The Minnesota Lynx will play in Phoenix for Game 3 of the 2025 WNBA Semifinals on Friday. As a result, the seemingly anti-Minnesota feeling about the team among many fans, media and others will continue.

Credit: Threads

The Lynx is arguably the WNBA’s most successful franchise, right behind the now-defunct but legendary Houston Comets, the league’s first four-time champion. Minnesota also has four titles to their credit.  In recent years, throughout their run, the local W club also has drawn unnecessary resentment for such success on the court from fans, a resentment also shared by some media types.

This “hate the best” mentality has been most evident on social media throughout this season as the Lynx earned the number-one seed for the playoffs and are a favorite to win the ’25 crown this season. This includes the “Phee vs. A’ja” conjured-up feud between the league’s two stars —  Minnesota’s Naphessa Collier and Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson — who are among five sistah finalists for MVP with Allisha Gray, Kelsey Mitchell and Alyssa Thomas.

But in Collier’s case, why the hater-aide? Is it because she is vice-president of the players’ union, Unrivalled co-founder, or her low-key, just-get-the-job-done mentality and on-court demeanor? Or has a combination of all three brought out the worst among some fans on social media?

Last week, however, Collier’s teammate Alanna Smith became collateral damage after she and Wilson were named co-Defensive Player of the Year, the first time in league history that this happened. Both players garnered 29 votes each from the national voting panel. But this didn’t stop the haters, ignoring the fact that four times in NBA history dual winners of an individual award have been named.

Also overlooked is that the 6’3” Aussie who played at Stanford, was drafted by Phoenix in 2019, and signed as a free agent by Minnesota last season has been a defensive bedrock all season for the Lynx, helping them to a 97.5 defensive rating, tops in the league. And that Smith often effectively guards the opponent’s big in every game.

Wilson at 6’4” is no slouch — the Aces’ center is considered one of the league’s most dominant two-way players and leads in several offensive and defensive categories.  

Shimmy Miller Credit: Threads

But it’s not always stats that tell the whole story, especially on defense, which evidently the voters saw in their selection of Smith, who follows Collier’s lead and just does her job without fanfare.

Chicago Sky broadcaster Shimmy Miller deftly avoided the noise and offered us her post-season analysis after the first round completed last week in which three of four closeout games went down to the final shot before a winner was decided.

“First of all,” observed Miller, “I love the 1-1-1 format for the first round. It’s made for a more competitive playoff so far. There is no way Seattle would’ve won game 2 without having that home court advantage, and Golden State really used their fan base to almost pull off the upset [against Minnesota].

“It was the right move. Not just for the competitive balance of the teams but for the fans that have supported their teams all season long. They deserve the right to have at least one home playoff game.

“I still don’t think anyone can beat Minnesota in a seven-game series,” continued Miller, “so they continue to be my team to beat. And I’ve been pretty consistent with this all season. They have depth, balanced inside-outside scoring experience, star power, and they can out-score you or win with defense.  

“Vegas and New York [who lost to Phoenix] showed a lot of vulnerabilities, but I think Indiana upsetting Atlanta was a blessing for the Aces. I think the Fever is a much more favorable matchup for Las Vegas than Atlanta would’ve been.

“So, I’m predicting a Vegas vs. Minnesota matchup in the Finals,” concluded Miller.

Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.

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