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.
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]
See also: 2016 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 | Minnesota Lynx (then traded to San Antonio)[3] | James Madison | ||
| 2 | 22 | Bashaara Graves | Minnesota Lynx | Tennessee | ||
| 3 | 35 | Temi Fagbenle | Minnesota Lynx | USC |
| 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] | |
|- style="background:#bbffbb;"| 1| May 5| @ New York| W 77–74| Renee Montgomery (17)| Courtney Clements (5)| 6 players (2)| Levien Gymnasium
1,028| 1–0|- style="background:#fcc;"| 2| May 8| Washington| L 68–85| Keisha Hampton (15)| Natasha Howard (6)| Moore, Montgomery (4)| Mayo Civic Center
4,524| 1–1
|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 1| May 14| Phoenix | W 95–76| Maya Moore (27)| Sylvia Fowles (14)| Maya Moore (10)| Target Center
9,221| 1–0|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 2| May 18| @ Chicago| W 97–80| Sylvia Fowles (24)| Sylvia Fowles (13)| Augustus, Moore (6)| Allstate Arena
5,034| 2–0|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 3| May 22| Seattle| W 78–71| Maya Moore (17)| Maya Moore (9)| Maya Moore (4)| KeyArena
9,686| 3–0|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 4| May 25| @ Phoenix| W 85–78| Maya Moore (34)| Rebekkah Brunson (10)| Lindsay Whalen (7)| Talking Stick Resort Arena
9,368| 4–0|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 5| May 27| Indiana| W 74–71| Augustus, Whalen (12)| Janel McCarville (9)| Maya Moore (8)| Target Center
7,503| 5–0|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 6| May 31| @ New York| W 79–69| Maya Moore (25)| Rebekkah Brunson (7)| Renee Montgomery (4)| Madison Square Garden
7,356| 6–0|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 7 || June 4 || Dallas || W 80–63 || Sylvia Fowles (16) || Rebekkah Brunson (8) || Lindsay Whalen (8) || Target Center
7,634 || 7–0|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 8 || June 7 || Phoenix || W 89–81 || Fowles, Moore (21) || Rebekkah Brunson (9) || Brunson, Montgomery, Moore (4) || Target Center
7,207 || 8–0|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 9 || June 10 || @ Atlanta || W 110–78 || Maya Moore (19) || Sylvia Fowles (11) || Montgomery, Perkins (5) || Philips Arena
5,368 || 9–0|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 10 || June 11 || @ Washington || W 83–76 || Seimone Augustus (21) || Rebekkah Brunson (12) || Maya Moore (5) || Capital One Arena
7,751 || 10–0|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 11 || June 14 || Indiana || W 87–63 || Maya Moore (16) || Fowles, Moore (8) || Lindsay Whalen (6) || Target Center
7,623 || 11–0|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 12 || June 19 || @ Seattle || W 96–84 || Maya Moore (18) || Maya Moore (7) || Renee Montgomery (10) || KeyArena
5,749 || 12–0|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 13 || June 21 || @ Los Angeles || W 72–69 || Seimone Augustus (13) || Sylvia Fowles (11) || McCarville, Montgomery (4) || Staples Center
9,112 || 13–0|- style="background:#fcc"| 14 || June 24 || Los Angeles || L 76–94 || Maya Moore (28) || Sylvia Fowles (11) || Maya Moore (4) || Target Center
13,003 || 13–1|- style="background:#fcc"| 15 || June 26 || @ Washington || L 63–87 || Sylvia Fowles (13) || Jia Perkins (6) || Seimone Augustus (5) || Capital One Arena
6,322 || 13–2|- style="background:#fcc"| 16 || June 29 || New York || L 92–95 (OT) || Maya Moore (24) || Rebekkah Brunson (10) || Rebekkah Brunson (5) || Target Center
7,721 || 13–3|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 17 || July 2 || San Antonio || W 91–68 || Natasha Howard (21) || Rebekkah Brunson (12) || Maya Moore (5) || Target Center
7,534 || 14–3|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 18 || July 5 || Chicago || W 87–82 || Maya Moore (33) || Rebekkah Brunson (8) || Lindsay Whalen (4) || Target Center
7,433 || 15–3|- style="background:#fcc"| 19 || July 7 || @ Connecticut || L 89–93 || Maya Moore (40) || Maya Moore (8) || Jia Perkins (6) || Mohegan Sun Arena
6,739 || 15–4|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 20 || July 9 || Dallas || W 93–56 || Lindsay Wahlen (22) || Sylvia Fowles (10) || Maya Moore (7) || Target Center
