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2020 Minnesota Lynx season

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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

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]

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

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WNBA draft

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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

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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

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2020 Minnesota Lynx roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
C 40 Canada Alexander, Kayla 6' 4" (1.93m) 186 lb (84kg) 1991-01-05 Syracuse 7
G 15 United States Banham, Rachel 5' 9" (1.75m) 172 lb (78kg) 1993-07-15 Minnesota 4
G 4 United States Brown, Lexie 5' 9" (1.75m) 160 lb (73kg) 1994-10-27 Duke 2
G/F 6 Canada Carleton, Bridget 6' 1" (1.85m) 180 lb (82kg) 1997-05-22 Iowa State 1
F 24 United States Collier, Napheesa 6' 2" (1.88m) 181 lb (82kg) 1996-09-23 Connecticut 1
G 2 United States Dangerfield, Crystal 5' 5" (1.65m) 122 lb (55kg) 1998-05-11 Connecticut R
F 92 Brazil Dantas, Damiris 6' 3" (1.91m) 201 lb (91kg) 1992-11-17 Brazil 5
C 34 United States Fowles, Sylvia Injured 6' 6" (1.98m) 217 lb (98kg) 1985-10-06 LSU 12
F 21 United Kingdom Herbert Harrigan, Mikiah 6' 2" (1.88m) 152 lb (69kg) 1998-08-21 South Carolina R
G 42 United States Johnson, Shenise 5' 11" (1.8m) 168 lb (76kg) 1990-12-08 Miami (FL) 7
F 24 United States McCall, Erica 6' 2" (1.88m) 184 lb (83kg) 1995-08-21 Stanford 3
G 1 United States Sims, Odyssey 5' 8" (1.73m) 163 lb (74kg) 1992-07-13 Baylor 6
Head coach
United States Cheryl Reeve (La Salle)
Assistant coaches
United States Plenette Pierson (Texas Tech)
United States Katie Smith (Ohio State)
United States Rebekkah Brunson (Georgetown)
Athletic trainer
United States Chuck Barta (UW–La Crosse)
Assistant trainer
United States Kate Taber (Iowa)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Game log

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Regular season

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2020 game log
Total: 14–8
July
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 July 26 Connecticut Sun W 77–69 Sylvia Fowles (17) Sylvia Fowles (18) Damiris Dantas (5) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		1–0
2 July 28 Seattle Storm L 66–90 Damiris Dantas (18) Sylvia Fowles (11) Napheesa Collier (5) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		1–1
3 July 30 Chicago Sky W 83–81 Napheesa Collier (20) Napheesa Collier (10) Collier, Johnson (4) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		2–1
August
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
4 August 1 Connecticut Sun W 78-69 Sylvia Fowles (21) Sylvia Fowles (13) Napheesa Collier (4) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		3–1
5 August 5 New York Liberty W 92–66 Bridget Carleton (25) Carleton, Collier (7) Rachel Banham (5) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		4–1
6 August 7 Indiana Fever W 87–80 Lexie Brown (26) Brown, Fowles (6) Lexie Brown (9) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		5-1
7 August 9 Los Angeles Sparks L 81-97 Crystal Dangerfield (29) Damiris Dantas (7) Lexie Brown (6) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		5–2
8 August 11 Washington Mystics W 68–48 Sylvia Fowles (16) Sylvia Fowles (13) Crystal Dangerfield (4) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		6–2
9 August 13 Las Vegas Aces L 77–87 Napheesa Collier (21) Napheesa Collier (14) Damiris Dantas (7) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		6–3
10 August 15 New York Liberty W 94-64 Napheesa Collier (26) Napheesa Collier (13) Collier, Sims (5) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		7–3
11 August 19 Dallas Wings W 91-84 Crystal Dangerfield (21) Bridget Carleton (9) Crystal Dangerfield (6) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		8–3
12 August 21 Phoenix Mercury W 90-80 Napheesa Collier (20) Napheesa Collier (9) Collier, Carleton (6) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		9–3
13 August 23 Atlanta Dream L 75–78 Napheesa Collier (18) Damiris Dantas (9) Carleton, Dantas, Dangerfield (3) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		9–4
14 August 28 Atlanta Dream W 88–79 Crystal Dangerfield (23) Napheesa Collier (12) Odyssey Sims (9) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		10–4
15 August 30 Phoenix Mercury L 79–83 Crystal Dangerfield (20) Napheesa Collier (6) Odyssey Sims (5) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		10–5
16 August 31 Los Angeles Sparks W 96–78 Napheesa Collier (25) Collier, Dantas (9) Bridget Carleton (10) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		11–5
September
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
17 September 2 Chicago Sky W 86–83 Damiris Dantas (28) Napheesa Collier (9) Crystal Dangerfield (7) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		12–5
18 September 4 Dallas Wings W 88–75 Damiris Dantas (18) Napheesa Collier (14) Crystal Dangerfield (5) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		13–5
19 September 6 Seattle Storm L 88–103 Damiris Dantas (22) Damiris Dantas (9) Odyssey Sims (4) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		13–6
20 September 8 Washington Mystics L 86–89 Napheesa Collier (21) Napheesa Collier (11) Crystal Dangerfield (7) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		13–7
21 September 10 Las Vegas Aces L 89–104 Crystal Dangerfield (24) Napheesa Collier (11) Napheesa Collier (10) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		13-8
22 September 12 Indiana Fever W 98–86 Rachel Banham (29) Napheesa Collier (8) Rachel Banham (10) IMG Academy
No In-Person Attendance 		14–8
2020 season schedule

Playoffs

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2020 playoff game log
Total: 1–3
Second Round
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 September 17 Phoenix Mercury W 80–79 Damiris Dantas (22) Napheesa Collier (9) Napheesa Collier (6) IMG Academy 1–0
Semifinals
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
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

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# Team W L PCT GB Conf.
1 x – Las Vegas Aces 18 4 .818 – 8–2
2 x – Seattle Storm 18 4 .818 – 8–2
3 x – Los Angeles Sparks 15 7 .682 3 5–5
4 x – Minnesota Lynx 14 8 .636 4 4–6
5 x – Phoenix Mercury 13 9 .591 5 4–6
6 x – Chicago Sky 12 10 .545 6 6–4
7 x – Connecticut Sun 10 12 .455 8 7–3
8 x – Washington Mystics 9 13 .409 9 6–4
9 e – Dallas Wings 8 14 .364 10 1–9
10 e – Atlanta Dream 7 15 .318 11 5–5
11 e – Indiana Fever 6 16 .273 12 4–6
12 e – New York Liberty 2 20 .091 16 2–8


Playoffs

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Main article: 2020 WNBA 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)
1Las Vegas Aces6283688466
4Minnesota Lynx807Connecticut Sun8775777563
5Phoenix Mercury855Phoenix Mercury791Las Vegas Aces809159
8Washington Mystics842Seattle Storm9310492
2Seattle Storm888992
3Los Angeles Sparks594Minnesota Lynx867971
6Chicago Sky817Connecticut Sun73
7Connecticut Sun94

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

Statistics

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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

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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

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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

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  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". April 3, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  4. ^ "WNBA Announces Plan To Tip Off 2020 Season". WNBA. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  5. ^ "WNBA announces plans for 2020 season to start late July in Florida". NBC Sports Washington. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  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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