No. 1 Minnesota is changing hands. Minority investor Marc Stad is finalizing a deal to buy the Timberwolves and Lynx at a $4.5 billion valuation.
Retired MLB icon Alex Rodriguez will remain Minnesota Lynx governor and co-owner. Elisa Stad will represent the Wolves on the NBA Board of Governors.
“I’m really excited the way he feels about Elisa, his wife, and the position that she’ll take,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said.
“There’s a lot of alignment in Marc, the way he’s conducted his life and his business that sort of parallel the WNBA and how the Lynx have cared about women’s empowerment.”
The pending deal underscores the WNBA’s recent rise. Minnesota leapt from an $85 million valuation in 2024 to $405 million this month.
The Minnesota Lynx need Napheesa Collier back. Wednesday's Sparks vs. Lynx game made that clear. Rookie Olivia Miles rolled her ankle in the fourth quarter and did not return, even as Minnesota held on for a 96-87 home win.
Miles finished with 18 points, four rebounds, and five assists in 26 minutes before exiting. Coaching staff helped her off the court. After the game, social media video showed her celebrating with teammates and walking without a limp, a positive sign.
When Will Napheesa Collier Return From Injury for the Minnesota Lynx?
Still, the scare adds urgency to the Napheesa Collier injury timeline.
Collier has not played this season after undergoing offseason surgeries on both ankles. The two-time MVP runner-up pushed through a demanding 2025 playoff run before opting for surgery. Yet head coach Cheryl Reeve recently confirmed Collier is back at practice and nearing her debut.
"There is not anybody that walks into the gym that doesn't know that it's still Phee's team," Reeve said of her captain.
Veterans Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride have carried the load alongside Miles. But Wednesday showed how thin the margin is without Collier.
"We've been holding it down and it's been a lot of fun. I think there's a lot of cohesion, a lot of confidence in one another right now and just finding ways to win," McBride said after Minnesota's win over the Liberty. "I think when you care about one another and you're trying to win every possession, you're competing together, you're always trying to find a way."
For the first place Lynx, now 19-6, getting their captain back cannot come soon enough.
No. 1 Minnesota came out on top last night, escaping No. 12 Phoenix 104-101 behind Rookie of the Year favorite Olivia Miles.
Dropping a career-high 33 points, Miles became the fastest WNBA player to reach 400 points, 100 rebounds, and 100 assists. She accomplished the feat in just 22 games.
“The success of the team is on her shoulders,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said, praising her No. 2 draft pick. “That is impressive how she’s handled it.”
As star forward Napheesa Collier nears a return from injury, Minnesota’s early-season success — and Miles’s smooth transition to the pros — has kept the Lynx firmly in front.
“That’s just unheard of, the IQ she has as a rookie,” Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner said of Miles. “Kudos to her. She’s done a good job.”
“I want to continue to watch [Miles] have as much fun as possible,” said Minnesota guard Kayla McBride — who added 37 points of her own against Phoenix. “She’s just so talented and so competitive.”
Up Next for Olivia Miles & the Minnesota Lynx
Minnesota hosts No. 9 LA tomorrow at 1 PM ET, live on WNBA League Pass.
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve now stands alone atop the WNBA record books. Reeve earned her 380th regular-season victory on Wednesday as the Lynx beat the Connecticut Sun 86-80 at Mohegan Sun Arena. With the win, she passed Mike Thibault to become the WNBA all time winningest coach.
Minnesota Lynx Offense Seal Historic Record Win for Reeve
The result didn't come easily, though. Minnesota trailed by eight points in the first half before taking control in the fourth quarter, outscoring Connecticut 26-15 to close it out.
Guard Kayla McBride led the offense with a game-high 23 points on nine-for-nine shooting from the free-throw line. Forward Natasha Howard added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
"I am so glad this is over," Reeve laughed during her postgame talk.
How Cheryl Reeve Built a Minnesota Lynx Dynasty
Cheryl Reeve's record runs deeper than regular-season wins, though.
Since taking over the Minnesota Lynx in 2010, she has won four WNBA championships and four Coach of the Year awards. She also holds the all-time mark for postseason victories.
With another milestone behind her, Reeve looks ahead to the final stretch of the 2026 WNBA season as the Lynx try to maintain their top spot in the Western Conference.
They take on the New York Liberty Saturday at 1 PM ET, live on ABC.
The Class of 2026 got its flowers on Saturday, as retired WNBA forwards Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne and current Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve officially entered the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Two-time MVPs Parker and Delle Donne both enter with Olympic gold and WNBA titles to their names, as the pair gears up for another induction into the Naismith Basketball HOF later this summer.
“I wouldn’t have won a championship if I didn’t play against Candace, and go through the headache of playing her,” said Delle Donne.
Reeve’s honor came alongside the Minnesota boss’s 379th career victory, tying ex-Mystics coach Mike Thibault for most regular-season WNBA wins.
“This game has given me a fulfilling lifetime of joy,” Reeve said. “To share the Hall with so many women’s basketball greats makes me glad I never got a real job.”
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve took aim at officials after a narrow WNBA Commissioner's Cup 2026 loss to the Las Vegas Aces.
Reeve's side fell to the Aces 97-100 in a tightly contested on-the-road matchup over the weekend. But Reeve argued it was the referee's decision in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter that ultimately cost her team their eight-game winning streak.
The WNBA Referee Call That Sparked Reeve's Frustration
The Lynx were leading 94-93 in the final minute when officials called a three-point shooting foul on veteran guard Kayla McBride. Reeve challenged the play, but the officiating crew upheld the call under a newly implemented league guideline on shooter follow-through.
