2020 Minnesota Lynx season

The 2020 WNBA season is the 22nd season for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season began on July 26, 2020, versus the Connecticut Sun.[1]

2020 Minnesota Lynx season
CoachCheryl Reeve
ArenaOriginally: Target Center
Rescheduled to: IMG Academy gymnasiums, Bradenton, Florida
Attendance0 per game
Results
Record14–8 (.636)
Place4th (Western)
Playoff finish4th Seed, Lost in Semifinals to Seattle Storm
Team Leaders
PointsCrystal Dangerfield – 16.2 ppg
ReboundsSylvia Fowles – 9.7 rpg
AssistsCrystal Dangerfield – 3.6 apg
2021 season →

This WNBA season will feature an all-time high 36 regular-season games.[2] However, the plan for expanded games was put on hold on April 3, when the WNBA postponed its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] Under a plan approved on June 15, the league is scheduled to hold a shortened 22-game regular season at IMG Academy, without fans present, starting on July 24.[4][5]

The Lynx' season started strongly, as the team won five of their first six games, with their only loss coming to the Seattle Storm. They won three of the next five to hold a 8–3 record at the halfway mark of the season. The team finished the season with a 3–2 stretch of five games and a 3–3 stretch of the last six games. Their overall 14–8 record earned them the fourth seed in the playoffs.

As the fourth seed, the Lynx earned a bye into the Second Round. They faced off against the Phoenix Mercury, and won a very close game 80–79. With that win, they advanced to face Seattle in the Semifinals. The Lynx lost the first game in the series by two points, and then were defeated by ten points and twenty-one points in games two and three. The three game sweep ended the Lynx' season.

Transactions

WNBA Draft
See also: 2020 WNBA draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
1 6 Mikiah Herbert Harrigan  Anguilla
 United Kingdom		 South Carolina
2 16 Crystal Dangerfield  United States Connecticut

Trades/Roster Changes
Date Details
February 11, 2020 F Rebekkah Brunson retired and was hired as an assistant coach of the Lynx.[6]
February 25, 2020 Acquired G Rachel Banham from the Connecticut Sun in exchange for a 2nd round pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft.[7]
February 29, 2020 Signed F Cecilia Zandalasini[8]
March 6, 2020 Traded the 14th pick in the 2020 WNBA draft and their second round pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft to Indiana Fever in exchange for G Shenise Johnson and the 16th pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft.[9]
April 17, 2020 Traded F Stephanie Talbot to New York in exchange for the draft rights for G Erica Ogwumike.[10]
May 25, 2020 Waived G Linnae Harper and G Erica Ogwumike[11]
May 31, 2020 Moved G Odyssey Sims to an Inactive List and suspended F Jessica Shepard [12]
June 17, 2020 F Cecilia Zandalasini announces she will be opting out of the season due to COVID-19 and signed F Megan Huff[13] [14]
July 30, 2020 Waived F Karima Christmas-Kelly and signed F Erica McCall [15]
August 6, 2020 Activated G Odyssey Sims and waived F Megan Huff [16]

Roster
Minnesota Lynx roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
C 40 Alexander, Kayla 6' 4" (1.93m) 186 lb (84kg) 1991-01-05 Syracuse 7
G 15 Banham, Rachel 5' 9" (1.75m) 172 lb (78kg) 1993-07-15 Minnesota 4
G 4 Brown, Lexie 5' 9" (1.75m) 160 lb (73kg) 1994-10-27 Duke 2
G/F 6 Carleton, Bridget 6' 1" (1.85m) 180 lb (82kg) 1997-05-22 Iowa State 1
F 24 Collier, Napheesa 6' 2" (1.88m) 181 lb (82kg) 1996-09-23 Connecticut 1
G 2 Dangerfield, Crystal 5' 5" (1.65m) 122 lb (55kg) 1998-05-11 Connecticut R
F 92 Dantas, Damiris 6' 3" (1.91m) 201 lb (91kg) 1992-11-17 Brazil 5
C 34 Fowles, Sylvia  6' 6" (1.98m) 217 lb (98kg) 1985-10-06 LSU 12
F 21 Herbert Harrigan, Mikiah 6' 2" (1.88m) 152 lb (69kg) 1998-08-21 South Carolina R
G 42 Johnson, Shenise 5' 11" (1.8m) 168 lb (76kg) 1990-12-08 Miami 7
F 24 McCall, Erica 6' 2" (1.88m) 184 lb (83kg) 1995-08-21 Stanford 3
G 1 Sims, Odyssey 5' 8" (1.73m) 163 lb (74kg) 1992-07-13 Baylor 6



