Minnesota, featuring Napheesa Collier, Alanna Smith and Bridget Carleton, will open the WNBA season Friday in Dallas after falling just short of a fifth league title in 2024.
Paige Bueckers has done her best to live in the present during a short period in which she went from winning a national championship with UConn earlier this month to being the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft and now donning a Stetson cowboy hat on a podium in Dallas City Hall.
The Lynx traded their 2026 first-round pick for a veteran who can hit from long range; their top draft pick was Russian teenager Anastasiia Olairi Kosu.
Minnesota swapped for the Chicago Sky’s first-rounder next year. Why? All the starters return for a team that lost in the decisive fifth game of the WNBA Finals.