2024 was a big season for the Minnesota Lynx. They won the Commissioner’s Cup, edging out the New York Liberty in a 94-89 win, and were just one win away from winning a championship. The Lynx only lost ten games during the regular season and ranked top five in both offensive and defensive ratings across the league. Minnesota was clearly one of the best teams in the WNBA in 2024.
MVP candidate and Defensive Player of the Year, Napheesa Collier, was the main reason for Minnesota’s success, but she was not the only reason. Kayla McBride, Courtney Williams, Alanna Smith, and Bridget Carleton also had their fingerprints all over the Lynx’s run to the finals.
Courtney Williams recently appeared on the Locked on Women’s Basketball podcast with host Howard Megdal and shed some more light on what led to the Lynx’s success.
Courtney Williams credits her team’s success to players’ attitudes
When Megdal asked Courtney Williams what some of her highlights of the 2024 season were, her first answer was the Lynx’s win in the Commissioner’s Cup because it was the first time her team took the WNBA world by surprise.
Following up on that answer, Megdal asked Williams when she knew that the Lynx were capable of winning as much as they did. Williams explained that she knew as early as training camp, crediting all of her teammates with having the right attitudes.
“All of us just had this certain type of feel of like we all want to win, and it doesn’t matter how we get it done…I think we all was on the same page and we all are just coachable from the top to bottom. I think we all just want to be better and we all just want to win so whatever that looks like, we all are just open to that,” Williams said about what made the Lynx special in 2024.
Later in the podcast, she also addressed what made the team, so successful on the court and how her teammates helped her open up her game. Averaging 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists, Williams was a huge part of the Lynx’s success, ranking third in points per game and first in assists per game on the roster. Williams is not a 3-point shooter but the way the Lynx played allowed her to thrive in the midrange and around the basket.
“We have so many different shooters, so it does just open up the floor,” Williams said about the way the Lynx’s roster was constructed and how it helped her play her best basketball and help the Lynx win.
Between Bridget Carleton, Cecilia Zandalasini, Kayla McBride, Alanna Smith, and Myisha Hines-Allen, the Lynx had several great 3-point shooters who could space the floor and create room for Williams and Collier to go to work around the basket. Williams’ comments reveal that the Lynx’s success in 2024 was based on both roster construction and players’ mindsets.
Fortunately for Lynx fans, not much of that should change in the 2025 season. The starting five that led the Lynx to the finals in 2024 will return to Minnesota, and losing such a close series to the New York Liberty will only add to the Lynx’s desire to win.