East: ATL • CHI • CON • IND • NY • WAS | West: DAL • LV • LA • MIN • PHO • SEA
Head coach
Cheryl Reeve (La Salle)
Assistant coaches
Plenette Pierson (Texas Tech)
Katie Smith (Ohio State)
Rebekkah Brunson (Georgetown)
Athletic trainer
Chuck Barta (Wisconsin-La Crosse)
Assistant trainer
Kate Taber (Iowa)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

WNBA roster page

Game log

Regular season
2020 game log
Total: 14–8
July
August
September
2020 season schedule

Playoffs
2020 playoff game log
Total: 1–3
Second Round
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 September 17 Phoenix Mercury W 80–79 Damiris Dantas (22) Napheesa Collier (9) Napheesa Collier (6) IMG Academy 1–0
Semifinals
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 September 22 Seattle Storm L 86–88 Napheesa Collier (25) Napheesa Collier (9) Crystal Dangerfield (6) IMG Academy 0–1
2 September 24 Seattle Storm L 79–89 Damiris Dantas (23) Carleton, Dantas (7) Crystal Dangerfield (7) IMG Academy 0–2
3 September 27 Seattle Storm L 71–92 Napheesa Collier (22) Napheesa Collier (15) Dantas & Sims (4) IMG Academy 0–3
2020 playoff schedule

Standings
# Team W L PCT GB Conf.
1 x – Las Vegas Aces184.818–8–2
2 x – Seattle Storm184.818–8–2
3 x – Los Angeles Sparks157.68235–5
4 x – Minnesota Lynx148.63644–6
5 x – Phoenix Mercury139.59154–6
6 x – Chicago Sky1210.54566–4
7 x – Connecticut Sun1012.45587–3
8 x – Washington Mystics913.40996–4
9 e – Dallas Wings814.364101–9
10 e – Atlanta Dream715.318115–5
11 e – Indiana Fever616.273124–6
12 e – New York Liberty220.091162–8

Playoffs
 
First round:
Single elimination
(September 15)		Second round:
Single elimination
(September 17)		Semifinals:
Best-of-five
(September 20–29)		WNBA Finals:
Best-of-five
(October 2–11)
 
              
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
Las Vegas Aces		 3
 
 
7
Connecticut Sun		 2
 
 
 
 
 
4
Minnesota Lynx		 80
 
 
 
5
Phoenix Mercury		79
 
5
Phoenix Mercury		 85
 
 
 
8
Washington Mystics		 84
 
1
Las Vegas Aces		 0
 
 
 
2
Seattle Storm		 3
 
6
Chicago Sky		 81
 
 
 
7
Connecticut Sun		 94
 
3
Los Angeles Sparks		 59
 
 
7
Connecticut Sun		 73
 
 
 
 
 
2
Seattle Storm		 3
 
 
4
Minnesota Lynx		 0
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

Semifinals
Team12345
1
Las Vegas Aces		6283688466
7
Connecticut Sun		8775777563
Team123
2
Seattle Storm		888992
4
Minnesota Lynx		867971
WNBA Finals
Team123
1
Las Vegas Aces		809159
2
Seattle Storm		9310492

