Coming off a 2024 season that ended in heartbreak following a last-minute Game 5 loss to the New York Liberty, many expected the Minnesota Lynx to open up the 2025 WNBA campaign looking for revenge and correcting what might have gone wrong a year ago.
With most of the roster returning and Minnesota adding even more pieces to a championship caliber squad, it was easy to see them being one of the top teams in the league and putting themselves in title contention once again.
But now, midway through the 2025 season, Minnesota might be off to an even better start than many expected or envisioned. It is off to a historic start to the regular season and is clearly the best team in the WNBA at the All-Star break with just one goal in mind: a championship.
“We’ve got it. I can’t guarantee that we’re going to win a championship, but having been around a lot of high-quality teams, we have the special things those teams, had and we have talent,” Cheryl Reeve said. “That’s the one thing, you’re not going to do anything without talent. We definitely have the talent and a growing bench. Those are keys.”
Sitting Atop the League
At the All-Star break, the Lynx hold a record of 20-4, a few games beyond the halfway mark in the 44-game regular season. Though its record is impressive, what is even more impressive for Minnesota is its dominance on both ends of the floor.
For starters, they are the first team to reach the 20-win mark on the season, in part thanks to the stellar play in front of their home crowd with a perfect 12-0 record at Target Center, a franchise record. All four of Minnesota’s losses have come on the road, where it holds an 8-4 record.
Offensively, they have gotten even better than they were a season ago, ranking second in offensive rating (107.2) behind only New York (107.4) in that category. The Minnesota Lynx have shot the ball at a high clip from the field, leading the league with a 45.8 percent field-goal percentage and ranking second in points per game (84.7). They also have the highest assist percentage in the league at 75.6% to go along with a league-best 1.78 assist-to-turnover ratio.
“I think our identity on the offensive end is we move the basketball, we make you have to guard side-to-side and inside-out, we share it, and we don’t care who gets the credit,” Reeve said. “That’s our identity.”
But on defense, that is where they have thrived and is an area that feeds into the team’s success. Minnesota ranks first in the WNBA in defensive rating (94.8), leading the league in blocks (5.2 per game) and ranking fourth in steals (8.3). One stat that has been a measurement of success for the Lynx has been their ability to hold opponents under 40 percent from the field, compiling an impressive record of 173-9 since 2011 when keeping opponents under 40 percent shooting from the field.
“At the beginning of the season, defensively, we were a little slower starting. Man, have we gotten to a great place. We are the best defensive team in the league,” Reeve noted. “Our success is because we are defending at a high level. … It is the key ingredient to our success.”
Reeve has said for years that you need to be able to thrive on both ends of the floor—especially on the defensive end—to have any shot at a WNBA title. That has certainly been the case for the Minnesota Lynx thus far, and is a big reason for its success early on.
“Our goal is to have the best combination of defense and offense,” Reeve said. “That gives you the best chance to compete for a title.”
Star Power
At the head of Minnesota’s strong start has been the impressive display of star power at the top, led by MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier and fellow All-Stars Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams.
Collier has been the best player in the league at the midway point in the season, and if the season ended today, she would be WNBA MVP without question. In 21 appearances entering the All-Star break, Collier is averaging career-highs of 23.3 points per game (PPG) and 1.6 blocks per game (BPG) to go along with 7.6 rebounds per game (RPG), 3.3 assists per game (APG), and 1.8 steals per game (SPG). She ranks first in the WNBA in scoring, fourth in steals and blocks, and 10th in rebounds.
“Always improving is what makes you a great player,” Collier said earlier this season on ESPN. “Never being complacent with where you are. I feel like I’ve tried to embrace that and make my game better every year.”
As for Collier’s fellow All-Star teammates, McBride, and Williams have once again stepped up to form a talented Big Three in Minneapolis. McBride is second on the team in scoring with 14.3 PPG, providing Minnesota with a three-point threat and clutch playmaker on both ends at key moments. Williams has taken her play up a notch in her second season with the Lynx, bringing the energy on a nightly basis as the floor general while averaging 14.0 PPG to go along with 6.0 APG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.6 SPG.
Those three All-Stars have led the way and are the biggest reasons for Minnesota sitting atop the league, but the supporting cast both in the starting lineup and off the bench has made a big impact on the Lynx thus far—and will only continue to do so down the stretch and in the playoffs.
Balance and Depth
Minnesota was a well-rounded, deep team a season ago in the WNBA Finals run, but this year the Lynx are even more balanced and even deeper. That has already shown up in the first half of the season—notably in the stretch with 11 games over 20 days leading into the All-Star break—and will be huge in a hopeful return to the Finals.
Behind the Big Three of Collier, McBride, and Williams in the starting lineup, Alanna Smith’s do-it-all play and Bridget Carleton’s deep-ball threat and clutch shotmaking ability have made the starting lineup extremely balanced.
But on the bench, that’s where they have become even better this season. The bounce-back play of Natisha Hiedeman in 2025 has been huge in relief of Williams when she needs a break (we’ll talk about StudBudz a different time, that could be its own story). The re-signing of Jessica Shepard after she took off the 2024 season to stay overseas has provided a brusher, all-around option in the paint. And the improved play and value of Diamond Miller to go along with the spark of Maria Kliundikova gives Minnesota a legit 10 players who can hurt you at any point.
That balance is exhausting for opposing teams to try and defend as it drains you with no break in the pressure, regardless of which five players are on the floor.
“Our bench, we’re a close-knit group, and we still stick together. We know we rely on each other for however long we’re out there,” Shepard said. “We have just built a trust with each other and coach is growing in her trust in us.”
At the break, Minnesota’s second unit ranks ninth in the WNBA in minutes played, but has made a strong impact in those minutes. Minnesota’s bench is second in offensive rating (44.8) and fifth in defensive rating (40.8), which means there isn’t much of a drop in production when the starters are on the bench.
“I think our bench is growing overall,” Reeve admitted. “We are getting a little more consistency in how we’re using them, when they’re going to be on the floor, what we’re going to do when they’re on the floor. It bodes well for our team.”
The Minnesota Lynx are the top team in the WNBA, both statistically and record-wise, which has led to a historic start to the regular season. That has resulted in them creating space atop the league at the All-Star break, and its mix of star power, balance, depth, and experience could keep that trend going as the team aims to avenge the heartbreak of the 2024 WNBA Finals this season.
“I’m thrilled to be the coach here. I feel blessed,” Reeve said. “I love coaching this team. I care more about anything they are trying to accomplish than anything else.”
All stats listed are as of July 18 and courtesy of WNBA.com.
