MINNEAPOLIS — Before Wednesday night’s WNBA Finals Game 3, the Minnesota Lynx players were treated to a shiny surprise.
Assistant coach Rebekkah Brunson, who happens to be the most decorated player in WNBA history, brought her five championship rings to the Target Center, four of them earned with the Lynx from 2011-17. The players came into their locker room, and the box of jewelry made its way around.
“The bling was out,” Courtney Williams said.
As the majority of the Minnesota roster seeks its first championship — though Cecilia Zandalasini and Myisha Hines-Allen were deep rotation players on title teams in 2017 and 2019, respectively — the Lynx have certain structural disadvantages compared to the New York Liberty. Only five members from last season’s roster remain, and they don’t have the experience or collective playoff reps of their opponent, nor any players who have led championship teams like Breanna Stewart or Courtney Vandersloot.
What Minnesota does have is institutional knowledge within the organization of what it takes to win a title. That’s why Brunson brought out the rings to remind this generation of Lynx players of the ultimate goal. Minnesota lost Game 3, allowing New York to pull ahead 2-1 in the best-of-five series, but the sight of Brunson’s bling made believers out of the Lynx.
“That was awesome,” Napheesa Collier said. “It was just a huge motivation for us. I could feel it in our first quarter, we came out so strong so it was amazing to see. I mean, we want one so badly.”
It isn’t just Brunson who provides the link to Minnesota’s storied past. Sylvia Fowles, a two-time WNBA Finals MVP with the Lynx, has stayed connected, even texting the coaching staff about what she sees during games. Lindsay Whalen, a five-time All-Star and four-time champion, has sat courtside at games and serves as a sounding board and mentor for younger players.
Natisha Hiedeman is still amazed that she gets to talk to one of the WNBA’s greatest point guards.
“Lindsay actually had talked to me after Game 1,” Hiedeman said. “She was like, you know, you’re a big key in this. Just keep staying aggressive, keep doing what you’re doing. Stay confident. And she told me that she just really loves my game. And that means so much. … having one of the greatest players ever, in my opinion, to be a fan and a supporter. Honestly, being around her more this year just like a friend, it’s really great. I definitely don’t take any of her words for granted.”
it’s first to three. we got one more game at our house. pic.twitter.com/WeqWK8nf35
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) October 17, 2024
Katie Smith isn’t technically a part of the Lynx dynasty, but she did win two titles with Cheryl Reeve in Detroit when Reeve was an assistant earlier in her career, so the winning DNA translates. Kayla McBride constantly finds herself turning to Smith, a fellow shooting guard, for confidence that she’s approaching the game the right way.
Particularly in a series that has featured as many dramatic swings as this one — from Minnesota completing the biggest comeback in WNBA Finals history in Game 1 to surrendering the third largest in Game 3 — McBride has relied on Smith to keep her even.
“We draw a lot of confidence from our coaching staff, that they were there,” McBride said. “I’m always in Katie’s ear, talking to her about how I’m feeling and stuff, and she’s always right here. It really helps when you have the highs and lows of a series, because that’s what it feels like.”
Instead of being weighed down by Minnesota’s history of success, the Lynx have turned that past into a source of strength, knowing that previous iterations of the team paved the way for them now. Players like Williams and Alanna Smith are honored to be part of celebrations like Maya Moore’s jersey retirement, to be in the presence of greatness and to soak up that energy. It’s one thing to be aware of what Minnesota has accomplished and another thing to face it and live with it every day.
The fans are an embodiment of that tradition, too. As Reeve said before Game 3, the Target Center crowd knows what playoff basketball feels like and channels that excitement into the players. Thus the rings, symbolizing what the 2024 Lynx are working toward and inspiring them on their journey.
After Minnesota fell behind in the series, Brunson was there to share her wisdom about being in a similar position during her playing career. Back in 2017, the Lynx trailed the Sparks 2-1 in the finals and had to win a game in Los Angeles to extend the series to five and eventually win the title in Minnesota. The home-court advantage is flipped this time, and New York has an opportunity to win the title Friday night on Minnesota’s court. But this season’s Lynx have the same task as the one Brunson described; they must win two more games, one at home and one on the road.
“We’re leaning on their experience,” Bridget Carleton said. “As a collective, we’ve never been here together. So leaning on their experience, leaning on their expertise, we have full trust in them, and they have full trust in us and they’re really great at sharing that wisdom when we need it.
“(Brunson) has so much experience, she has five rings for a reason, so just understanding anything can happen, the series isn’t over, we’re more than capable.”
That proof of Minnesota’s ability is in the locker room, in the legacy of the players who have come before them and in that box of rings sparkling as a possibility of what can still be.
(Photo of Napheesa Collier, center: David Berding / Getty Images)
