Minnesota Lynx Closed Like a Tab, Valks Got Lynxed
Napheesa Collier dropped 22, KT keeps closing, and Natalie Nakase really wanted that technical foul.
You can’t out-team Minnesota. You can’t out-midrange Courtney Williams. And you definitely can’t out-play Napheesa Collier when she decides to go full queen mode on a Saturday night in Minneapolis.
The Minnesota Lynx took the Golden State Valkyries’ best punch—a 10–0 run fueled by Tiffany Hayes turning into peak 2017 Maya Moore for five minutes—and still pulled away like they had dinner reservations at 9.
Final score: 82–71, and it wasn’t even that close late.
Phee scored 22, Jess Shepard moved the ball like she had a remote control, and the entire city of Minneapolis probably sent Natalie Nakase a thank-you fruit basket for not getting thrown out of the building.
Phee Time Is All the Time
Napheesa Collier looked like she had a cheat code. Smooth, efficient, unbothered. She went full “best player on the court” mode and never looked back.
“Lynx have always been known for team basketball,” Phee said. “It’s what our identity is, and it’s what makes us us.”
That sounds good and well but let’s be real for a second, Phee IS the team identity now. The rest of the squad moves like planets orbiting her gravitational pull. And when the game got tight, take a guess showed up with a back-breaking three and a late scoring binge?
The leading candidate for MVP, Napheesa Damn Collier. That’s who.
Oh, and she made sure to shout out Diamond Miller, who’s having some what of a breakout season this year too.
“I think Diamond’s doing a great job,” Phee said. “I think she’s made a huge jump. I’m super proud of her.”
CWill Lives in the Midrange. Rent-Free.
Courtney Williams hit 15 points and didn’t even blink doing it. No flair. Just splash. Just vibes.
“Everyone knows that Courtney is the best midrange player in the game,” Jess Shepard said.
Cheryl Reeve’s trying to nudge her into modernity though. Reeve stressed that they want Williams to shoot more threes. Also Reeve added the fact that Williams is really good at the midrange, but just get the threes. It’s like asking an artist to paint with a Sharpie instead of oils.
Jess herself balled too. She moved the ball like a jazz band leader, dropping dimes and shouting “cut!” with her eyes. “I think we all just trust each other,” she said. “We just did a great job of moving the basketball.”
You love to see a team that plays like five arms of one basketball brain. Minnesota’s that squad.
Natalie Nakase: “I Wanted the Tech.”
You ever want a technical foul so bad you manifest it?
Well on this night, that was Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase on the sideline—ready to ride for her players like it’s a Fast & Furious sequel.
“I wanted to get one. I wanted to,” she said. “I felt like we weren’t getting a great whistle… if I don’t say anything, my girls are going to get one or someone’s going to get injured.”
She even dropped it in front of her former coach. “I’m just excited that he’s here,” she said. Old boss, new drama. Love that.
Despite the loss, Nakase’s postgame vibes were still championship quality.
“We’re not measuring based off, ‘this is the best team in the league,’” she said. “We measure it with us… we know where we have to be better.”
Translation: They ain’t scared, and want to keep getting better.
On the road? No problem. “We just use that hostility going against us… either block it out or they’re cheering for us” said Nakase.
The free throw disparity? 15–8, in favor of Minnesota. Natalie noticed. “That was a little bit off-kilter,” she said. “But they fought to the very end… credit to everyone.”
AND STILL… THE LYNX ARE JUST BUILT DIFFERENT
Look — the Valkyries have juice. They’ve got heart, hunger, and enough chaos energy to start a minor basketball revolution. But the Lynx? The Lynx have a system. They have culture. They have Phee.
When things got dicey in the fourth, there wasn’t panic — just poise. Just “give it to Phee,” and trust that Courtney Williams will hit a midrange jumper that makes analytics cry and Jess Shepard will dish a behind-the-back dime like it’s open mic night at First Ave.
This team plays like they’ve done this before. Because they have.
Every time someone calls them “gritty,” they add another layer of polish. Every time someone doubts their ceiling, they raise the floor. They’ve won 6 of 7, and if you’re not putting Napheesa Collier in the MVP convo and Cheryl Reeve back on your Coach of the Year short list… you’re just not watching enough basketball.
Diamond Miller’s figuring it out. Courtney’s floating like a veteran ghost in the midrange. And the team keeps winning close games because that’s what well-coached, grown-woman teams do.
As for the Valkyries? Respect. They didn’t roll over. Nakase’s got them scrapping, building belief, and playing like a team that wants to be great. You can’t teach that.
But this WNBA Saturday night belonged to Minnesota.
Again.
Just like it usually does.