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% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Crystal Dangerfield 21 19 30.0 47.1 33.3 92.2 2.0 3.6 0.9 0.0 16.2
Napheesa Collier 22 22 34.2 52.3 40.8 82.9 9.0 3.3 1.8 1.3 16.1
Sylvia Fowles 7 7 24.1 60.9 0 82.8 9.7 0.9 0.9 1.1 14.6
Damiris Dantas 22 22 26.6 46.4 4..6 72.7 6.1 2.6 1.1 0.2 12.9
Odyssey Sims 13 7 18.5 40.4 33.3 90.9 2.0 3.5 0.5 0.1 6.9
Rachel Banham 20 1 17.0 46.2 47.2 80.0 1.3 2.4 0.5 0.1 6.9
Bridget Carleton 22 15 25.8 52.0 45.7 64.3 3.5 2.5 0.7 0 6.6
Lexie Brown 17 13 22.0 34.2 26.9 79.2 1.9 2.4 1.8 0 6.4
Shenise Johnson 17 4 12.5 34.1 35.3 89.3 1.9 1.2 0.9 0.1 5.1
Mikiah Herbert Harrigan 21 0 11.1 36.6 42.4 71.4 2.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 3.8
Erica McCall 19 0 9.4 35.6 25.0 81.8 2.5 0.2 0.3 0.4 2.7
Kayla Alexander 16 0 5.6 53.3 0 62.5 0.9 0.2 0.1 0.2 2.3

Awards and Milestones
Recipient Award/Milestone Date Awarded Reference
Napheesa Collier Western Conference Player of the Week August 17, 2020 [17]
2nd Team All-Defense September 29, 2020 [18]
All-WNBA Second Team October 4, 2020 [19]
Crystal Dangerfield WNBA Rookie of the Month – August September 1, 2020 [20]
WNBA Rookie of the Month – September September 15, 2020 [21]
Rookie of the Year September 17, 2020 [22]
All-Rookie Team September 27, 2020 [23]
Cheryl Reeve Coach of the Year September 17, 2020 [24]

References
  1. "2020 Minnesota Lynx Schedule". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  2. "Atlanta Dream Announce 2020 Schedule - Atlanta Dream". dream.wnba.com. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  3. "WNBA Statement Regarding the Start of the 2020 Regular Season". 2020-04-03. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  4. "WNBA Announces Plan To Tip Off 2020 Season". WNBA. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  5. "WNBA announces plans for 2020 season to start late July in Florida". NBC Sports Washington. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  6. "Brunson's Retirement Launches Next Chapter Of Her Lynx Career". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. February 11, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  7. "Minnesota Lynx Acquire Rachel Banham". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  8. "Lynx Re-Sign Forward Cecilia Zandalasini". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. February 29, 2020.
  9. "Minnesota Lynx Acquire Shenise Johnson from Indiana". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  10. "Get To Know Erica Ogwumike". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  11. "Minnesota Lynx Waive Linnae Harper and Erica Ogwumike". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. May 25, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  12. "Lynx finalize roster; Shepard, Sims not among initial 12". startribune.com. Star Tribune. May 31, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  13. "Lynx's Cecilia Zandalasini skipping 2020 WNBA season". startribune.com. Star Tribune. June 17, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  14. "Lynx Sign Forward Megan Huff". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. June 17, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  15. "Lynx Awarded Erica McCall From Waivers". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. July 30, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  16. "Lynx Activate Odyssey Sims". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  17. "Bonner, Collier Earn Players Of The Week Honors For Week 3". wnba.com. WNBA. August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  18. "Two Atlanta Dream Players And Seattle Storm's Alysha Clark Headline 2020 WNBA All-Defensive Team". wnba.com. WNBA. September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  19. "A'ja Wilson And Candace Parker Unanimously Selected To 2020 All-WNBA First Team". wnba.com. WNBA. October 4, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  20. "Crystal Dangerfield Earns Rookie of the Month Honors". wnba.com. WNBA. September 1, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  21. "Crystal Dangerfield Earns Rookie of the Month". wnba.com. WNBA. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  22. "Crystal Dangerfield Named WNBA Rookie Of The Year". wnba.com. WNBA. September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  23. "Rookie Of The Year Crystal Dangerfield Headlines 2020 WNBA All-Rookie Team". wnba.com. WNBA. September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  24. "Cheryl Reeve Named WNBA Coach Of The Year". wnba.com. WNBA. September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
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