Minnesota honors Seimone Augustus, whose legacy is obvious as Lynx chase another WNBA title

MINNEAPOLIS — It was fitting on Saturday afternoon that after Seimone Augustus' 'Naismith Hall of Fame' accolade was added to her retired jersey number in the Target Center rafters, she took to the mic at center court, and among the many people she thanked and stories she told was that of her own veteran teammate and basketball mentor — Tamika Williams-Jeter.
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Beyond basketball, Williams-Jeter taught her about money, Augustus said, most importantly, how to save it and when to let others cover you when they want. It was a crucial lesson for a young Augustus who came into Minnesota in 2006 as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft making just more than $42,000 a year.
The Lynx were eight years into existence at that point, and by the end of Augustus' rookie season, the franchise would be onto its fourth-ever coach. By her second year, they'd hire their fifth. In her fourth season, a third. And finally, in her fifth season — with no playoff appearances in Augustus' career — Cheryl Reeve would come in, becoming a bedrock of the Lynx's franchise and laying a foundation to become the league's winningest postseason coach.
How fortunate it was for Reeve that Augustus was one of the players she inherited, someone around whom she'd build one of the most impressively dynasties in pro sports. In 2010, the Lynx traded for Lindsay Whalen and picked Rebekkah Brunson in the dispersal draft. In 2011, they drafted Maya Moore with the No. 1 overall pick. But it was Augustus who was there even before Reeve, and whose spirit and approach to the game helped formulate what Reeve would mold the Lynx into during the 2010s. There would be an unselfish nature, consisting of reluctant superstars and lifelong learners. Reeve emphasized these qualities in people that the Lynx would bring in.
message for Mone 💙 pic.twitter.com/Mk7zrBJ3ZM
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) June 15, 2025
With that core, in 2011 and 2013, the Lynx won their first two titles. In 2015, Minnesota traded for Sylvia Fowles and added another two championship banners to the rafters that season and in 2017.
But the thing about dynasties is they have a lifespan of their own making. None last forever. And after Whalen, Moore and Brunson retired following the 2018 season, many expected a lull. In 2019, Minnesota drafted Napheesa Collier with the No. 6 pick. She wasn't even the first player from UConn chosen in that draft class, and yet, Minnesota knew the talent she could be as the Lynx were turning a page in their history.
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'We knew Phee was going to be the face (of the Lynx),' Augustus said. 'She was going to carry the torch. So, we had to show her how we led.'
That was Augustus' final season in Minneapolis and yes, among the many things imparted from Augustus in that overlap with the rookie Collier were lessons in finance (which were really lessons in how the biggest stars of the team should take care of the newbies on the block). Collier remembers being at restaurants and bookstores when Augustus would step in to cover her bill. She admits she doesn't think she paid for a single thing her rookie season.
'As a rookie, you're basically like a baby bird,' Collier said. 'You don't know what's going on, you need help with everything, and (Augustus) and (Fowles) really took me under their wing in that way.'
Williams-Jeter, Augustus and Collier were all present on Saturday as Augustus was honored before the Lynx's 101-78 victory against the Los Angeles Sparks. It was a ceremony meant for Augustus, but there was also a sense that with this individual honor also came a recognition of the legacy of player leadership that has run through this organization. With Reeve as the longest tenured coach in the WNBA, the Lynx truly seem like the only WNBA franchise with a generational tradition passed down from core group to core group. It also doesn't hurt that Reeve has kept her alums close by, with Brunson and Whalen now serving as assistants.
Williams-Jeter and Augustus stayed in Target Center on Saturday to watch as Collier dismantled the Sparks, scoring as many points individually in the first half (26) as the Sparks did as a team. It was a vintage Minnesota Lynx performance — one that might've seemed particularly fulfilling for fans who recall the Lynx-Sparks rivalry of the 2010s.
'Having the alums here, you want to make them proud,' Collier said after the game. 'We're in the house that they built, brick-by-brick. We want to make sure that we're doing right by them. … Make sure that they're proud of what they've been able to accomplish and make sure that we are trying to continue their legacy.'
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The decisive win was a direct response to a sloppy game against the Seattle Storm last week, one in which the Lynx gave up 50 points in the paint. That response, again, felt particularly reminiscent of the 2010s Lynx, who rarely gave up more than one game in a row.
It is in both obvious (dominance on the floor, responses to adversity) and non-obvious ways (financial lessons) that the current Lynx doesn't feel too far off from what was created by the 2010s Minnesota core. Albeit, this one has yet to win a title.
Five players from Minnesota's four-title run have had their numbers retired. Two are in the Naismith Hall of Fame, and Fowles had to miss Augustus' ceremony at Sunday's game because she was in Knoxville, Tenn., being inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame (Whalen, Augustus and Moore have already been inducted there, too). For the better part of the 2010s run, a third of U.S. Olympic team called the Lynx 'home.'
Yet among this current crop, only Collier's No. 24 seems to be a future candidate to join Whalen (13), Brunson (32), Augustus (33), Fowles (34) and Moore (23) in the rafters. She's not surrounded by players who've won multiple Olympic gold medals or future Hall of Famers. Collier is, by far, Minnesota's best player, and yet her unselfish and ego-less presence permeates throughout the team, much as it did in the 2010s. When Whalen talks about why she wouldn't possibly pass to Moore … or Augustus … or Fowles during her career, it's understandable. But it's a harder sell when Collier might make the extra pass to players who've never sniffed an All-Star nod or WNBA award. But she does because she learned from the players who did.
The Lynx lead the league in assist percentage (just like last season) with Collier working as a willing passer and facilitator. Of the 26 WNBA players who average three or more assists per game, four are on the Lynx roster — more than any other team. Credit that stat to Collier's leadership style.
But Collier says it's actually on defense where she sees the most similarities between this team and the previous core.
'When we are successful and why we have been so successful for the past year and this season as well is because of (our) defense,' Collier said. 'That is something they were known for. They made the Lynx known for their defense. And just the way we are so united as a team, the way we genuinely care about each other and get along — they talk about those same stories from when they were here playing. It's not a secret what success is. It's chemistry on and off the court, and a passion to want to play for your teammates, and that directly translates to defense because defense is all effort.'
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On the floor and off the floor, there are ways that makes them similar to the Lynx of the past, even if not as many of these players will be returning in the future to have their jersey numbers retired or and Hall of Fame additions made.Yet, the results are the results, and the Lynx are getting back to where they want to be with lessons passed down through generations that have experienced that success.
It has been five seasons since Augustus took center court in a Minnesota uniform, but on Saturday when she did so and started her speech, with tears in her eyes, she began by saying, 'Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota. I've missed you.'
Which was understandable, because it's not hard to miss something that — in many ways — feels so familiar.
(Top photo of Seimone Augustus: Matt Krohn / Getty Images)

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