2017 Minnesota Lynx season

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2017 Minnesota Lynx season
Head Coach Cheryl Reeve
Arena Xcel Energy Center (Regular Season)
Williams Arena (Playoffs)
Attendance 10,407 per game
Results
Record 27–7
(.794)
Place 1st (Western)
Playoff Finish WNBA Champions
Team Leaders
Points Fowles (18.9)
Rebounds Fowles (10.4)
Assists Whalen (4.1)
Media
Television Fox Sports North, ESPN, NBATV
Minnesota Lynx seasons
< 2016 2018 >

The 2017 WNBA season of the Minnesota Lynx is their 19th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Lynx finished the 2016 season with a record of 28–6, 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 moved from their normal home, Target Center in Minneapolis, to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul for the 2017 season due to the renovation that would be taking place at Target Center.[1] Due to the Minnesota Wild season beginning, the Lynx announced that the entirety of their playoff run would be played at the University of Minnesota's Williams Arena.[2]

The Lynx opened the season on May 14 with a 70–61 victory over the Chicago Sky. Sylvia Fowles led the way with 26 points and 10 rebounds.[3] During the May 20 game versus the Dallas Wings, Rebekkah Brunson recorded her 3,000th career rebound, becoming the fifth player in league history to do so.[4] Cheryl Reeve was named the inaugural WNBA Coach of the Month for the month of May.[5] Lindsay Whalen became the all-time winningest player in WNBA history with 295 wins, with a June 9 victory over the Washington Mystics. The win broke the tie with Swin Cash, giving Whalen first place in that category all by herself.[6]

With the win against the San Antonio Stars on June 25, Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, Maya Moore, and Lindsay Whalen became the winningest quartet in WNBA History with 122 wins, passing the Los Angeles Sparks quartet of Tamecka Dixon, Lisa Leslie, Mwadi Mabika, and Delisha Milton-Jones who recorded 121 from 1999 to 2004.[7] During the July 6 victory over the Sparks, Maya Moore scored her 4,000th career point.[8]

Four Lynx players were named to the West All-Star Team - Maya Moore, Sylvia Fowles, Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson. Moore and Fowles were named starters, while Augustus and Brunson were named reserves. Brunson was selected as a replacement player for the injured Brittney Griner.[9][10][11] During the July 16 game versus the Phoenix Mercury, Sylvia Fowles scored her 4,000th career point.[12] Sylvia Fowles recorded her 500th career block during the July 25 game versus the New York Liberty, becoming the seventh person in league history to do so.[13] Fowles grabbed her 2,500th career rebound during the August 8 game versus the Atlanta Dream. She became the 10th player in league history to reach that milestone.[14]

The Lynx unveiled their new logo, which will be used in the 2018 season, at the halftime of the August 11 game versus the Los Angeles Sparks.[15]

The team made WNBA history with the 111–52 victory over the Indiana Fever, breaking the WNBA record for margin of victory (59), largest run (37-0), and largest halftime lead (45). They also broke Lynx franchise records for most points in a half (68) and most field goals in any half (27), while tying a record for most points in any quarter (37).[16][17] During the same game, Jia Perkins passed Katie Douglas on the WNBA all-time steals list to move into fifth place.[18] After beating the San Antonio Stars on August 25 to begin a 3-game road trip, the Lynx clinched a spot in the WNBA semifinals.[19]

With their August 30 victory over the Indiana Fever, the Lynx recorded their 25th win of the season, which they have now done for six seasons in team history, tying a WNBA record.[20] During the September 1 game versus the Chicago Sky, Maya Moore passed Katie Smith for the franchise record for career 3-pointers.[21] On September 2, the WNBA and the Lynx announced that Minnesota would be the host of the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game. This would be the first time that the Lynx have hosted the All-Star Game.[22] Following their regular season finale victory over the Washington Mystics, the Lynx clinched the overall top seed in the 2017 WNBA Playoffs.[23]

By earning the top seed in the playoffs, the Lynx advanced to the semifinal round and faced the Washington Mystics. The Lynx swept the Mystics 3–0 to advance to the WNBA Finals. It is the Lynx's sixth time in seven years advancing to the Finals.[24] The Lynx defeated the Los Angeles Sparks in 5 games to win their fourth WNBA championship in seven years, tying the now-defunct Houston Comets for most championship titles.

