Latest news with #SeimoneAugustus
New York Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
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. Advertisement 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 💙 — 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. Advertisement '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.' Advertisement 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.' Advertisement 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 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)
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Caitlin Clark Makes WNBA History Against the New York Liberty
Caitlin Clark Makes WNBA History Against the New York Liberty originally appeared on Athlon Sports. After missing five straight games with a quad strain, All-WNBA point guard Caitlin Clark finally made her return for the Indiana Fever. Advertisement On Saturday, Clark and the Fever faced Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty, the same team that the former Iowa star suffered her injury against last month. Coming into the game, Clark had recorded 845 points during her two-year WNBA career. With 3:06 remaining in the first quarter, Clark hit a two-point shot while being fouled, sending her to the free throw line. She made her lone attempt at the charity stripe, marking her fifth point of the afternoon and 850th of her career. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22).Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK In doing so, Clark becomes the fourth fastest player in WNBA history to reach 850 career points, doing so in 45 career games, per Polymarket Hoops. Advertisement Only three players were able to reach the mark faster than Clark — Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale (44 games), Minnesota Lynx legend Seimone Augustus (39) and former Houston Comets guard Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, who achieved 850 points in 38 games. Former Phoenix Mercury guard Cappie Pondexter and Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson also reached 850 points in 45 games, tying Clark. This new historic feat is just one of Clark's many accomplishments. In her rookie season alone, she broke WNBA records for most assists in a single game and season, while constantly breaking viewership and attendance records. Advertisement Before her injury, Clark was able to play four games for Indiana, averaging 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game. But the Fever struggled in five games without her, losing three time and falling to 4-5 on the year. Following the Liberty game, the Fever will face the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night. Related: WNBA Players' Union Makes Clear Choice Between Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Bueckers crosses another first off career list as homecoming leaves Wings with latest loss to Lynx
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Paige Bueckers admired the Minnesota Lynx as a kid not all that long ago, cheering on each of the four WNBA championships that played no small part in her ascension to becoming the first overall pick in the draft last month. Beating the Lynx might be a different story for Bueckers, whose Dallas Wings have lost to Minnesota twice in the first five days of the season — her WNBA debut in Dallas and her first homecoming game as a pro. After pitching in 12 points, 10 assists and three steals in an 85-81 loss Wednesday night to a Lynx team that was one win away last year from another title, Bueckers expressed appreciation and optimism about her fledgling career with a bit of relief to have the firsts out of the way. 'Coming back home is really cool and it's a great experience, but what we're trying to build and what we're trying to do from game to game is more important,' Bueckers said. Bueckers enjoyed prodigious growth on the Twin Cities area courts as she made her way through the youth levels to Hopkins High School, less than 10 miles from downtown Minneapolis, where she was back in action at Target Center — the same floor she won a state high school title on and later played on in the NCAA championship game with Connecticut. Like so many young girls in the last decade around Minnesota, she adored Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen as the core four led the Lynx to four titles with Sylvia Fowles joining midway through. She had a poster on her bedroom wall of Whalen, who's now an assistant with Brunson on head coach Cheryl Reeve's staff. 'They were everything I aspired to be,' Bueckers said before the game. 'They definitely gave me something to work for and admire. To be able to see what you want to be is very important, so I think, growing up, that was a huge part of the reason I wanted to be in this league.' With dozens of family members, old friends and former teammates in attendance, Bueckers made that a reality Wednesday. She said afterward she's too focused on each possession to have truly felt the familiarity of the arena, but she acknowledged the gravity of the moment of playing for a living for a night in the place she once aspired to become one of those performers. 'You try to put everything in perspective,' Bueckers said. 'To see see all the little girls and people in the stands and realize that was you about 10 or 15 years ago, you never take it for granted how blessed you are to be able to play in this league.' There's clearly a learning curve in place for the first overall pick on a rebuilding team with only three returning players from last season. Bueckers is 13 for 35 from the floor in three games, after going 3 for 11 on Wednesday. She finally scored late in the second quarter on a 3-pointer against the Lynx and their stingy defense. Her passing was on point, though, as was her hustle. She grabbed a long defensive rebound in the third quarter with a ferocity that caused Lynx guard Karlie Samuelson to knock her to the court as they collided. Reeve screamed, 'No, stop fouling!' and immediately pulled Samuelson from the game. 'It's crazy, the one that I made and the ones that I missed,' Bueckers said, shaking her head. 'But I'm just focusing on the next shot and just trying to contribute to winning, whether made or missed shots, trying to impact the game in different ways.' ___ AP WNBA:
