# 2020 Minnesota Lynx season

The 2020 WNBA season is the 22nd season for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season began on July 26, 2020, versus the Connecticut Sun.
This WNBA season will feature an all-time high 36 regular-season games. However, the plan for expanded games was put on hold on April 3, when the WNBA postponed its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under a plan approved on June 15, the league is scheduled to hold a shortened 22-game regular season at IMG Academy, without fans present, starting on July 24.
The Lynx' season started strongly, as the team won five of their first six games, with their only loss coming to the Seattle Storm. They won three of the next five to hold a 8–3 record at the halfway mark of the season. The team finished the season with a 3–2 stretch of five games and a 3–3 stretch of the last six games. Their overall 14–8 record earned them the fourth seed in the playoffs.
As the fourth seed, the Lynx earned a bye into the Second Round. They faced off against the Phoenix Mercury, and won a very close game 80–79. With that win, they advanced to face Seattle in the Semifinals. The Lynx lost the first game in the series by two points, and then were defeated by ten points and twenty-one points in games two and three. The three game sweep ended the Lynx' season.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
| 1 | 6 | Mikiah Herbert Harrigan | Anguilla United Kingdom | South Carolina |
| 2 | 16 | Crystal Dangerfield | United States | Connecticut |

### Trades/Roster Changes

| Date | Details |
| February 11, 2020 | F Rebekkah Brunson retired and was hired as an assistant coach of the Lynx. |
| February 25, 2020 | Acquired G Rachel Banham from the Connecticut Sun in exchange for a 2nd round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft. |
| February 29, 2020 | Signed F Cecilia Zandalasini |
| March 6, 2020 | Traded the 14th pick in the 2020 WNBA draft and their second round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft to Indiana Fever in exchange for G Shenise Johnson and the 16th pick in the 2020 WNBA draft. |
| April 17, 2020 | Traded F Stephanie Talbot to New York in exchange for the draft rights for G Erica Ogwumike. |
| May 25, 2020 | Waived G Linnae Harper and G Erica Ogwumike |
| May 31, 2020 | Moved G Odyssey Sims to an Inactive List and suspended F Jessica Shepard |
| June 17, 2020 | F Cecilia Zandalasini announces she will be opting out of the season due to COVID-19 and signed F Megan Huff |
| July 30, 2020 | Waived F Karima Christmas-Kelly and signed F Erica McCall |
| August 6, 2020 | Activated G Odyssey Sims and waived F Megan Huff |

## Game log
### Regular season

2020 game log Total: 14–8 :
July
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
July 26
Connecticut Sun
W 77–69
Sylvia Fowles (17)
Sylvia Fowles (18)
Damiris Dantas (5)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
1–0
2
July 28
Seattle Storm
L 66–90
Damiris Dantas (18)
Sylvia Fowles (11)
Napheesa Collier (5)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
1–1
3
July 30
Chicago Sky
W 83–81
Napheesa Collier (20)
Napheesa Collier (10)
Collier, Johnson (4)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
2–1 :
August
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
4
August 1
Connecticut Sun
W 78-69
Sylvia Fowles (21)
Sylvia Fowles (13)
Napheesa Collier (4)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
3–1
5
August 5
New York Liberty
W 92–66
Bridget Carleton (25)
Carleton, Collier (7)
Rachel Banham (5)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
4–1
6
August 7
Indiana Fever
W 87–80
Lexie Brown (26)
Brown, Fowles (6)
Lexie Brown (9)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
5-1
7
August 9
Los Angeles Sparks
L 81-97
Crystal Dangerfield (29)
Damiris Dantas (7)
Lexie Brown (6)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
5–2
8
August 11
Washington Mystics
W 68–48
Sylvia Fowles (16)
Sylvia Fowles (13)
Crystal Dangerfield (4)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
6–2
9
August 13
Las Vegas Aces
L 77–87
Napheesa Collier (21)
Napheesa Collier (14)
Damiris Dantas (7)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
6–3
10
August 15
New York Liberty
W 94-64
Napheesa Collier (26)
Napheesa Collier (13)
Collier, Sims (5)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
7–3
11
August 19
Dallas Wings
W 91-84
Crystal Dangerfield (21)
Bridget Carleton (9)
Crystal Dangerfield (6)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
8–3
12
August 21
Phoenix Mercury
W 90-80
Napheesa Collier (20)
Napheesa Collier (9)
Collier, Carleton (6)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
9–3
13
August 23
Atlanta Dream
L 75–78
Napheesa Collier (18)
Damiris Dantas (9)
Carleton, Dantas, Dangerfield (3)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
9–4
14
August 28
Atlanta Dream
W 88–79
Crystal Dangerfield (23)
Napheesa Collier (12)
Odyssey Sims (9)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
10–4
15
August 30
Phoenix Mercury
L 79–83
Crystal Dangerfield (20)
Napheesa Collier (6)
Odyssey Sims (5)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
10–5
16
August 31
Los Angeles Sparks
W 96–78
Napheesa Collier (25)
Collier, Dantas (9)
Bridget Carleton (10)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
11–5 :
September
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
17
September 2
Chicago Sky
W 86–83
Damiris Dantas (28)
Napheesa Collier (9)
Crystal Dangerfield (7)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
12–5
18
September 4
Dallas Wings
W 88–75
Damiris Dantas (18)
Napheesa Collier (14)
Crystal Dangerfield (5)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
13–5
19
September 6
Seattle Storm
L 88–103
Damiris Dantas (22)
Damiris Dantas (9)
Odyssey Sims (4)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
13–6
20
September 8
Washington Mystics
L 86–89
Napheesa Collier (21)
Napheesa Collier (11)
Crystal Dangerfield (7)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
13–7
21
September 10
Las Vegas Aces
L 89–104
Crystal Dangerfield (24)
Napheesa Collier (11)
Napheesa Collier (10)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
13-8
22
September 12
Indiana Fever
W 98–86
Rachel Banham (29)
Napheesa Collier (8)
Rachel Banham (10)
IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance
14–8 :
2020 season schedule :

