Second-year Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said the Lynx have designated four players to be the team leaders: Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen, Rebbekah Brunson and Taj McWilliams-Franklin.
"We are counting on [them] heavily," said Reeve at media day last month.
"What I like about Taj is, there are things that I had to say last year that I don't have to say now because Taj is saying them," Reeve said. "And I can focus on something else. And there is tremendous value [in that] if she never scores a basket.
"Taj is someone who understands how to be a great pro and has great attention to deal and that helps this group a lot."
McWilliams-Franklin, 40, is in her 12th WNBA season. Last year she played for the New York Liberty. The Lynx signed the 6-2 center as a free agent Feb. 18
Minnesota opens its 13th season at Los Angeles at 10 p.m. Friday. They tied the Sparks for fourth place in the Western Conference with a 11-23 record in 2010, but L.A. had the tiebreaker over the Lynx and advanced to the playoffs as the fourth seed.
ROTATION BIG FOCUS
Reeve said she wants to play her top players between 25 and 28 minutes. "The wear and tear is tough" in the WNBA," she said. "They will tell you they don't want to play 20, but they don't want to play 35, either. So we have to find that balance.