# 2019 Minnesota Lynx season

The 2019 WNBA season of the Minnesota Lynx was their 21st season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Lynx finished the 2018 season with a record of 18–16, finishing fourth in the Western Conference and seventh overall in the league, while qualifying for the playoffs, before ultimately being beat by Los Angeles in the first Round of the 2018 WNBA Playoffs.
On February 5, 2019, Maya Moore announced that she would not be playing in the 2019 season citing a need to spend more time with family and to focus on her ministry dreams. On March 14, the Lynx announced that they promoted Walt Hopkins to a full-time assistant coach, while also adding Plenette Pierson to an assistant coaching role.
Despite Moore's retirement, the Lynx started off the season strong, going on a three-game winning streak. However, they could not keep the momentum going, winning only three of their next nine games, including a four-game losing streak, to finish June with a 6–6 record. July proved to be more of the same, with the team winning their first three games in the month, but losing their last three and finishing 4–4 for the month. August was another up-and-down month. The Lynx finished 6–5 on the month, which included losing three games and then winning three games to finish the month. The team did manage to extend their three-game winning streak into a five-game winning streak, but lost their season finale.
Their final record of 18–16 earned them the seventh seed in the playoffs. They faced off against the sixth-seeded Seattle Storm. The Storm earned the right to host the game by winning the regular season series 3–1. Napheesa Collier scored a double double in her playoff debut, but it was ultimately not enough as the Lynx lost by ten points.
Collier's solid postseason continued when she won Rookie of the Year. Collier is the fourth Lynx player to win the award, and the first since Maya Moore.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/team/country |
| 1 | 6 | Napheesa Collier | United States | Connecticut Huskies |
| 2 | 16 | Jessica Shepard | United States | Notre Dame |
| 2 | 18 | Natisha Hiedeman | United States | Marquette |
| 2 | 20 | Cierra Dillard | United States | Buffalo |
| 3 | 30 | Kenisha Bell | United States | Minnesota |

### Trades and roster changes

| Date | Trade |
| February 1, 2019 | Signed F Karima Christmas-Kelly |
| February 2, 2019 | Re-Signed G Seimone Augustus |
| February 8, 2019 | Signed F/C Damiris Dantas |
| February 22, 2019 | Signed F Jillian Alleyne |
| February 28, 2019 | Re-Signed F Erlana Larkins and Signed F Kelsey Griffin |
| April 10, 2019 | Traded G Natisha Hiedeman to Connecticut in exchange for G Lexie Brown. |
| April 11, 2019 | Traded G Tanisha Wright to New York in exchange for a second round pick in the 2020 WNBA draft. |
| April 17, 2019 | Signed F Shao Ting |
| April 22, 2019 | Traded G Alexis Jones to Los Angeles in exchange for G Odyssey Sims. |
| May 11, 2019 | Waived G Cierra Dillard |
| May 16, 2019 | Waived G Taylor Emery |
| May 21, 2019 | Traded their third round pick in the 2020 WNBA draft to Chicago in exchange for C Alaina Coates |
| May 21, 2019 | Traded their second round pick in the 2020 WNBA draft to Phoenix in exchange for G Stephanie Talbot |
| May 22, 2019 | Waived F Erlana Larkins |
| July 2, 2019 | Signed F Asia Taylor and G Kenisha Bell |
| July 13, 2019 | Waived F Shao Ting and activated F Temi Fagbenle |
| July 14, 2019 | Waived C Alaina Coates |
| July 19, 2019 | Waived G Kenisha Bell |
| July 25, 2019 | Waived F Asia Taylor |
| July 30, 2019 | Signed F Jillian Alleyne to a 7-Day Contract |
| August 6, 2019 | Signed F Jillian Alleyne to a 2nd 7-Day Contract |
| August 13, 2019 | Signed F Jillian Alleyne to a 3rd 7-Day Contract |
| August 22, 2019 | Signed F Bridget Carleton to a 7-Day Contract |

### Additions

| Player | Date | Former team |
| Karima Christmas-Kelly | February 1, 2019 | Dallas Wings |
| Damiris Dantas | February 8, 2019 | Atlanta Dream |
| Lexie Brown | April 11, 2019 | Connecticut Sun |
| Odyssey Sims | April 22, 2019 | Los Angeles Sparks |

### Subtractions

| Player | Date | New team/reason |
| Lindsay Whalen | August 13, 2018 | Retirement |
| James Wade (assistant coach) | November 18, 2018 | Chicago Sky Head Coach |
| Maya Moore | February 5, 2019 | Taking Year Off |

## Schedule
### Preseason

2019 pre-season game log :
May: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 10
Washington
W 86–79
Sims (20)
Fowles (11)
Sims (7)
Target Center 3,201
1–0
2
May 19
@ Las Vegas
W 79–75
Sims (25)
Fowles (7)
Brown (7)
Cox Pavilion
1–1 :
2019 pre-season schedule :

