Lynx add Lindsay Whalen, Eric Thibault to coaching staff - ESPN

In a WNBA offseason defined by coaching turnover, the Minnesota Lynx made two big hires to round out head coach Cheryl Reeve's staff, adding franchise legend Lindsay Whalen as an assistant coach and former Washington Mystics head coach Eric Thibault as associate head coach.

Whalen, who coached at her alma mater of Minnesota from 2018-2023, was the Lynx's point guard during their dynastic run in the 2010s. Thibault has over a decade of coaching experience with the Mystics, for whom he served as head coach the last two seasons before his October firing.

«We worked hard to put our best foot forward for [our players] because we continue to have big goals for this group,» Reeve told ESPN. «I think this staff is well-positioned to help us get there.»

Behind superstar Napheesa Collier, the Lynx surpassed expectations to finish second in the regular season standings and advanced to the Finals, falling in a winner-take-all Game 5 to the New York Liberty.

The Minnesota hires come amid a staff restructuring. Earlier this offseason associate head coach Katie Smith departed for Ohio State, and general manager Clare Duwelius joined the new Unrivaled league.

Reeve had attempted to hire Whalen two years ago, but the Naismith Hall of Famer said there was no convincing needed this time around.

«It just feels like it's time to get back, work hard and be a part of a team and a group,» Whalen told ESPN. «It just all felt like the timing was really right.»

Whalen, who retired after the 2018 campaign, watched closely this past summer as the Lynx had their best season in years, sitting courtside during the Finals in both Minneapolis and New York as the team came within seconds of a championship.

«She was really supportive,» Collier told ESPN.