"The interpretation of the rule, the officials got wrong, unfortunately," Reeve said. A correct call, she added, could have changed the outcome entirely. Instead, the Aces converted the free throws to retake the lead and seal the win.
Olivia Miles Posts Career High in Lynx vs. Aces Loss
Despite the loss, rookie Olivia Miles gave Minnesota fans reason to look ahead. She posted a career-high 29 points, bouncing back from a tough first quarter and high turnover count to carry the Lynx offense down the stretch.
"When you have a rookie like that, maybe not playing her best, maybe turning it over, not defending the way we need her to defend," Reeve said, "and then just kind of willing yourself at the end and willing the team at the end to give us a chance, that's a special player."
Where to Watch WNBA Commissioner's Cup Games This Week
The Lynx will look to rebound when they host the Portland Fire tonight at 8 PM ET on WNBA League Pass.
The Aces will travel to Dallas to take on the Wings tonight at 8 PM ET on USA Network.
Minnesota’s rebuild looks to be ahead of schedule, as the Lynx cruised past a tough Atlanta defense 96-81 in last night Lynx vs Dream clash to top the WNBA standings at 5-2.
All five Lynx starters finished in the double-digits, led by veteran guard Courtney Williams’s 25 points and center Natasha Howard’s 22 points.
“Their connectivity, I felt it in training camp,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said of her team. “It’s been exciting to watch because it’s not necessarily common — typically it takes a little bit longer.”
Despite back-to-back deep playoff runs, expectations for the Lynx lowered this season after an ankle injury sidelined star forward Napheesa Collier.
Rookie Olivia Miles has stepped, leading her draft class with 15.1 points and 5.9 assists per game. She is also instantly gelling with Williams, Howard, Nia Coffey, and Kayla McBride.
“She is the focal point of a lot of the game at such a young age,” Reeve said of this year’s No. 2 pick. “I felt it before the game, her level of focus.”
Where to Watch Lynx vs Sky WNBA Game
Minnesota now heads to Chicago, capping its season series with the Sky tomorrow at 7:30 PM ET (ION).
The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame is ushering in a blockbuster new class, announcing a list of its 2026 inductees this week with honorees spanning four players, two coaches, an ESPN contributor, and a posthumous veteran standout.
Two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker (LA Sparks, Chicago Sky, Las Vegas Aces) headlines the player lineup, with the three-time WNBA champion joined by 2019 WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky, Washington Mystics) and French standout Isabelle Fijalkowski (Cleveland Rockers), as well as three-time WNBA champ with the Houston Comets Amaya Valdemoro.
Minnesota Lynx manager and four-time WNBA Coach of the Year Cheryl Reeve also received a nod alongside nine-time national championship-winning Kirkwood Community College head coach Kim Muhl and former Clemson great Barbara Kennedy-Dixon, while ESPN analyst Doris Burke snagged an honor for her decades-long coverage.
Calling the Class of 2026 "eight distinguished legends of this exceptional sport," Hall of Fame president Dana Hart said in Friday’s release that "They exemplify the highest standards in women's basketball and have made substantial contributions to the sport, along with shaping the game's historical trajectory."
The formal induction ceremony of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will take place at Knoxville's Tennessee Theatre on June 27th.
WNBA officiating is once again taking center stage, with multiple head coaches reportedly issued fines after criticizing referee conduct in the weekend's playoff action.
Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve earned an ejection and suspension for attempting to confront referees during the Lynx's Game 3 semifinals loss on Friday, with the WNBA later handing her a $15,000 fine for lambasting officials in her postgame interview.
"The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoff worth is f—ing malpractice," Reeve told reporters last Friday.
Following Reeve's suspension, Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White and Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon voiced public support for Reeve and her concerns, with sources saying they each received a $1,000 fine for their comments.
"[Reeve] made a lot of valid points," White said on Sunday. "A lot of the same kind of conversations are happening. It's happening from every team, from every franchise, from every coach, from every player."
"From what I heard, she did not tell a lie," Hammon said of Reeve. "She said the truth. I think something has to change."
Officiating problems aren't new for the WNBA, but as the league's popularity explodes, refereeing disparities are now under an unprecedented spotlight.
"Every part of our league has gotten better, and that part has lagged behind, for whatever reason," White continued. "Oftentimes, it's infrastructure in terms of training, oftentimes, it's financial. And it's really investing in who we have as officials.... How do we keep them growing and getting better?"
Minnesota competed without their sideline leader in Sunday's 86-81 Game 4 semifinals loss, as the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury ousted the No. 1 Lynx while head coach Cheryl Reeve served a one-game suspension following her ejection from Friday's Game 3.
In the dying seconds of Friday's 84-76 loss, a collision caused Minnesota star Napheesa Collier to collapse with an ankle injury.
In reaction, Reeve ran onto the court as her staff worked to restrain her, earning the Lynx boss her second technical foul of the game for confronting the officials.
"The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinal-playoff worthy, it's f—ing malpractice," Reeve said after the game.
In a Saturday statement, the league said that Reeve's suspension stemmed from "aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing a game official on the court, [and] failure to leave the court in a timely manner upon her ejection," as well as "inappropriate comments made to fans when exiting the court, and remarks made in a post-game press conference."
Officiating has been under fire throughout the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, with coaches like Golden State Valkyries' boss Natalie Nakase and Las Vegas Aces leader Becky Hammon expressing concerns about the quality and consistency of postseason calls.
"If this is what the league wants, okay, but I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating," said Reeve.
With support from the National Basketball Referees Association, the three-person officiating crew from Friday's Game 3 in Minnesota also oversaw Sunday's Game 4 between the No. 2 Aces and No. 6 Fever in Indiana.