### Regular season

2019 game log Total: 18–16 (Home: 11–6; Road: 7–10) :
May: 2–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 25
Chicago
W 89–71
Collier (27)
Shepard (13)
Shepard (6)
Target Center 8,524
1–0
2
May 29
Seattle
W 72–61
Sims (15)
Fowles (13)
Sims (5)
Target Center 8,092
2–0 :
June
: 4–6 (Home: 2–3; Road: 2–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
3
June 1
@ Dallas
W 70–67
Dantas (20)
Fowles (12)
Sims (5)
College Park Center 6,535
3–0
4
June 4
@ Seattle
L 77–84
Collier (17)
Fowles (5)
Sims (6)
Angel of the Winds Arena 5,711
3–1
5
June 6
Phoenix
W 58–56
Sims (15)
3 tied (6)
Tied (3)
Target Center 8,001
4–1
6
June 8
Los Angeles
L 85–89
Brown (21)
Fowles (13)
Sims (7)
Target Center 8,834
4–2
7
June 12
@ New York
L 69–75
Fowles (16)
Fowles (11)
Robinson (7)
Westchester County Center 1,181
4–3
8
June 14
Connecticut
L 81–85
Sims (25)
Fowles (9)
Dantas (5)
Target Center 8,803
4–4
9
June 16
Las Vegas
L 75–80
Dantas (22)
Fowles (9)
Dantas (6)
Target Center 8,392
4–5
10
June 22
New York
W 92–83
Sims (20)
Fowles (10)
Dantas (5)
Target Center 8,600
5–5
11
June 25
@ Indiana
W 78–74
Sims (25)
Fowles (11)
Sims (7)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 4,692
6–5
12
June 30
@ Dallas
L 86–89
Sims (23)
Fowles (9)
Sims (8)
College Park Center 4,521
6–6 :
July
: 4–4 (Home: 2–2; Road: 2–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
13
July 2
Atlanta
W 85–68
Talbot (24)
Collier (11)
Sims (8)
Target Center 8,208
7–6
14
July 6
@ Connecticut
W 74–71
Sims (21)
Fowles (11)
Sims (8)
Mohegan Sun Arena 8,076
8–6
15
July 10
@ Chicago
W 73–72
Sims (16)
Fowles (12)
Sims (4)
Wintrust Arena 8,508
9–6
16
July 12
@ Atlanta
L 53–60
Robinson (14)
Fowles (12)
Sims (7)
State Farm Arena 4,001
9–7
17
July 14
Phoenix
W 75–62
Sims (15)
Fowles (13)
Robinson (5)
Target Center 8,801
10–7
18
July 17
Seattle
L 79–90
Brown (20)
Fowles (7)
Robinson (10)
Target Center 8,403
10–8
19
July 21
@ Las Vegas
L 74–79
Sims (19)
Collier (6)
Tied (4)
Mandalay Bay Events Center 4,352
10–9
20
July 24
Washington
L 71–79
Brown (19)
Fowles (12)
Sims (4)
Target Center 17,934
10–10 :
August
: 6–5 (Home: 4–1; Road: 2–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
21
August 3
@ Indiana
L 75–86
Fowles (17)
Collier (7)
Sims (5)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 7,884
10–11
22
August 6
@ Atlanta
W 85–69
Collier (22)
Tied (11)
Collier (5)
State Farm Arena 3,395
11–11
23
August 9
Connecticut
W 89–57
Fowles (17)
Fowles (12)
Sims (9)
Target Center 8,892
12–11
24
August 11
@ Washington
L 78–101
Sims (20)
Collier (6)
Sims (8)
St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200
12–12
25
August 13
@ New York
W 89–73
Sims (17)
Fowles (8)
Sims (6)
Westchester County Center 1,570
13–12
26
August 16
Washington
L 79–86
Fowles (16)
Collier (9)
Tied (5)
Target Center 8,803
13–13
27
August 18
@ Seattle
L 74–82
Sims (30)
Collier (5)
Robinson (9)
Alaska Airlines Arena 9,000
13–14
28
August 20
@ Los Angeles
L 71–81
Brown (20)
Tied (7)
Collier (4)
Staples Center 9,244
13–15
29
August 22
Dallas
W 86–70
Collier (19)
Tied (7)
Dantas (8)
Target Center 8,124
14–15
30
August 25
Las Vegas
W 98–77
Tied (23)
Tied (6)
Robinson (8)
Target Center 8,834
15–15
31
August 27
Chicago
W 93–85
Fowles (25)
Fowles (12)
Sims (8)
Target Center 8,092
16–15 :
September
: 2–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
32
September 1
Indiana
W 81–73
Sims (17)
Collier (10)
3 tied (4)
Target Center 8,833
17–15
33
September 6
@ Phoenix
W 83–69
Sims (22)
Fowles (11)
Sims (9)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 12,140
18–15
34
September 8
@ Los Angeles
L 68–77
Collier (16)
Collier (11)
Dantas (9)
Staples Center 13,500
18–16 :
2019 season schedule :

