that can really give us a lift each time she’s in there,” Reeve said after the game against the Tempo, Kosu’s lone preseason outing after arriving from Russia. “She’s just going to hunt loose balls, rebounds, that’s the stuff that wins games.”
Reeve also added to her contingent of guards on May 6th by acquiring guard and four-year veteran Maya Caldwell from the Portland Fire in exchange for a 2028 3rd-round draft pick ahead of the league deadline to trim the roster to 12.
The waiting game
As Tom Petty sang, ‘the waiting is the hardest part,’ and the early part of the season where the Lynx must wait while Collier and Juhász are on the mend will present an immediate challenge to Minnesota.
“I think sort of the hand we’ve been dealt with our MVP missing the beginning, and Juhász missing the beginning of the season, we’re going to have an identity to start the season, and we’re going to have an identity that we shift into once we get whole,” Reeve said during a Zoom presser with national media on May 5. I think like we always do, we’re going to be ready to start the season and know what we do well. We’re going to position players to do the things that they do great. They’re going to buy into everything that we’re doing and we’ll put our best foot forward.”
Reeve elaborated on that by saying the Lynx will likely depend on being “more guard-oriented” than perhaps they’ve been in the past. The veteran leadership of Williams and McBride combined with the lofty expectations of their rookie sensation will be essential to helping the Lynx start the season on the right foot.
Approximately 24 hours after making those comments to the media, Reeve made the trade for Caldwell, further bolstering the team’s guard depth.
The Lynx tore through the early days of the season in 2025, blitzing the league to the tune of a 9-0 start. They’ll need everyone available playing at their best to have a similar start of stacking wins during the absence of Collier and Juhász.
“I feel good about it,” Williams said on having to play without Collier. “We had to play without Phee last year, so you know, we’re going to hold it down until she comes back.”
Collier did say on the team’s media day on May 3 that her “rehab is going well” and that she’s “ahead of schedule with things.” Much of the way the Lynx will be viewed entering the season will be determined how well they hold up without their MVP candidate and how quickly they can assimilate once she returns.
No one in Minnesota is aiming lower than they always have been, though, not even the youngest Lynx among them, who hasn’t hesitated to echo the organizational expectations that reach as high as those banners hang above the court.
“I feel like the sky’s the limit for us,” Miles said. “Once we’re really getting comfortable and learning and tweaking a few things, me learning where Court likes to get the ball in her spots, Court is an incredible passer as well. We’re really just learning each other and it’s been beautiful each day to see the growth and the chemistry grow.”
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