When most look back on the 2024 WNBA season, the way it ended might overshadow what was a historic and groundbreaking season for every team in the league.
The controversy surrounding the finish of Game 5 of the WNBA Finals between the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty will be the talk of the offseason, and likely far beyond that.
For Minnesota, that disappointment with how things ended will carry into the coming months until the team returns to the court in 2025, and it will take some time to recover from the sting of coming up seconds shy of a championship.
But despite that disappointment, the Lynx announced their presence and displayed their dominance in 2024. And they made one thing clear—they are here to stay.
Heartbreak in the Finals
Coming up short in a championship series can be hard enough in itself. Coming up short in overtime of a winner-take-all Game 5 amid controversy and skepticism? That is even harder for Minnesota’s players and coaches.
“That loss is something I’ll never get over, Napheesa Collier said after the season “To have it end that way where it feels super unjust, I don’t think that’s something that I’ll be able to get over. We were so close to our goal. It’s just a really tough ending.”
That shortcoming, that disappointment and that sense of unfairness will take some time for the Lynx to recover from.
“I just wanted it so bad. The chips fell as they did. I don’t think I’ll ever get over it,” Kayla McBride said. “It’s hard to see and replay in your mind. As an athlete, that’s what you live for is playing in championship games. It’s gonna sting for a while.”
That feeling and that sting is something Minnesota now carries into this offseason, but will likely give it fuel as it tries to return to the Finals in 2025. And for the Lynx, being on a revenge tour a season after falling in heartbreak in a Game 5 of the Finals is something all too familiar for them.
“We came up short of our goals, they had us ninth before the season or whatever, McBride said. “But here we are playing on the last game and playing an extra five minutes of the season to win a championship. It hurts, it sucks. But I have a lot of pride in what we were able to accomplish as a group this year.”
Yes, Minnesota came up short of its ultimate goal in the WNBA Finals and the season didn’t end up the way it envisioned. But let’s not lose sight of the season that the Lynx had up until that point, which was a special and record-setting year.
Historic Season, Bright Future Ahead
Nobody really knew what to expect out of Minnesota heading into the 2024 season. With seven of its 12 players being new faces entering the year, many expected the Lynx to have at least one more rebuilding year before making a leap.
From the very first game, Minnesota proved all the preseason predictions and expectations people had wrong. The Lynx quickly took over the WNBA, sitting as one of the top three teams in the league throughout the entirety of the regular season.
“I have a lot of pride in this group,” McBride said. ”We were talking about it all season long, everybody was so shocked that it was so good from the jump. We just meshed really well. The people in that locker room, they are so special,” “Everybody was in the right part of their journey for us to come together when we did. That was the best part.”
Minnesota went on to become one of the best teams in the league on both sides of the court. The Lynx played in front of record-breaking crowds, set a franchise record for most wins in a season, claimed its first Commissioner’s Cup Championship, and did it all while displaying some incredibly entertaining team basketball.
“Anybody that has been following along knows that this team, from the beginning of the season all the way through, had this unique ability to believe in themselves and believe in each other,” Cheryl Reeve said. “The ups and downs and all of that, this group is just equip to handle it. … It’s beyond words how we feel about this team.
“I think this group was really special. I had a lot of fun coaching this team.”
On top of all of that success, the Lynx were right there in the last possible game of the year, just seconds and minutes away from claiming their fifth league championship.
“It’s easy to be appreciative of this team and see how special the season was. … It’s easy to love this team,” Collier said. “I’m just so proud of everything we did this year.”
Perhaps one of the most intriguing things about what Minnesota was able to do in 2024 is that this team will for the most part be back together again next summer. All five starters are under contract in 2025, with a few key pieces off the bench also set to return. Minnesota has some decisions to make with a few free agents this offseason, or potentially look into the free agent market with players available, but this team as we know it will for the most part take the court again together next year. And this time, they are on a revenge tour.
The season was a special one for the Lynx—a historic one in fact—regardless of what the final outcome was. They are here to stay, the future is incredibly bright and they will be back in 2025 ready to make some noise.
