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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. 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.

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 (then traded to San Antonio)	James Madison
2	22	Bashaara Graves	United States	Minnesota Lynx	Tennessee
3	35	Temi Fagbenle	United Kingdom	Minnesota Lynx	USC

Trades and roster changes

Roster

Minnesota Lynx roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs G/F 33 Augustus, Seimone 6' 0" (1.83m) 169 lb (77kg) 04-30-1984 LSU 11 F 32 Brunson, Rebekkah 6' 2" (1.88m) 185 lb (84kg) 12-11-1981 Georgetown 13 G 51 Cruz, Anna 5' 9" (1.75m) 136 lb (62kg) 10-27-1986 Spain 3 C 34 Fowles, Sylvia 6' 6" (1.98m) 212 lb (96kg) 10-06-1985 LSU 9 F 24 Hampton, Keisha 6' 1" (1.85m) 171 lb (78kg) 02-22-1990 DePaul R F 3 Howard, Natasha 6' 2" (1.88m) 171 lb (78kg) 09-02-1991 Florida State 2 F/C 4 McCarville, Janel 6' 2" (1.88m) 218 lb (99kg) 11-03-1982 Minnesota 11 G 21 Montgomery, Renee 5' 7" (1.7m) 143 lb (65kg) 12-02-1986 Connecticut 8 F 23 Moore, Maya 6' 0" (1.83m) 178 lb (81kg) 06-11-1989 Connecticut 6 G 7 Perkins, Jia 5' 8" (1.73m) 168 lb (76kg) 02-23-1982 Texas Tech 13 G 13 Whalen, Lindsay 5' 9" (1.75m) 166 lb (75kg) 05-09-1982 Minnesota 13	Head coach Cheryl Reeve (La Salle) Assistant coaches Shelley Patterson (Washington State) Jim Petersen (Minnesota) Athletic trainer Chuck Barta (Wisconsin-La Crosse) Assistant trainer Kate Taber (Iowa) Legend (C) Team captain (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured

Game log

Preseason

Regular season

Playoffs

Standings

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.

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

Statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards

References

1. "2015 WNBA Playoffs". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
2. "With 3.1 Seconds Left, Los Angeles Sparks Seize W.N.B.A. Title". The New York Times. October 21, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
3. "Lynx Acquire WNBA All-Star Jia Perkins From San Antonio - Minnesota Lynx". Minnesota Lynx. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
4. "Minnesota Lynx Re-Sign Center Sylvia Fowles". WNBA.com. WNBA. February 2, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
5. "Fever, Lynx Trade Natasha Howard, Devereaux Peters – WNBA.com – Official Site of the WNBA". WNBA.com – Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
6. "Minnesota Lynx Re-Sign Guard Renee Montgomery". WNBA.com. WNBA. February 2, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
7. "Stars Also Add Gwathmey and Martin on Draft Night". WNBA.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
8. ^ "2016 All-WNBA First and Second Teams Announced". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
9. "WNBA Awards - Across the Timeline". acrossthetimeline.com. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
10. "Sylvia Fowles, Nneka Ogwumike Headline 2016 WNBA All-Defensive Team". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
11. "Cheryl Reeve wins WNBA Coach of the Year". September 30, 2016. Archived from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2016.

Notes

1. The Lynx received this pick and Renee Montgomery from Seattle in exchange for Monica Wright
2. The Lynx received this pick from Chicago

External links

• The Official Site of the Minnesota Lynx

• Minnesota Lynx seasons
• 2016 WNBA season
• 2016 in sports in Minnesota