### Playoffs

2020 playoff game log Total: 1–3 :
Second Round
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 17
Phoenix Mercury
W 80–79
Damiris Dantas (22)
Napheesa Collier (9)
Napheesa Collier (6)
IMG Academy
1–0 :
Semifinals
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 22
Seattle Storm
L 86–88
Napheesa Collier (25)
Napheesa Collier (9)
Crystal Dangerfield (6)
IMG Academy
0–1
2
September 24
Seattle Storm
L 79–89
Damiris Dantas (23)
Carleton, Dantas (7)
Crystal Dangerfield (7)
IMG Academy
0–2
3
September 27
Seattle Storm
L 71–92
Napheesa Collier (22)
Napheesa Collier (15)
Dantas & Sims (4)
IMG Academy
0–3 :
2020 playoff schedule :

## Standings

| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. |
| 1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 18 | 4 | .818 | – | 8–2 |
| 2 | x – Seattle Storm | 18 | 4 | .818 | – | 8–2 |
| 3 | x – Los Angeles Sparks | 15 | 7 | .682 | 3 | 5–5 |
| 4 | x – Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 8 | .636 | 4 | 4–6 |
| 5 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 13 | 9 | .591 | 5 | 4–6 |
| 6 | x – Chicago Sky | 12 | 10 | .545 | 6 | 6–4 |
| 7 | x – Connecticut Sun | 10 | 12 | .455 | 8 | 7–3 |
| 8 | x – Washington Mystics | 9 | 13 | .409 | 9 | 6–4 |
| 9 | e – Dallas Wings | 8 | 14 | .364 | 10 | 1–9 |
| 10 | e – Atlanta Dream | 7 | 15 | .318 | 11 | 5–5 |
| 11 | e – Indiana Fever | 6 | 16 | .273 | 12 | 4–6 |
| 12 | e – New York Liberty | 2 | 20 | .091 | 16 | 2–8 |
* v
* t
* e

## Playoffs

| First round: Single elimination (September 15) | First round: Single elimination (September 15) | First round: Single elimination (September 15) | Second round: Single elimination (September 17) | Second round: Single elimination (September 17) | Second round: Single elimination (September 17) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (October 2–11) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (October 2–11) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (October 2–11) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (October 2–11) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (October 2–11) |
| | | | | | | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 62 | 83 | 68 | 84 | 66 | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Minnesota Lynx | 80 | 7 | Connecticut Sun | 87 | 75 | 77 | 75 | 63 | | | | | |
| 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 85 | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 79 | | | | | | | | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 80 | 91 | 59 |
| 8 | Washington Mystics | 84 | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Seattle Storm | 93 | 104 | 92 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Seattle Storm | Seattle Storm | Seattle Storm | 88 | 89 | 92 | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | Los Angeles Sparks | 59 | 4 | Minnesota Lynx | Minnesota Lynx | Minnesota Lynx | 86 | 79 | 71 | | | | | |
| 6 | Chicago Sky | 81 | 7 | Connecticut Sun | 73 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Connecticut Sun | 94 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

## Statistics
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Crystal Dangerfield | 21 | 19 | 30.0 | 47.1 | 33.3 | 92.2 | 2.0 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 16.2 |
| Napheesa Collier | 22 | 22 | 34.2 | 52.3 | 40.8 | 82.9 | 9.0 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 16.1 |
| Sylvia Fowles | 7 | 7 | 24.1 | 60.9 | 0 | 82.8 | 9.7 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 14.6 |
| Damiris Dantas | 22 | 22 | 26.6 | 46.4 | 4..6 | 72.7 | 6.1 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 12.9 |
| Odyssey Sims | 13 | 7 | 18.5 | 40.4 | 33.3 | 90.9 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 6.9 |
| Rachel Banham | 20 | 1 | 17.0 | 46.2 | 47.2 | 80.0 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 6.9 |
| Bridget Carleton | 22 | 15 | 25.8 | 52.0 | 45.7 | 64.3 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0 | 6.6 |
| Lexie Brown | 17 | 13 | 22.0 | 34.2 | 26.9 | 79.2 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 0 | 6.4 |
| Shenise Johnson | 17 | 4 | 12.5 | 34.1 | 35.3 | 89.3 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 5.1 |
| Mikiah Herbert Harrigan | 21 | 0 | 11.1 | 36.6 | 42.4 | 71.4 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 3.8 |
| Erica McCall | 19 | 0 | 9.4 | 35.6 | 25.0 | 81.8 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 2.7 |
| Kayla Alexander | 16 | 0 | 5.6 | 53.3 | 0 | 62.5 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 2.3 |

## Awards and Milestones

| Recipient | Award/Milestone | Date Awarded |
| Napheesa Collier | Western Conference Player of the Week | August 17, 2020 |
| Napheesa Collier | 2nd Team All-Defense | September 29, 2020 |
| Napheesa Collier | All-WNBA Second Team | October 4, 2020 |
| Crystal Dangerfield | WNBA Rookie of the Month – August | September 1, 2020 |
| Crystal Dangerfield | WNBA Rookie of the Month – September | September 15, 2020 |
| Crystal Dangerfield | Rookie of the Year | September 17, 2020 |
| Crystal Dangerfield | All-Rookie Team | September 27, 2020 |
| Cheryl Reeve | Coach of the Year | September 17, 2020 |