New-Look Lynx Optimistic About Upcoming Season

MINNEAPOLIS -- With one preseason game under their belt and one more to go, the Minnesota Lynx are gearing up to kick off their 21st season in the WNBA.

At a media day event on Thursday at Target Center, players and coaching staff expressed excitement and hopefulness as they talked about the nearly complete pre-season and upcoming regular season.

The number one topic of discussion was how the team is adjusting to big roster changes including Lindsay Whalen’s retirement, Maya Moore’s year off, and Rebekkah Brunson’s questionable status after suffering a concussion.

Head Coach Cheryl Reeve says even with all of the changes, the fundamental culture will remain the same.

There's an effort about the way we do our business and how we treat each other at the core of what we do. That's what I want our identity to be.  Obviously, we've got to be good basketball players, and so that's the work that we're going to put in. We have young players that need to learn a lot. So our player development piece is going to be big. I tell them every day that if we defend and rebound, we have a chance to win every game.

There are many fresh new faces between rookies from the 2019 draft class and traded veteran newcomers. Captain Seimone Augustus has played her entire career in Minnesota since being drafted in 2006. She says the new players bring high energy, speed, and athleticism.

Being around this young energy has helped me get myself together. I started to feel old. We used to hear it. We heard that all last year like you're old, you're old, so then your mindset starts to change and you think you're a little bit older than what you might feel, but now with the new players, I feel a lot better. I feel excited. I feel like I'm going to give what I can when I can, and that will hopefully be enough for the team.

Augustus and fellow captains Sylvia Fowles and Danielle Robinson say that with so many new players learning a new scheme in such a short pre-season, a lot of focus at training camp has been put on taking shots and building confidence.

The team will also be making some changes to their offensive approach this year including more emphasis on shooting three-pointers.

The Minnesota Lynx will play their final pre-season game at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday against the Las Vegas Aces. Regular season play kicks off on Saturday, May 25th at home against the Chicago Sky.