collier.jpg
Getty Images

The Minnesota Lynx had to make a huge adjustment last season when Maya Moore announced she would be taking a break from playing, as well as the retirement of long-time floor general Lindsay Whalen. Many expected the four-time champions to flounder without two of their best players, and while they didn't hoist the trophy up at the end of the season, Minnesota made the playoffs for the ninth-straight season, where they lost to the Seattle Storm in the first round. Still, though, it proved that the Lynx could go on without Moore's dominating presence in the lineup, which they'll have to do for another season as well. 

But this time will be a little different. Not only will Moore be absent from the team, but Seimone Augustus left in free agency to join the powerhouse Los Angeles Sparks, and Odyssey Sims will be away from the team after giving birth to her first child. It's going to be another challenging year for the Lynx and head coach Cheryl Reeves, but if there's one thing we learned about this team last season, it's that they certainly shouldn't be counted out to make the postseason.

Here's a look at the Lynx's roster, schedule and some key storylines for when the season starts in Bradenton on July 25.

Roster

NAMEPOSITION

Rachel Banham

G

Lexie Brown

G

Crystal Dangerfield

G

Shenise Johnson

G

Karima Christmas-Kelly

F-G

Napheesa Collier

F

Bridget Carleton

F

Damiris Dantas

F

Mikiah Herbert Harrigan

F

Megan Huff

F

Sylvia Fowles

C

Kayla Alexander

C

Players sitting out: Maya Moore, Odyssey Sims, Jessica Shepard, Cecilia Zandalasini

Schedule

All games Eastern Standard time

DATETIMEOPPONENTTV

July 26

12 p.m.

Connecticut Sun

ESPN

July 28

10 p.m.

Seattle Storm

CBS Sports Network

July 30

8 p.m.

Chicago Sky

WNBA League Pass

Aug. 1

4 p.m.

Connecticut Sun

WNBA League Pass

Aug. 5

7 p.m.

New York Liberty

CBS Sports Network

Aug. 7

6 p.m.

Indiana Fever

WNBA League Pass

Aug. 9

7 p.m.

Los Angeles Sparks

ESPN2

Aug. 11

6 p.m.

Washington Mystics

WNBA League Pass

Aug. 13

9 p.m.

Las Vegas Aces

ESPN2

Aug. 15

6 p.m.

New York Liberty

CBS Sports Network

Aug. 19

9 p.m.

Dallas Wings

WNBA League Pass

Aug. 21

10 p.m.

Phoenix Mercury

CBS Sports Network

Aug. 23

4 p.m.

Atlanta Dream

WNBA League Pass

Aug. 26

8 p.m.

Los Angeles Sparks

CBS Sports Network

Aug. 28

7 p.m.

Atlanta Dream

WNBA League Pass

Aug. 30

6 p.m.

Phoenix Mercury

WNBA League Pass

Sept. 2

7 p.m.

Chicago Sky

WNBA League Pass

Sept. 4

8 p.m.

Dallas Wings

WNBA League Pass

Sept. 6

6 p.m.

Seattle Storm

WNBA League Pass

Sept. 8

8 p.m.

Washington Mystics

WNBA League Pass

Sept. 10

8 p.m.

Las Vegas Aces

WNBA League Pass

Sept. 12

6 p.m.

Indiana Fever

WNBA League Pass

Key storylines

Another season without Maya Moore: For the second-straight season the Lynx will be without their best player, as Moore continues her focus to fight for social justice issues. Moore initially stepped away from the game in the winter of 2019 to help overturn what she believed to be a wrongful conviction of a Missouri man named Jonathan Irons. In March, Irons' conviction was overturned, and in early July, Moore was outside of the prison waiting on Irons release. The Lynx, though, have known of Moore's decision since January, when she announced in an interview with the New York Times that she plans to focus on criminal justice reform and will sit out another year

While Moore said in that same interview that playing basketball has "not been on her mind," that doesn't mean she's ready to hang up her shoes just yet. Even after eight seasons in the WNBA, with four championships and an MVP award to her name, Moore said that she's not ready to retire right now. Moore is 29 years old, and while she still likely has more playing years in her tank, it does leave her future in the league rather ambiguous. However, the Lynx proved last season that they are well equipped to maintain the status quo of reaching the playoffs even without one of the best WNBA players ever. This season, though, they'll have to do it again without Moore, as well as another long-time Lynx staple.

Everything will run through Sylvia Fowles: Just as last season presented a challenge for Fowles without Moore, and the retirement of Whalen, this year will heap on an even bigger challenge for the 12-year veteran. Augustus is now gone, Sims is out for the season and Danielle Robinson is now on the Aces. What all of this means is Fowles is going to be asked to do even more than she did a year ago if the Lynx want a chance to make the playoffs again. The 6-6 center did see a dip in numbers across the board last season, averaging just 13.6 points and 8.9 rebounds, while shooting 58.8 percent from the field. Those numbers might seem pretty impressive for any other player during a given season, but considering two seasons ago Fowles was putting up 18 and 10, and shooting north of 65 percent from the field, it's easy to tell that the adjustment of last season without Whalen or Moore getting her the ball certainly messed with her game. 

While she won't have those two future Hall of Famer's on the court alongside her to dish it down low, she will have a solid floor general in rookie Crystal Dangerfield. The former UConn product developed a reputation in college for being a great passer, calm under pressure situations and could take care of the ball extremely well with a career 2.6:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Even better, after four years playing under Geno Auriemma, Dangerfield finished fifth all-time on UConn's illustrious list of assist leaders, right ahead of WNBA great Sue Bird. It will take some time for Dangerfield to adjust as it does for any rookie, but Fowles will be able to get the ball anywhere she wants with Dangerfield dumping the ball into her in the post. 

The rise of Naphessa Collier: While it may seem like Fowles is alone with all the great talent around her either retired or gone, she certainly isn't as she'll have the reigning Rookie of the Year lining up with her for her second year. Collier shocked the league a season ago when she put up 13.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and two steals a game, to go along with her efficient shooting of 49 percent from the field and 36 percent from deep. The sixth pick in the 2019 draft did her best Moore impression in her rookie season. She displayed her versatility as someone who can get down and bang in the post for buckets, spot up at the 3-point line and drain it or take a defender off the dribble and pull up at the elbows.

This year, though, Collier will have an even bigger task with several players missing in Minnesota. In her rookie season, the UConn product had a usage percentage of just 17.4 which ranked near the bottom of the team, as players like Sims, Augustus and Fowles were still the focal points of the team. Now, though, with Sims and Augustus gone, Collier will see an even bigger role to produce on offense. She's already proven that she can take over games, as evidenced from her 27-point WNBA debut, but now she'll have to replicate that success on a nightly basis to give the Lynx another reliable scoring threat alongside Fowles.