ESPN
How a new-look roster -- and an unstoppable rookie...
Kareem CopelandJun 5, 2026, 06:15 AM ET
CHICAGO -- Olivia Miles and Cheryl Reeve stood together near half court inside Wintrust Area, the Chicago Sky's blue lighting reflecting off the court. Miles, the 23-year-old Minnesota Lynx rookie, draped her arm around the shoulders of the coach, while Reeve wrapped her arm around Miles' hip as the pair chatted during a break in play.
Through the first month of the WNBA season, the pairing of Reeve -- winner of four championships and four Coach of the Year trophies -- and Miles -- the No. 2 pick in the 2026 draft -- seems to be a match made in heaven. The meticulous, demanding coach and the studious, gifted point guard have helped lead the Lynx (7-2) to first place in the WNBA -- despite losing five of last year's top eight scorers to free agency, and all while five-time All-Star, four-time All-WNBA honoree and 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier sits on the bench in street clothes.
On the heels of a league-best six-game win streak, the Lynx take on the Seattle Storm on Saturday on ABC (1 p.m. ET), looking to prove that life without Phee has been better than many critics expected.
"The egoless nature of our team, the everybody-eats kind of mindset," Miles said. "We all just love to get involved, get touches. We know we're really hard to guard when we swing the ball from side to side, when everyone is touching the ball at any given moment.
"Cheryl just puts us in positions to be successful."
FREE AGENCY CAN be a tricky time of year, and the 2026 edition brought its own complications. Negotiations over the new collective bargaining agreement dragged into mid-March, which shrank the entire offseason. With a new CBA doling out millions in new money and nearly every veteran in the league being an unrestricted free agent, decisions had to be made, and fast.
Before free agency started, the Lynx had lost one of their top performers: The Portland Fire selected Bridget Carleton with the first pick of the expansion draft. She signed a three-year, $3.7 million deal and has averaged a career-high 15.1 points. Minnesota took a big swing for 10-time All-Star Nneka Ogwumike, who decided to return to Los Angeles, where she won a championship in 2016. On April 10, former Lynx forward Jessica Shepard signed a two-year, $2.05 million deal with the Wings, and guard Natisha Hiedeman inked a two-year, $1.5 million contract with the Storm. The exodus wasn't done -- 2025 co-Defensive Player of the Year Alanna Smith headed to Dallas on a three-year, $3.7 million deal.
A lot of production exited Minneapolis, and five-time All-Star Kayla McBride -- who stayed with the Lynx on a two-year, $2.4 million deal -- didn't hesitate to call the whole process "stressful" -- not that she blamed any of her former teammates.
"Our whole starting five got paid over a million dollars," McBride said. "That's a credit to what we were able to do together. ... Of course, you miss your sisters, and you want another crack at it.
"Sad to see them go, but happy to see them thriving."
Following those departures, McBride and Courtney Williams re-signed. Two-time All-Star Natasha Howard and Nia Coffey joined the team, alongside overseas rookies Emma Cechova, Antonia Delaere, Eliska Hamzova and Emese Hof. After Cechova tore an ACL, the team recently added 6-foot-7 center Teaira McCowan
Collier, meanwhile, the Lynx's foundational player and one of the best in the league, would be sidelined until at least June after undergoing two offseason ankle surgeries. Most predicted a significant step backward -- but Williams, who has never been accused of being shy, said she never doubted.
"Oh, I'm a confident person," Williams said with her syrupy Georgia drawl. "Long as I'm on the team, I feel like we're going to be good. So, I always felt good."
HOW DOES A roster with three new starters and just four players who logged a single minute in 2025 get on the same page in just 19 days of training camp? The Lynx take their vitamins.
That's a common phrase used inside The Courts at Mayo Clinic, Minnesota's practice facility. Vitamins, vitamins, vitamins. It refers to the team concepts that Reeve and the coaching staff drill into players every single day. The nonnegotiable defensive principles. The foundational building blocks of the offense. Reeve has 17 years at the helm in Minnesota, and there are certain expectations within those walls.
"If we stay away from the things that we just don't want to do, are we going to go perfectly?" Reeve asked. "No, but we can repeat things, simple things, over and over and over again. And that's our goal.
"Yeah, you're tremendous players, and so you'll see extraordinary things at times, but stuff that wins games is doing ordinary things well. And that's what's been our mindset."
Williams agreed.
"Our defense, our shell help, just our everyday vitamins -- we lean on those things," she said. "That's our foundation of what makes us a great team."
That mindset has turned out the No. 2 scoring offense in the league (90.9 points) with the top shooting percentage (51.4) and No. 2 3-point percentage (36.4). Defensively, the Lynx rank No. 1 in points allowed (78.9), opposing field goal percentage (38.0) and defensive rating (96.9). All of this without Collier.
The offense thrives on moving the ball and off-ball motion. The defense stays connected with trust that teammates will fill the gaps when someone helps with initial actions.