7,613 || 16–4|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 21 || July 12 || @ San Antonio || W 81–57 || Maya Moore (22) || Sylvia Fowles (8) || Maya Moore (7) || AT&T Center
11,171 || 17–4|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 22 || July 15 || New York || W 88–70 || Seimone Augustus (20) || Seimone Augustus (7) || Lindsay Whalen (8) || Target Center
8,123 || 18–4|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 23 || July 17 || @ Dallas || W 98–97 (OT) || Maya Moore (20) || Sylvia Fowles (19) || Maya Moore (6) || College Park Center
5,752 || 19–4|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 24 || July 20 || Atlanta || W 83–65 || Seimone Augustus (19) || Rebekkah Brunson (12) || Seimone Augustus (5) || Target Center
16,132 || 20–4|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 25 || July 22 || Seattle || W 79–72 || Maya Moore (21) || Sylvia Fowles (12) || Renee Montgomery (6) || Target Center
12,124 || 21–4|- style="background:#fcc"| 26 || August 26 || @ Connecticut || L 80–84 || Fowles, Whalen (16) || Rebekkah Brunson (11) || Moore, Whalen (3) || Mohegan Sun Arena
7,381 || 21–5|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 27 || August 28 || Seattle || W 92–80 || Lindsay Whalen (24) || Sylvia Fowles (11) || Natasha Howard (4) || Target Center
11,834 || 22–5|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 28 || September 2 || Washington || W 75–69 || Maya Moore (27) || Sylvia Fowles (17) || McCarville, Whalen (4) || Target Center
7,523 || 23–5|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 29 || September 4 || Connecticut || W 93–79 || Maya Moore (24) || Sylvia Fowles (8) || Lindsay Whalen (6) || Target Center
7,632 || 24–5|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 30 || September 6 || @ Los Angeles || W 77–74 || Sylvia Fowles (21) || Rebekkah Brunson (11) || Fowles, Moore, Whalen (3) || Staples Center
7,224 || 25–5|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 31 || September 11 || @ San Antonio || W 81–76 || Seimone Augustus (20) || Rebekkah Brunson (11) || Maya Moore (6) || AT&T Center
5,705 || 26–5|- style="background:#fcc"| 32 || September 13 || @ Chicago || L 97–98 (OT) || Maya Moore (27) || Fowles, Howard (7) || Maya Moore (5) || Allstate Arena
6,050 || 27–5|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 33 || September 16 || @ Indiana || W 82–75 || Maya Moore (15) || Rebekkah Brunson (9) || Cruz, Montgomery (4) || Bankers Life Fieldhouse
8,663 || 27–6|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 34 || September 17 || Atlanta || W 95–87 || Sylvia Fowles (30) || Natasha Howard (9) || Maya Moore (8) || Target Center
11,663 || 28–6
|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 1| September 28| Phoenix| W 113–95| Maya Moore (31)| Sylvia Fowles (10)| Augustus, Whalen (7)| Xcel Energy Center
9,013| 1–0|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 2| September 30| Phoenix| W 96–86| Maya Moore (26)| Rebekkah Brunson (11)| Maya Moore (5)| Xcel Energy Center
11,923| 2–0|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 3| October 2| Phoenix| W 82–67| Maya Moore (20)| Rebekkah Brunson (9)| Lindsay Whalen (5)| US Airways Center
9,631| 3–0|- style="background:#fcc"| 1 || October 9 || Los Angeles || L 76–78 || Fowles, Moore, Whalen (18) || Sylvia Fowles (13) || Lindsay Whalen (6) || Target Center
12,113 || 0–1|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 2 || October 11 || Los Angeles || W 79–60 || Maya Moore (21) || Sylvia Fowles (15) || Sylvia Fowles (4) || Target Center
12,832 || 1–1|- style="background:#fcc"| 3 || October 14 || @ Los Angeles || L 75–92 || Brunson, Fowles (14) || Maya Moore (7) || Maya Moore (5) || Galen Center
8,093 || 1–2|- style="background:#bbffbb"| 4 || October 16 || @ Los Angeles || W 85–79 || Maya Moore (31) || Sylvia Fowles (13) || Augustus, Moore (5) || Staples Center
12,885 || 2–2|- style="background:#fcc"| 5 || October 20 || Los Angeles || L 76–77 || Maya Moore (23) || Brunson, Fowles (9) || Maya Moore (11) || Target Center
19,423 || 2–3
See also: 2016 WNBA 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.
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 | |||
| Cheryl Reeve | Coach of the Year Award | September 30, 2016 | [11] |