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Previously published 2025-26 Offseason Guides:
Chicago Sky
Connecticut Sun
Dallas Wings
Washington Mystics
Los Angeles Sparks
Golden State Valkyries
Seattle Storm
New York Liberty
Atlanta Dream
Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier. Photo credit: Chris Poss
2025 record: 34-10. 1st in offensive rating, 1st in defensive rating. Finished 1st in the standings, beat Golden State 2-0 in the first round, but lost to Phoenix 3-1 in the semifinals.
2026 draft picks: The Lynx gave up their own 2026 first-round pick to Washington in the trade for Karlie Samuelson before the 2025 season. But thanks primarily to the deal that moved Chicago up one spot to take Angel Reese in 2024 (plus a secondary deal with the Sky that allowed them to take Hailey Van Lith the following year), Minnesota own Chicago’s 2026 first-rounder outright. That gives them the second-best odds in the lottery, whenever that draw actually takes place. Minnesota’s second-round pick is also in Washington thanks to the deal that got them Myisha Hines-Allen at the deadline in 2024, so their only other 2026 pick is their third-rounder.
Free agents: Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, DiJonai Carrington, Courtney Williams, Alanna Smith, Natisha Hiedeman, Bridget Carleton, Jessica Shepard (all unrestricted free agents), Maria Kliundikova, Jaylyn Sherrod, Camryn Taylor (all reserved).
Under contract: Anastasiia Olairi Kosu, Dorka Juhász.
2025 performance: After coming within a whisker of winning the championship in 2024 and then bringing back virtually the entire core rotation for 2025, anything short of a title in 2025 was going to be a disappointment. It was even an odd-numbered year, which is when the Lynx traditionally win their rings. And in a competition decided purely by the league standings, they’d have been lifting the trophy with several games to spare. But this is American sports, and being comfortably the best team over the course of the regular season doesn’t mean much if you can’t back it up in the playoffs. Minnesota fell short in the semifinals against Phoenix — a series where they were about to be 2-1 down even before their superstar Napheesa Collier got hurt — and now you have to wonder if this group’s best chances at winning a title are gone.
The performances over the course of the season were impressive. Minnesota showed that 2024 was no fluke, and with other typical contenders like New York and Las Vegas struggling for significant stretches the Lynx were left as the clear No. 1. Even when their MVP candidate missed several weeks in August they kept on rolling, with the collective team defense, balanced remaining offensive weapons and Cheryl Reeve’s coaching preventing any kind of tailspin. Even if several players leave in the offseason and this group never reaches the mountaintop, it’ll be a team that’s fondly remembered by Lynx fans. Once they suffered an injury or two in the postseason, the rotation ended up looking a little short, but this was a veteran group that clearly enjoyed playing together and endeared themselves to the fanbase. Now we have to see how much of this team sticks around, and how they can restock to go further in future years.
Offseason finances: As with everyone else, the Lynx have a couple of players on rookie-scale contracts, and then lots of free agents and cap space. The slight difference from most of the others is that essentially their top eight players are all unrestricted free agents. Most teams at least have one or two rookie-scales or RFAs or reserved players in that primary group. Minnesota were so based around veterans this year that they don’t. Which means some of them could walk away for nothing just because they get better offers or see bigger roles for themselves elsewhere — especially because the lack of contracts or rights means none of them are cost-controlled, so re-signing them all while staying under the salary cap is likely to be difficult.
Offseason priorities: Assuming coring continues to exist, the Lynx will surely core Collier, even if they’re 99% certain she likes Minnesota and wouldn’t want to leave. Then, even though some of their core players are a little older than they might like, the success of the last two years means they’ll probably try to retain them. That means Kayla McBride, Courtney Williams, Alanna Smith, Bridget Carleton and Natisha Hiedeman, probably in approximately that order of priority. They’ll have interest in keeping Jessica Shepard and DiJonai Carrington as well, but they were backups and have been around this core group for less time, so they might be less likely to stick around (and there’s going to be an expansion draft that could steal people at some point, too).
Reeve won’t mind sticking with a veteran core when it’s a group good enough to contend, but the Lynx organisation has a good reputation around the league and obviously Reeve has proven what she can do as a coach. They can attract good free agents, even if Minnesota isn’t typically a ‘destination’ city for athletes. So they’ll dangle their line in the water for some of the available stars, especially if some of their own listed above start to look elsewhere, and might be able to reshape the roster a little on the fly while remaining a contender. In Collier they have one of the league’s true superstars still in her prime — which is an attraction to free agents in itself — so they owe it to her to keep targeting a championship. A little more depth in players that Reeve actually trusts, rather than just ones who fill up the end of the bench, would definitely be useful. They’ll add some youth with that pick coming from the Sky, so they may not feel the need to search for many additional young players on the open market. It’s more about finding the right ones, like they did with Williams and Smith a couple of years ago.
Future assets: Minnesota still have their own first- and third-round picks in 2027, but gave up their second-rounder in the deadline deal with Dallas for Carrington. Beyond this year’s roster they also still have Dorka Juhász under contract for next year, and the draft rights to French big Maia Hirsch and last year’s third-round pick Aubrey Griffin.
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