Transactions

WNBA draft

Round Pick Player Nationality School/team/country
1 12 Alexis Jones  United States Baylor
2 24 Lisa Berkani  France USO Mondeville (France)
3 36 Tahlia Tupaea  Australia Sydney Uni Flames (Australia)

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See also: 2017 WNBA draft

Trades and roster changes

Date Trade
February 1, 2017 Signed F Plenette Pierson[25]
April 14, 2017 Acquired the draft rights to F/C Chantel Oshaor from Chicago in exchange for Keisha Hampton[26]
April 18, 2017 Signed F Shao Ting[27]
April 19, 2017 Signed F Keyona Hayes [28]
April 20, 2017 Signed 1st Round Pick, G Alexis Jones[29]
April 21, 2017 Signed F/C Chantel Osahor, F Breanna Richardson, and G Moriah Mack [30]
April 26, 2017 Signed 2nd Round Pick, G Lisa Berkani [31]
April 28, 2017 Waived F Keyona Hayes [32]
May 9, 2017 Waived F/C Chantel Oshaor, F Breanna Richardson, and G Moriah Mack [33]
May 12, 2017 Waived F Shao Ting and Suspend G Lisa Berkani [34][35]
August 28, 2017 Signed F Cecilia Zandalasini[36]
September 1, 2017 Signed C Sylvia Fowles to a Multi-Year Extension [37]

Roster

2017 Minnesota Lynx roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From
G/F 33 United States Augustus, Seimone 6' 0" (1.83m) 170 lb (77kg) 04-30-1984 LSU 12
F 32 United States Brunson, Rebekkah 6' 2" (1.88m) 185 lb (84kg) 12-11-1981 Georgetown 14
C 34 United States Fowles, Sylvia 6' 6" (1.98m) 212 lb (96kg) 10-06-1985 LSU 10
F 3 United States Howard, Natasha 6' 2" (1.88m) 165 lb (75kg) 09-02-1991 Florida State 4
G 21 United States Montgomery, Renee 5' 7" (1.7m) 139 lb (63kg) 12-02-1986 Connecticut 9
F 23 United States Moore, Maya 6' 0" (1.83m) 177 lb (80kg) 06-11-1989 Connecticut 7
G 7 United States Perkins, Jia 5' 8" (1.73m) 165 lb (75kg) 02-23-1982 Texas Tech 14
G 13 United States Whalen, Lindsay 5' 9" (1.75m) 173 lb (78kg) 05-09-1982 Minnesota 14
F/C 22 United States Pierson, Plenette 6' 2" (1.88m) 195 lb (88kg) 08-31-1981 Texas Tech 15
G 12 United States Jones, Alexis 5' 9" (1.75m) 173 lb (78kg) 05-08-1994 Baylor R
C 14 United Kingdom Fagbenle, Temi 6' 4" (1.93m) 197 lb (89kg) 09-08-1992 Southern California R
F 9 Italy Zandalasini, Cecilia 6' 1" (1.85m) 160 lb (73kg) 03-16-1996 Italy R
Head coach
United States Cheryl Reeve (La Salle)
Assistant coaches
United States Shelley Patterson (Washington State)
United States James Wade (Kennesaw)
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

Depth chart

Pos. Starter Bench
C Sylvia Fowles Plenette Pierson
Temi Fagbenle
PF Rebekkah Brunson Natasha Howard
SF Maya Moore Cecilia Zandalasini
SG Seimone Augustus Jia Perkins
PG Lindsay Whalen Renee Montgomery
Alexis Jones

Schedule

Preseason

2017 pre-season game log
pre-season: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 5 Atlanta W 113–67 Natasha Howard (19) Chantel Osahor (6) Chantel Osahor
Alexis Jones (5)		 Xcel Energy Center
5,132		 1–0
2 May 8 @ Washington W 74–59 Rebekkah Brunson (14) Rebekkah Brunson (7) Lindsay Whalen (5) Verizon Center
1,426		 2–0
2017 season schedule

Regular season

2017 game log
2017 season schedule

Playoffs

2017 playoff game log
WNBA Semifinals: 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 September 12 Washington W 101–81 Seimone Augustus (24) Sylvia Fowles (7) Maya Moore (4) Williams Arena
7,834		 1–0
2 September 14 Washington W 93–83 Sylvia Fowles (25) Rebekkah Brunson (10) Lindsay Whalen (7) Williams Arena
9,033		 2–0
3 September 17 Washington W 81–70 Maya Moore (21) Sylvia Fowles (14) Lindsay Whalen
Maya Moore (5)		 Capital One Arena
7,950		 3–0
WNBA Finals: 3–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 September 24 Los Angeles L 84–85 Maya Moore (27) Sylvia Fowles (13) Lindsay Whalen (6) Williams Arena
11,823		 0–1
2 September 26 Los Angeles W 70–68 Lindsay Whalen (14) Sylvia Fowles (17) Rebekkah Brunson
Lindsay Whalen (3)		 Williams Arena
11,434		 1–1
3 September 29 Los Angeles L 64–75 Maya Moore (16) Sylvia Fowles (11) Alexis Jones (4) Staples Center
13,500		 1–2
4 October 1 Los Angeles W 80–69 Sylvia Fowles (22) Sylvia Fowles (14) Lindsay Whalen (8) Staples Center
13,500		 2–2
5 October 4 Los Angeles W 85–76 Maya Moore (18) Sylvia Fowles (20) Lindsay Whalen (8) Williams Arena
14,632		 3–2
2017 playoff schedule