That philosophy is no surprise to Sky guard Rachel Banham. The 2016 No. 4 pick is well-versed in all things concerning the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" after growing up in Lakeville, Minnesota, attending the University of Minnesota and spending four seasons under Reeve. When it comes to the Lynx Way, everything starts with the longtime coach.
"She doesn't do anything different," Banham said. "She's always who she is. She demands the same, no matter what her roster looks like, whether it's full of all-stars or [not]. She always kind of comes every day the same and [has] the same kind of demand, and that's why they always are so good. Because she's always going to hold them to that same standard."
While the players credit Reeve, she points to the leadership triumvirate of McBride, Williams and Collier.
Asked if she and Williams had a conversation prior to the season about keeping things steady given the roster changes and Collier's rehab, McBride chuckled and said they've never had that type of conversation. The two have different personalities and leadership styles, but a dogged competitive spirit makes them more similar than not.
"After we both signed, we were like, let's get this," McBride said. "Whatever happens, we're in this together, and that's how we always moved.
"That's my dog, that's always going to be my dog. She knows that we can hold each other accountable and we can lock in with each other, and the rest of the stuff is contagious."
Another thing that helped speed up the learning and chemistry-building process was a familiarity even with the new arrivals. Natasha Howard played with the Lynx in 2016-17. Nia Coffey has 10 seasons in the league with five different teams and has a reputation for her workmanlike approach. Dorka Juhasz is back after spending her first two seasons in Minnesota before taking 2025 off (she's still rehabbing from a midfoot sprain). Miles is a naturally fast learner.
With a future Hall of Fame coach, strong leadership, plenty of talent and incoming players with the right mindset, Minnesota offered an environment where success could be had despite the shifting roster.
"[Reeve's] ability to maintain a similar type system with a different type of roster is a credit to them," Sky coach Tyler Marsh said. "They still propose the same type of difficult matchups when it comes to scheming for them. ... They just have a multitude of ways that they can hurt you, but it all stems and thrives off of their movement on and off the ball.
"That connection stems from their level of togetherness on the defensive end. It seems like they are in the right place at the right time all the time."
NO TEAM WINS at a high rate without a bit of good luck. Before the 2025 WNBA draft, the Sky gave up their 2026 first-round pick for Minnesota's No. 11 pick. Chicago general manager Jeff Pagliocca said at the time that they wanted flexibility with an extra pick in a deep 2025 draft. The Sky certainly didn't expect that 2026 pick to fall in the lottery, but they finished with a disappointing 10-34 record -- giving the Lynx a golden opportunity to add a top player -- the No. 2 pick -- to a roster that had been a championship favorite for most of 2025.
After the Dallas Wings selected Azzi Fudd first, choosing Miles was a no-brainer. She was the clear-cut top point guard in the country after averaging 19.6 points and recording six triple-doubles at TCU. She was a three-time All-American and last season's Big 12 Player of the Year.
Reeve has coached multiple Hall of Famers, but the way she speaks of Miles stands out. She calls her the most curious player she has ever coached. She raves about her intellect and humility. You can see the coach get excited when she describes the way Miles can counter and adjust to whatever a defense presents. Watch any Lynx game and it's clear that Miles is comfortable playing against the pros, and she's currently the leader in the race to be named Rookie of the Year.
Rocking her trademark goggles, Miles became the fourth player in league history to average 15 points, five rebounds and five assists through their first six career games. That elite company includes Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu and Candace Parker.
"The way her mind works, I enjoy that," Reeve said. "She's existed on the court like she's been doing it for a while."
Miles currently ranks No. 20 in the league in points per game (15.8), is tied for No. 7 in assists (6.3) and is shooting 49.5% from the field. Her 5.1 rebounds per game ranks No. 2 among all rookies.
Teammates almost forget that Miles is still a rookie -- McBride spoke as if she'd been around for years. Miles called these early days a whirlwind but also said the pace of play has been easier to adjust to than expected. The schedule has been a challenge, as has keeping the same intensity throughout a 40-minute game.
But Minnesota wouldn't be sitting atop the standings without the way Miles has played, and everyone recognizes that.
"Obviously, they got decimated during free agency," Miles said, "so they kind of needed more players, obviously, to step in and step up. I think I got kind of the perfect opportunity for that.
"I've always been [curious] like this, but I feel like now more so more than ever because it's a lot higher stakes. We're professionals now, and I need to get things done when they need to be done."
With all the early-season wins, there's still one thing to anticipate -- Collier's return. A first-place team is getting closer to adding the MVP runner-up from the past two seasons. Last season, Collier averaged 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.5 blocks and shot 53.1% from the field. She's also a four-time all-defense selection. Reeve grins at the thought of everyone getting extra experience in the meantime before slotting her best player back in the lineup.
The long-term future is unknown after Collier signed a one-year deal and didn't get the full free agency experience because of her injury. But for now, the Lynx couldn't ask to be in a better position.
"I think Phee not being here gives everybody confidence, right?" Williams said. "It forces you to have to show up. It forces you to have to rise to the occasion. So, I think everybody's just getting this confidence, [and] when Phee comes back, all right, it's going to be a problem."
