The 2016 WNBA season of the Minnesota Lynx was the 18th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Lynx were the defending WNBA champions.[1] Their 2016 roster included five competitors in the 2016 Rio Olympics (Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, Sylvia Fowles, and Seimone Augustus of the U.S. squad and Anna Cruz of the Spanish team) as well as seven current or previous all-stars (Moore, Whalen, Fowles, Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, Jia Perkins and Renee Montgomery) with 22 total past selections to the all-star game between them.
| 2016 Minnesota Lynx season | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Cheryl Reeve |
| Arena | Target Center |
| Attendance | 9,266 per game |
| Results | |
| Record | 28–6 (.824) |
| Place | 1st (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Lost 2016 WNBA Finals 2–3 to Los Angeles |
| Team Leaders | |
| Points | Maya Moore – 19.3 ppg |
| Rebounds | Sylvia Fowles – 8.5 rpg |
| Assists | Maya Moore – 4.2 ppg |
| Media | |
| Television | ESPN |
The Lynx started the season well, winning all six of their games in August. The closest game of the run was a three-point home win over Indiana on May 27. The Lynx carried their momentum into June and won their first seven games of the month to extend their winning streak to thirteen games. Los Angeles ended their winning streak on June 24 despite the Lynx having beaten Los Angeles three nights before. The Lynx lost the next two games, including an overtime game against New York to end June 7–3. The team won the first two games of July before losing to Connecticut by four-points on July 7. The Lynx then won their next six games in a row to finish July 8–1 and head into the Olympic break with an overall record of 21–4. They lost again by four points to Connecticut upon their return from the Olympic break, but re-gained their winning ways with a twelve-point win over Seattle. They extended their winning streak to five games before losing at Chicago in overtime. They won their last two games of the season to finish 28–6.
The Lynx' record of 28–6 earned them the first seed in the 2016 WNBA Playoffs. As the first seed, they received a bye to the semifinals where they matched-up against Phoenix. Minnesota won the first two games at home eighteen points and ten points. They dominated game three on the road, winning by fifteen points to win the series 3-0. Minnesota advanced to the WNBA Finals where they matched-up with Los Angeles. The Lynx were unable to win game one at home, losing by just two points. They rebounded with a nineteen point win in game two and evened the series as it moved to Los Angeles. The Lynx lost game three by seventeen points, but staved off elimination in game four, winning by six points. The deciding game five was in Minnesota, but home court advantage was not enough for the Lynx to repeat as champions. The Lynx lost the game by one-point on a last second shot.[2]
Transactions
WNBA draft
The Lynx made three selections in the 2016 WNBA Entry Draft in Uncasville, Connecticut:
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | WNBA Team | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 14 | Jazmon Gwathmey |  United States | Minnesota Lynx[nb 1] (then traded to San Antonio)[3] | James Madison |
| 2 | 22 | Bashaara Graves | United States | Minnesota Lynx[nb 2] | Tennessee |
| 3 | 35 | Temi Fagbenle |  United Kingdom | Minnesota Lynx | USC |
Trades and roster changes
| Date | Trade | |
|---|---|---|
| February 2 | Re-signed Sylvia Fowles[4] | |
| The Lynx acquired Natasha Howard from the Indiana Fever in exchange for Devereaux Peters[5] | ||
| Signed Renee Montgomery[6] | ||
| April 14 | The Lynx acquired the rights to Jazmon Gwathmey from the San Antonio Stars in exchange for Jia Perkins[7] | |
Roster
| Minnesota Lynx roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Game log
Preseason
| 2016 pre-season game log Total: 1–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 1–0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pre-season: 1–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 1–0)
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| 2016 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
| 2016 game log Total: 28–6 (Home: 15–2; Road: 13–4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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May: 6–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 4–0)
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June: 7–3 (Home: 3–2; Road: 4–1)
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July: 8–1 (Home: 6–0; Road: 2–1)
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August: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
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September: 6–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 3–1)
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| 2016 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playoffs
| 2016 playoff game log Total: 5–3 (Home: 3–2; Road: 2–1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Semifinals vs. Phoenix Won Series: 3–0
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Finals vs. Los Angeles Lost Series: 2–3
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| 2016 playoff schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Standings
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - Minnesota Lynx | 28 | 6 | .824 | — | 15–2 | 13–4 | 15–1 |
| 2 - Los Angeles Sparks | 26 | 8 | .765 | 2 | 14–3 | 12–5 | 11–5 |
| 7 - Seattle Storm | 16 | 18 | .471 | 12 | 10–7 | 6–11 | 7–9 |
| 8 - Phoenix Mercury | 16 | 18 | .471 | 12 | 11–6 | 5–12 | 6–10 |
| e - Dallas Wings | 11 | 23 | .324 | 17 | 6–11 | 5–12 | 8–8 |
| e - San Antonio Stars | 7 | 27 | .206 | 21 | 4–13 | 3–14 | 1–15 |
Playoffs
The Lynx qualified for the 2016 playoffs, and, as the team with the best regular season record in the WNBA, received two automatic byes, advancing straight to the best-of-five semifinal against the eighth-seeded Phoenix Mercury. They swept the Mercury three games to none to advance to the 2016 WNBA Finals.
