Losing is not something the Minnesota Lynx have had to deal with much in 2025, dropping only 10 regular-season games out of 44. They swept the Golden State Valkyries in the first round of the playoffs and were cruising in the postseason — until the second half of Tuesday’s semifinal Game 2 against the Phoenix Mercury.
Up by 20 points, the Lynx’s play became sloppy. In the second half, they had 10 turnovers and gave up 47 points. Minnesota led the league in assists in the regular season, but had only eight in the second half of the Game 2 overtime loss. They forgot who they were: a team that dominated the regular season and earned the top seed one year after losing a heartbreaking WNBA Finals Game 5.
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“Our response to it was very uncharacteristic,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said after the game. “Some of the body language, in terms of players that you’re used to seeing certain looks from, and then, we needed to go get buckets. And we had good opportunities that we weren’t strong enough, we weren’t tough enough, and they ripped the game from us.”
Minnesota now goes on the road to face Phoenix on its home turf for Games 3 and 4. The Mercury were 15-7 at home in the regular season, and their fanbase, known as the X-Factor, will be a loud and intense presence with the series tied 1-1. To tip the scales in their favor, the Lynx will have to lean on their teamwork and chemistry. Or as Lynx forward and All-Star MVP candidate Napheesa Collier calls it, “the power of friendship.”
“We operate on the power of friendship,” she said before Game 1. “We won games on the power of friendship. I think it feels like we go out there and play for each other. When one person goes down, you have their back.”
The team’s bond is obvious in their practices and on the bench during games. Losing in last year’s Finals only strengthened that tie. Reeve said it’s not something she thought about when bringing the team together, but she appreciates it.
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“We can’t sit here and tell you that when we had the group coming into ‘24 and we added [Courtney Williams and Alanna Smith], we can’t sit here and tell you that we would catch that lightning in a bottle. That’s exactly what happened and from a personality standpoint, how they feel about each other and that friendship that they speak of,” Reeve said. “You can be functionally dysfunctional and be successful. That can happen, but it’s not sustained success. And I think this is what allows them to sustain their success over time.”
That team chemistry is where Minnesota has a slight edge on Phoenix, whose big three of Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper are in their first season together. This full Lynx core is in its second season with Courtney Williams, Alanna Smith and Natisha Hiedeman, though Collier has been with the team her entire six-year career, Kayla McBride for five seasons and Jessica Shepard for six.
That cohesion was evident in Game 1. Minnesota was down by seven at the half, and it went into the locker room in problem-solving mode before coming back to win 82-69.
“In those moments when we need to brainstorm, or whatever, it’s never [that] we’re all on islands. We’re doing it together, and that’s really what it is,” Lynx guard Kayla McBride said. “We’re just trying to problem solve and do whatever it takes to win.”
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The Lynx also aren’t afraid to lean on their bench players. Hiedeman led the league in bench scoring (399 points) and assists (123) in the regular season, and Shepard led in bench rebounds (293). Starters will be vocal from the sidelines as their counterparts are sometimes finishing games.
“I don’t want to close no game if I’m not having a good game. I want to win,” Williams said. “So if [Hiedeman] is out there hooping and she’s outplaying me, the reality is I need to sit down so we can win. It’s about we, not me, and I think we all take on that mindset. We just want to win. So whoever out there getting it done, that’s what needs to be out there getting it done.”
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Williams has played for five different teams in her 10 WNBA seasons, so she knows the kind of environment the Lynx have isn’t common or easy to replicate.
“Sometimes you get on the team and it’s not as natural,” Williams said. “And you don’t want to force anything. And we don’t force it. We just all are naturally good people.”
