Lynx enter 2026 season with a depleted roster
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride. Photo: Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
When the Lynx take the Target Center floor for their season opener Saturday night, they'll be without six of their top eight players from last year.
Why it matters: No WNBA team had a tougher offseason than the Lynx, which suffered a heartbreaking playoff loss last fall and then saw their roster raided by an expansion draft and free agency.
By the numbers: The Lynx lost Bridget Carleton, Alanna Smith, Natisha Hiedeman and Jessica Shepard. Plus, superstar Napheesa Collier won't return until early June at the very earliest because of an ankle injury.
- All told, the Lynx will start the season without players who combined to average 69 points per game last season.
Yes, but: Despite that, the Lynx have the fifth-best odds of winning the league championship, a sign of respect for Collier, whose potential return could spark a run.
- All-stars Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride are back, and they're joined by new point guard Olivia Miles, who was taken with the second pick in the draft. She's a top candidate for Rookie of the Year.
- Plus, the Lynx still have head coach Cheryl Reeve, who has won four WNBA titles and missed the playoffs only twice in her 16 seasons in Minnesota.
The intrigue: Looming large is Collier's long-term future. With a new collective bargaining agreement that upped player salaries significantly, many WNBA stars signed multiyear deals this offseason.
- Collier, though, inked a one-year $1.4 million contract, which is 5 times her previous salary. But the length of the deal has raised questions about her long-term commitment to Minnesota.
- "I'm so focused on the now," Collier told NPR in a recent interview. "There's new opportunities every year."
How to watch: Games this year will be streamed on Victory Plus, which is free.
Home games to circle:
🪽 Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings come to the star's hometown on June 2 and Aug. 9.
🤒 The Caitlin Clark show (Indiana Fever) stops here on Aug. 2 and Sept. 24.
🂡 The defending champion Las Vegas Aces play the Lynx on Aug. 8.