Was Cheryl Reeve born with magical powers? That’s a question that The IX Sports Podcast Women’s Basketball Edition hosts Jackie Powell and Howard Megdal ponder while discussing the Minnesota Lynx’s hot start to the season.
The duo is joined by The IX Sports’ Lynx beat reporter Terry Horstman, who has been on the ground covering how the Lynx have done what they have without play from franchise player Napheesa Collier.
As Megdal explained, the team has an 8-2 record following a victory over the Golden State Valkyries Thursday, along with the top-ranked defense and the second-ranked offense in the league. At least some of this, the hosts argue, must be coming from Reeve and her coaching staff.
“The biggest thing to my view … is that Olivia Miles is an all-league star right now, which is not reasonable for anyone to have expected, but she is doing things as a rookie that no one should have any right to expect. And so from my view, it’s — you have an all-league type player right now, another all-league type player set to come back [in Napheesa Collier],” Megdal said.
Powell pointed out that Miles may be a key part in further success down the road for Reeves.
“I have to point toward NPR for doing an excellent interview with Napheesa Collier, where they really probed about … ‘Why did you just sign a one year deal?’ And it seems clear to me that Napheesa Collier is not sold — or wasn’t sold on Minnesota in the long term, when she signed the deal. So essentially, if Olivia Miles continues to do this, that proves to Napheesa Collier, ‘You know what, maybe, maybe I should stay, maybe this, this partnership with Olivia Miles, this is maybe what should keep me in Minnesota,’” Powell said.
Tune in to the podcast to hear more about the Lynx’s hot start, and what challenges they could face moving later into the season.
Also on this week’s episode, Megdal asks Powell to break down Toronto Tempo Head Coach Sandy Brondello’s return to the Barclays Center for the first time since her departure from the New York Liberty.
Make sure to subscribe to The IX Sports Podcast for in-depth coverage of women’s soccer, hockey and basketball; and tune in each weekday morning for a quick overview of the biggest headlines on Women’s Sports Daily, like WNBA news and PWHL expansion updates.
What you missed on today’s episode of Women’s Sports Daily: A look at the WNBA’s Commissioner’s Cup (so far)