### Playoffs

2019 playoff game log Total: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1) :
First Round: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 11
@ Seattle Storm
L 74–84
Dantas (20)
Fowles (11)
Sims (5)
Angel of the Winds Arena 5,011
0–1 :
2019 playoff schedule :

## Standings

| # | Western Conference vte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| 1 | Los Angeles Sparks (3) | 22 | 12 | .647 | – | 15–2 | 7–10 | 10–6 |
| 2 | Las Vegas Aces (4) | 21 | 13 | .618 | 1 | 13–4 | 8–9 | 11–5 |
| 3 | Seattle Storm (6) | 18 | 16 | .529 | 4 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 10–6 |
| 4 | Minnesota Lynx (7) | 18 | 16 | .529 | 4 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 7–9 |
| 5 | Phoenix Mercury (8) | 15 | 19 | .441 | 7 | 9–8 | 6–11 | 5–11 |
| 6 | e – Dallas Wings | 10 | 24 | .294 | 12 | 8–9 | 2–15 | 5–11 |
Notes
    (#) – Conference Standing, Playoff Seeds shown to the right of team name
    e – Eliminated from playoffs

## Playoffs

| First round: Single elimination (Sept. 11) | First round: Single elimination (Sept. 11) | First round: Single elimination (Sept. 11) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 15) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 15) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 15) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) |
| | | | | | | 1 | Washington Mystics | 97 | 103 | 75 | 94 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Las Vegas Aces | 93 | 4 | Las Vegas Aces | 95 | 91 | 92 | 90 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Chicago Sky | 105 | 5 | Chicago Sky | 92 | | | | | | | 1 | Washington Mystics | 95 | 87 | 94 | 86 | 89 |
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 76 | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Connecticut Sun | 86 | 99 | 81 | 90 | 78 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Connecticut Sun | Connecticut Sun | 84 | 94 | 78 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | Los Angeles Sparks | 92 | 3 | Los Angeles Sparks | Los Angeles Sparks | 75 | 68 | 56 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Seattle Storm | 84 | 6 | Seattle Storm | 69 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Minnesota Lynx | 74 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

## Statistics
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Odyssey Sims | 34 | 34 | 31.9 | 41.5 | 26.9 | 79.5 | 3.4 | 5.4 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 14.5 |
| Sylvia Fowles | 34 | 34 | 29.5 | 58.8 | 0 | 70.7 | 8.9 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 13.6 |
| Napheesa Collier | 34 | 34 | 33.3 | 49.0 | 36.1 | 79.2 | 6.6 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 13.1 |
| Danielle Robinson | 34 | 26 | 27.0 | 43.7 | 22.0 | 87.9 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 10.1 |
| Damiris Dantas | 26 | 26 | 25.7 | 43.2 | 39.3 | 73.1 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 9.2 |
| Lexie Brown | 33 | 0 | 18.3 | 40.2 | 38.5 | 78.9 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 7.6 |
| Temi Fagbenle | 18 | 0 | 15.1 | 37.0 | 32.6 | 72.2 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 5.4 |
| Stephanie Talbot | 33 | 9 | 17.0 | 37.0 | 32.6 | 87.1 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 5.2 |
| Jessica Shepard | 6 | 0 | 18.7 | 31.3 | 16.7 | 75.0 | 5.7 | 3.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 4.8 |
| Seimone Augustus | 12 | 7 | 13.0 | 31.3 | 16.7 | 75.0 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 3.8 |
| Karima Christmas-Kelly | 6 | 0 | 12.0 | 27.8 | 27.3 | 60.0 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 2.7 |
| Bridget Carleton | 4 | 0 | 2.8 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 0 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 |

## Awards and milestones

| Recipient | Award/milestone | Date awarded |
| Odyssey Sims | WNBA All-Star Selection | July 15, 2019 |
| Sylvia Fowles | WNBA All-Star Selection | July 15, 2019 |
| Napheesa Collier | WNBA All-Star Replacement Selection | July 22, 2019 |
| Danielle Robinson | WNBA Community Assist Award - June | July 23, 2019 |
| Napheesa Collier | WNBA Rookie of the Month - July | August 1, 2019 |
| Napheesa Collier | WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week | August 26, 2019 |
| Napheesa Collier | Rookie of the Year | September 16, 2019 |
| Napheesa Collier | WNBA All-Rookie Team | September 16, 2019 |
| Cheryl Reeve | WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award | September 18, 2019 |