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Temi Fagbenle returns to the Minnesota Lynx from EuroBasket

By Derek James

Britain's Temi Fagbenle moves past Serbia's Dragana Stankovic (L) during the Women's Eurobasket 2019 third place basketball match between Serbia and Great Britain on July 7, 2019, in Belgrade. (Photo by ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP) (Photo credit should read ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP/Getty Images)
Britain's Temi Fagbenle moves past Serbia's Dragana Stankovic (L) during the Women's Eurobasket 2019 third place basketball match between Serbia and Great Britain on July 7, 2019, in Belgrade. (Photo by ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP) (Photo credit should read ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP/Getty Images) /
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The Minnesota Lynx have frontcourt help on the way.

Center Temi Fagbenle has been reactivated on the roster after playing in the FIBA Women’s Eurobasket tournament, the team announced on Saturday. Fagbenle now begins her third WNBA season, all with the Lynx, and arrives in the wake of injuries to Damiris Dantas and Karima Christmas-Kelly.

To make room for Fagbenle, the Lynx announced they’ve waived forward Shao Ting, who will return to play for the Chinese national team. Ting was the expected casualty when Fagbenle returned. Despite missing four players to injuries, the Lynx chose to play nine players instead of playing Ting in their last game against Atlanta. The DNP-CD was made the writing on the wall even clearer.

Any meaningful contributions from Fagbenle would help the Lynx immediately. Fagbenle is fresh off a strong EuroBasket tournament where she led all scorers with 20.9 points per game on 54.9 percent shooting and also grabbed 6.7 rebounds per contest. Because of her strong play, she received All-Star Five honors as one of the five best players in the tournament.

Each passing season has seen Fagbenle increase her playing time and production. Despite the presence of Sylvia Fowles and Alaina Coates, Fagbenle will likely still see her share of playing time. With no Dantas, Christmas-Kelly or Jessica Shepard, there are still opportunities for the Lynx to fit Fagbenle on the floor. At this point, the team should take depth anywhere they can get it.

Fagbenle’s arrival likely comes just in time. The Lynx welcome the Phoenix Mercury to Target Center on Sunday night and the ability to compete with their frontcourt size is beneficial. Maybe a little more size up front will help the Lynx rebound from their disappointing showing against Atlanta in their last game.

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