Statistics

Regular season

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% PPG RPG APG SPG BPG
Sylvia Fowles 34 34 30.8 .655 .000 .768 18.9 10.4 1.5 1.3 2.0
Maya Moore 34 34 31.3 .442 .411 .858 17.3 5.0 3.5 1.9 0.4
Seimone Augustus 32 32 27.7 .502 .432 .868 10.9 2.9 4.0 0.6 0.1
Rebekkah Brunson 30 30 26.9 .449 .348 .711 10.2 6.7 1.5 1.1 0.4
Lindsay Whalen 22 22 23.6 .451 .353 .750 8.0 2.5 4.1 0.5 0.1
Renee Montgomery 34 12 21.9 .424 .358 .842 8.0 1.6 3.4 0.7 0.1
Plenette Pierson 34 4 13.7 .427 .339 .792 5.2 2.2 1.5 0.4 0.1
Natasha Howard 34 0 11.7 .484 .214 .733 4.3 2.4 0.7 0.5 0.6
Jia Perkins 34 2 16.3 .369 .316 .833 4.2 2.0 1.4 1.1 0.0
Alexis Jones 29 0 7.3 .342 .379 .857 2.6 0.8 0.8 0.3 0.0
Temi Fagbenle 21 0 4.2 .500 .000 .778 1.2 1.0 0.0 0.1 0.2
Cecilia Zandalasini 3 0 6.3 .250 .000 .000 0.7 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0

Playoffs

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% PPG RPG APG SPG BPG
Sylvia Fowles 8 8 35.4 .631 .000 .559 18.6 13.1 1.5 1.6 2.0
Maya Moore 8 8 33.4 .515 .542 .730 18.3 5.3 3.0 1.8 0.4
Seimone Augustus 8 8 31.8 .490 .526 .500 13.9 4.8 3.5 0.4 0.5
Rebekkah Brunson 8 8 28.0 .361 .111 .793 9.5 6.0 1.6 1.1 0.5
Lindsay Whalen 8 8 22.9 .457 .222 .789 7.4 2.0 4.9 0.5 0.1
Renee Montgomery 8 0 17.1 .449 .393 .500 7.0 1.3 1.9 0.5 0.3
Plenette Pierson 8 0 5.4 .364 .500 .000 1.1 0.8 0.5 0.1 0.1
Natasha Howard 7 0 5.6 .200 .000 .800 1.1 0.9 0.0 0.3 0.0
Jia Perkins 8 0 15.8 .333 .286 1.000 3.3 2.0 0.9 0.8 0.1
Alexis Jones 5 0 6.0 .333 .667 .000 2.4 0.8 1.4 0.0 0.0
Temi Fagbenle 2 0 2.0 .667 .000 .000 2.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0
Cecilia Zandalasini 5 0 2.2 1.000 .000 .000 0.4 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0

Standings

Template:2017 WNBA Western Conference standings

Playoffs

Template:2017 WNBA Playoffs

Awards and milestones

Recipient Award/Milestone Date Awarded
Rebekkah Brunson 3,000th Career Rebound May 20 [38]
Sylvia Fowles Player of the Week May 13–21 [39]
May 22–28 [40]
June 5–11 [41]
July 17–23 [42]
August 7–13 [43]
Minnesota Lynx Tied WNBA All-Time Record for Consecutive Wins in May (23 Straight) May [44]
Sylvia Fowles Player of the Month May [45]
June [46]
July [47]
Cheryl Reeve Coach of the Month May [48]
Lindsay Whalen Became WNBA's All-Time Winningest Player (295 Wins) June 9 [49]
Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen Became WNBA's Winningest Quartet (122 Wins) June 25 [50]
Maya Moore 4,000th Career Point July 6 [51]
Maya Moore
Sylvia Fowles		 All-Star Starters July 11 [52]
Sylvia Fowles 4,000th Career Point July 16 [53]
Seimone Augustus All-Star Reserve July 18 [54]
Rebekkah Brunson All-Star Reserve July 19 [55]
Maya Moore All-Star Game MVP July 22 [56]
Sylvia Fowles 500th Career Block July 25 [57]
Sylvia Fowles 2,500th Career Rebound August 8 [58]
Maya Moore Franchise Record for Career 3-Pointers (461) September 1 [59]
Sylvia Fowles 1st Team All-Defense September 12 [60]
Rebekkah Brunson
Maya Moore		 2nd Team All-Defense September 12 [61]
Sylvia Fowles MVP September 14 [62]
Sylvia Fowles
Maya Moore		 1st Team All-WNBA September 29 [63]
Sylvia Fowles Finals MVP October 5 [64]

References

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External links

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