MINNEAPOLIS — It took all of two practices in April for Cheryl Reeve to truly believe that this might work. The new pieces she had acquired through the WNBA offseason — not through high-profile signings or super-team denominations — and the remaining players developed in Minneapolis over the past few years might actually pan out in a way that felt like seasons past.
Two practices in, players and coaches looked around the gym, and realized the chemistry they were sensing and how quickly the players and staff were coming together was a rare feeling. Outside expectations for Minnesota, which had failed to make the playoffs in 2022 and exited in the first round of the 2023 playoffs, weren’t very high. But inside the gym, the Lynx saw, heard and felt something completely different. Sometimes, that type of foundation takes weeks to build, which in a three-month season, often means a team needs to climb out of a hole and fight its way back from the bottom. But for the Lynx, it was clear by Practice No. 2.
“The way we played for each other on the court,” Reeve said. “I didn’t know all the personalities, how we’d go through the journey, road trips, all of that stuff, wins, losses. But the second day of training camp, we had a way about us that we played for each other….
