WNBA playoffs 2023: Lynx look to upset Sun to reach semifinals - ESPN

Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve sat at the podium at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday alongside stars Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride. Her team had just defeated the Connecticut Sun to force a winner-take-all Game 3 in the first round of the 2023 WNBA playoffs, and she couldn't help but reflect on how far her group had come.

As McBride finished an answer describing the emotions of the moment, Reeve interjected. «From 0-6 to 40 minutes from the semifinals,» she said. «What more could you ask for?»

The Lynx haven't been underdogs very often since Reeve took over in 2010, winning four championships across the following seven years to become one of the most successful franchises in league history. Minnesota, which took home its last title in 2017, officially embarked on a new era after last season: With Collier sidelined all but four games of 2022 due to pregnancy/maternity leave, the Lynx missed the playoffs for the first time since Reeve's initial season in Minneapolis, and Sylvia Fowles, the sole remaining player from Minnesota's dynasty, retired.

«When you miss a season of being in the playoffs, everybody wants to get back,» Reeve said earlier this month when the Lynx clinched a playoff berth. «It means something to us, to be playing in the postseason. It's a lot of hard work that went into that, to get back there and do what this franchise is accustomed to doing.»

Minnesota's 2023 season — which started with six consecutive losses — could be remembered for more than the Lynx surpassing expectations to make the playoffs. Minnesota is within reach of returning to the semifinals for the first time since 2020 and could win its first postseason series since its 2017 title run.

The Lynx will have home-court advantage when