| First round: Single elimination (Sept. 21) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 24 and 25) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Minnesota Lynx | 113 | 96 | 82 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | New York Liberty | 94 | 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 95 | 86 | 67 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Indiana Fever | 78 | 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 101 | 1 | Minnesota Lynx | 76 | 79 | 75 | 85 | 76 | |||||||||||||
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 89 | 2 | Los Angeles Sparks | 78 | 60 | 92 | 79 | 77 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Los Angeles Sparks | 95 | 99 | 66 | 95 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Chicago Sky | 108 | 4 | Chicago Sky | 75 | 84 | 70 | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Atlanta Dream | 94 | 6 | Atlanta Dream | 98 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Seattle Storm | 85 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.
Statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | TO | Turnovers per game |
| PF | Fouls per game | Team leader | League leader | ||||
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maya Moore | 34 | 34 | 29.7 | 44.8% | 40.4% | 86.8% | 5.1 | 4.2 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 19.3 |
| Sylvia Fowles | 34 | 34 | 28.5 | 59.5% | — | 71.7% | 8.5 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 13.9 |
| Seimone Augustus | 29 | 29 | 26.4 | 46.0% | 33.3% | 80.4% | 2.9 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 11.2 |
| Rebekkah Brunson | 33 | 33 | 24.6 | 47.7% | 0.0% | 85.7% | 7.3 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 7.4 |
| Lindsay Whalen | 32 | 32 | 24.6 | 51.3% | 27.3% | 89.2% | 2.6 | 3.8 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 9.8 |
| Jia Perkins | 34 | 5 | 20.7 | 36.6% | 22.8% | 83.3% | 2.6 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 6.4 |
| Renee Montgomery | 34 | 2 | 19.3 | 39.7% | 32.1% | 82.8% | 0.9 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 7.5 |
| Natasha Howard | 34 | 1 | 14.6 | 57.4% | 20.0% | 67.7% | 3.6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 6.7 |
| Janel McCarville | 33 | 0 | 12.6 | 45.7% | 18.2% | 60.0% | 2.5 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 3.3 |
| Anna Cruz | 6 | 0 | 10.0 | 45.5 | 100% | 100% | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.8 |
| Keisha Hampton | 27 | 0 | 6.8 | 33.3% | 33.3% | 87.0% | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2.6 |
| Bashaara Graves | 12 | 0 | 3.4 | 28.6% | — | — | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maya Moore | 8 | 8 | 32.9 | 51.7% | 38.7% | 93.5% | 7.3 | 4.6 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 22.4 |
| Lindsay Whalen | 8 | 8 | 26.6 | 56.9% | 42.9% | 83.3% | 1.9 | 3.9 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 13.1 |
| Sylvia Fowles | 8 | 8 | 31.4 | 61.1% | — | 75.0% | 9.8 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 12.9 |
| Seimone Augustus | 8 | 8 | 26.9 | 39.3% | 25.0% | 87.0% | 2.9 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 11.1 |
| Rebekkah Brunson | 8 | 8 | 29.3 | 47.3% | — | 79.2% | 6.5 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 8.9 |
| Natasha Howard | 8 | 0 | 13.0 | 70.0% | — | 42.9% | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 5.6 |
| Jia Perkins | 8 | 0 | 17.6 | 39.0% | 10.0% | 100% | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 5.1 |
| Renee Montgomery | 8 | 0 | 12.6 | 37.0% | 44.4% | 90.0% | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 4.1 |
| Keisha Hampton | 4 | 0 | 2.0 | 50.0% | 33.3% | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 |
| Anna Cruz | 6 | 0 | 8.5 | 20.0% | 50.0% | — | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.2 |
| Janel McCarville | 4 | 0 | 4.8 | 40.0% | — | — | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Awards
| Recipient | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maya Moore | All-WNBA First Team | October 14, 2016 | [8] |
| Western Conference Player of the Month - August | September 1, 2016 | [9] | |
| Western Conference Player of the Month - May | June 1, 2016 | ||
| Western Conference Player of the Week | July 11, 2016 | ||
| June 6, 2016 | |||
| May 23, 2016 | |||
| Sylvia Fowles | Defensive Player of the Year Award | September 30, 2016 | [10] |
| All-Defensive First Team | |||
| All-WNBA Second Team | October 14, 2016 | [8] | |
| Cheryl Reeve | Coach of the Year Award | September 30, 2016 | [11] |