First-Place Minnesota Lynx Outperform Expectations Despite Offseason Setbacks

In the Minnesota Lynx's season opener, they blew a 19-point lead to the Atlanta Dream and lost on a last-second jumper by Te-Hina Paopao . In their rematch on Wednesday, the Lynx once again led by as many as 19, and this time they completed the job with a 96-81 victory.

Now 5-2, the Lynx are the first team to reach five wins this season, and have taken sole possession of first place -- a position they held for the majority of 2025 when they went 34-10 and tied the single-season wins record.

No one expected the Lynx to reclaim the top spot after a seemingly disastrous offseason. Napheesa Collier , the MVP runner-up in each of the last two seasons, underwent surgery on both of her ankles and remains sidelined until at least June. And between the double expansion draft for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire and free agency, the Lynx lost six rotation players from last season, including 2025 co-Defensive Player of the Year Alanna Smith . To make matters worse, Dorka Juhász is yet to play this season due to a foot injury and free agent signing Emma Cechova suffered a torn ACL in her third game.

Even with Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride back, everyone assumed the Lynx would be happy just to remain competitive until Collier got healthy. Instead, they've been one of the best teams in the league. After yet another impressive win on Wednesday, let's take a closer look at how Cheryl Reeve's squad has exceeded expectations.

Howard = Collier

Natasha Howard spent two years with the Lynx early in her career, and was a member of the 2017 title team. A decade later, she returned to Minnesota in free agency and is playing some of the best basketball of her career. In fact, through the first three weeks, she's essentially replaced Collier.

After another stellar outing against the Dream, in which she put up 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks on 11 of 16 from the field, Howard is averaging career-highs in rebounding, assists and field goal percentage, and is having her second-best scoring season.

Look at how Howard's stats through seven games compare to Collier's stats from last season.

Player PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% USG

Natasha Howard

17.7

8.3

4

0.9

0.7

67.1%

26.2%

Napheesa Collier

22.9

7.3

3.2

1.6

1.5

53.1%

28.6%

"It feels good, it feels amazing. I feel like I'm back at home for good," Howard said Wednesday when asked about being back with the Lynx. "But I couldn't do it without my teammates, though. They get me going, and when I get to going, everybody else gets to going."

To be clear, Howard is not as good as Collier. She doesn't offer the same 3-point threat, is a worse free-throw shooter, turns the ball over more often and doesn't defend at quite the same level. But thus far, she's performed at an All-Star level and has provided nearly identical production, which is the biggest reason the Lynx are in first place. Notably, the Lynx have a plus-16.4 net rating in 167 minutes with Howard on the floor and a minus-13.5 net rating in 73 minutes without her.

If the 34-year-old Howard can keep this up until Collier returns, the Lynx will be in great shape.

Miles making an immediate impact

Ahead of the 2024 WNBA Draft, the Lynx traded the No. 7 pick ( Angel Reese ) and the rights to Nikolina Milić to the Chicago Sky in exchange for the No. 8 pick (Alissa Pili), Sika Koné, the Sky's second-round pick in 2025 ( Anastasiia Olairi Kosu ) and the swap rights on the Sky's 2026 first-round pick.

Ahead of the 2025 WNBA Draft, the Lynx then sent the No. 11 pick ( Hailey Van Lith ) to the Sky in exchange for extinguishing the previously agreed upon 2026 first-round swap. Instead, the Lynx received the Sky's 2026 first-round pick outright.

Playing the long game paid off for the Lynx, as the Sky went 10-34 last season and wound up with the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft, which the Lynx used to select former Notre Dame and TCU star Olivia Miles , one of the best playmaking prospects in recent memory.

Miles has made an immediate impact. She put up 21 points and eight assists in her debut to become the fifth player in league history with at least 20 points and five assists in their first game, and is averaging 15.1 points, five rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.4 steals on 47.5% shooting. She leads all rookies in scoring, assists and steals and is ninth in the league in assists. Among the Lynx, she's third in scoring and leads the team in assists.

Players to average at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists through their first seven games

Season Team Player

2026

Lynx

Olivia Miles

2024

Fever

Caitlin Clark

2020/21

Liberty

Sabrina Ionescu

2008

Sparks

Candace Parker

"She just has a maturity about her," Reeve said Tuesday. "Pick-and-roll game is obviously a lot of the pro game, but I think even more than that, I think some of the hardest things to teach players when they come into the league is about tempo and pace. If you look at how she plays, she plays with tremendous tempo.

"She manipulates defenses with a slow down, a speed up, a burst, and you don't know which one she's doing," Reeve continued. "She plays with her eyes well. So manipulating defenses is just something that's probably great at any level, but certainly I think it's allowed her to find the immediate success she has."

Miles' ability to get into the paint and break down defenses has helped the Lynx dominate around the basket. They're second in restricted area attempts per game (28.3) and third in restricted area field goal percentage (68.2%), and second in points in the paint per game (44.6). Additionally, her arrival has freed up Courtney Williams to return to her preferred role as an off-ball guard, and the veteran is averaging 17.1 points per game on 47.2% shooting -- both career-high marks.

Maintaining a defensive identity

Collier was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2024, when the Lynx had the second-best defense in the league, and Smith was the co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2025, when the Lynx had the best defense in the league. Neither is around this season, yet the Lynx are still tied for the second-best defense.

Only the Golden State Valkyries have a better defensive rating than the Lynx's 101.2 mark. The Lynx also lead the league in opponent field goal percentage (39.1%), are second in opponent 3-point percentage (28.6%) and are tied for fifth in opponent turnover rate (18%).

"You work at it. They'll tell you that that's probably the hardest thing is that we work at it, and you know, it's dirty work," Reeve said Monday when asked about maintaining a defensive identity after so many offseason changes. "Defense is work, period. It's effort, it's work, it's a collective mindset. It's hard, it's really hard, but I just know that without it you just have a minimal chance to be successful. And that's just not an option for us."

> Cheryl Reeve on how to build a defensive team identity with so many new players. “You work at it, they’ll tell you that that’s probably the thing is that we work at it, and you know, it’s dirty work… we walk out of the meetings some times and we’re like we have some fun for ya.… pic.twitter.com/ldBsqnNhZV — Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) May 25, 2026

When the Lynx can get back and set their defense, they have been almost impossible to score against. Opponents are managing 0.816 points per possession on halfcourt possessions, per Synergy Sports, which is by far the best mark in the league. In fact, no team has had a more efficient halfcourt defense since the 2020 Seattle Storm , who allowed 0.812 points per possession en route to the title.

Minnesota's opponents likely won't shoot this poorly all season, especially from behind the arc, but even if the Lynx are due for some regression, it's clear they have a solid defensive structure. And that's without Collier, one of the best and most versatile defenders in the league.

The defensive end is where Reeve, the four-time Coach of the Year, deserves the most credit.

"She's tough. She gets on you. I think that's what's different." Miles said Tuesday. "She doesn't let us be average, and you don't see that very often in coaches. She knows what she's doing, and she knows what wins."

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/wnba/news/minnesota-lynx-first-place-without-napheesa-collier/)._