\u201cAlanna Smith is just incredible,\u201d Lynx head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve said after Minnesota\u2019s 83-71 road win against the New York Liberty<\/a> on Sunday. \u201cYou don\u2019t come to a basketball game and go, \u2018that\u2019s not one of the best defensive players in the league.\u2019 She\u2019s just incredible in terms of how she impacts play, and what you have to think about when she\u2019s in your area.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith has been a menace on the defensive end all season. Her 94.0 defensive rating is best in the league and one percentage point better than Collier\u2019s 94.1. She\u2019s also the type of player who only seems to get better when the matchups get tougher. This was on display particularly in Minnesota\u2019s last two games against New York, when Smith was primarily responsible for covering the reigning Finals MVP Jonquel Jones<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a really competitive person, so whenever I get the chance to play against high caliber players like Jonquel it kind of sets off that competitive alarm, like, \u2018okay I have to really lock in now,\u2019 I want to take that challenge head on,\u201d Smith said in an interview with The Next on August 4th. \u201cIt\u2019s really cool being part of the WNBA to defend players like that and play against players like Jonquel, who are majorly successful, highly talented players. You have to look at it with a sense of excitement. Like, \u2018this is really cool.\u2019 Then when you\u2019re successful it just gets your confidence going and it\u2019s the beauty of a team sport as well. That energy is infectious.\u201d<\/p>\n Tune in to Locked On Women\u2019s Basketball<\/p>\n Here at The IX Basketball, in addition to the 24\/7\/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women\u2019s Basketball<\/a> podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.<\/p>\n Minnesota beat the Liberty 100-93 in their first meeting with the defending champs on July 30 at Target Center. It was a game in which Jones went 20 minutes between points, a game that the Lynx held control of from the second quarter onwards.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Lan was great,\u201d Reeve said postgame. \u201c\u2018Lan takes pride in, we always talk about how competitive she is, and she takes pride in her one-on-one matchup. Obviously, JJ is difficult to play against, and \u2018Lan was just really attentive to the spot she\u2019d like to get to and how she was going to counter that. Her defense was exceptional, she had seven deflections on the game, three blocks, \u2018Lan was really valuable.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026I do think about, she was good last year, [she\u2019s] clearly one of the best defensive players in the league, so an all-defensive nod would obviously be an end of season award for her. We count on her heavily.\u201d<\/p>\n Minnesota has certainly relied on Smith to achieve a defensive rating of 97.9, the best defensive rating in the league by three points<\/a> (the Atlanta Dream<\/a> have the second-best rating at 100.9) through nearly 75% of the season. They also lead the league in blocks at 5.1 per game and are third in steals at 8.3 per game. Smith is the only player in the league this year to tally six steals in a single game as well as six blocks in a single game<\/a>. She\u2019s posted nine such games with 2+ steals and 2+ blocks, and has tallied 4+ stocks on 12 occasions in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think right now, in the scope of the league, Lan is the most underrated for what she does,\u201d teammate Kayla McBride<\/a> said after the team\u2019s practice on Wednesday, August 13. \u201cShe\u2019s on the best team in the league, but she probably does more and puts her body on the line more than any of us. We\u2019re not sitting at 27-5 without Lan and it starts on defense. She takes responsibility for the best post player, deflections, rebounds, steals, her and Phee are always our deflection winners. I just think it\u2019s very underrated what she does, especially on the defensive end.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think just looking at the 3rd quarter of that New York game she changed everything, getting us deflections,\u201d McBride continued. \u201cShe just has no fear, and I think that\u2019s what you need in your defensive players especially as post players, and I think she\u2019s been one of the best all year.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith established herself as a player who more than belonged in this league with the Sky in 2023. Her 2024 season with the Lynx saw her soar to new heights as \u2018one of\u2019 the best defensive players in the league. And closing in on the end of the 2025 regular season, she\u2019s at the doorstep of one of the highest honors a league can bestow upon a player.\u00a0<\/p>\n Want even more women\u2019s sports in your inbox?<\/p>\n![\"Locked](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755138007_578_locked-on-wbb-ad.png\")
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