Are the Lynx the Best Team In the WNBA?

At shootaround before Tuesday’s 88-65 victory over the Phoenix Mercury, I asked Kayla McBride how satisfied the team was with their 7-0 start to the season.

“Below average, like below below,” McBride said.

“I think we have more levels to get to. … Obviously, we hold ourselves to a very high standard, knowing what we did last year, but it’s also taking all of those good things and making them great and better this year. And that’s a process, and we’re figuring that out.

“We’re not satisfied. We want more.”

The Lynx are 8-0 after beating Phoenix, their best start since 2017. However, you wouldn’t have known it after hearing the postgame comments.

“We had a lot of turnovers tonight, and I think that’s one of our biggest goals is to try and keep that number low,” Natisha Hiedeman said in response to a reporter saying it was Minnesota’s best win of the season. “We had 23, so that’s a lot.”

It has been the main story all season long with the Lynx. They don’t just want to be the best team in the league.

8-0 isn’t enough, because perfection is the goal.

The Lynx may never achieve perfection, but they’re off to a pretty good start. They are third in offensive rating (106.8) and second in defensive rating (94.2). That has translated to the second-best net rating in the WNBA at +12.6. They rank second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.58) and second in true shooting percentage (57.7%).

However, last year’s champions, the New York Liberty, are also 8-0 and rank first in all five categories.

That may be why the Lynx feel their perfect start hasn’t been quite perfect. After losing to New York in the finals, the Liberty have become the league’s measuring stick. They are dominating in the statistical rankings this season, but they are also playing a soft schedule.

The Liberty have played the 2-5 expansion Golden State Valkyries twice, the 3-6 Washington Mystics twice, and the 1-6 Connecticut Sun twice. Of New York’s eight wins, they have only beaten one opponent with a winning record: the Las Vegas Aces.

However, the Lynx have also played losing teams. They have only played two games against a winning opponent this season, both against the Mercury, who were missing star forward Alyssa Thomas.

The Lynx and Liberty have been beating teams with losing records, so it’s hard to judge which team has been better this year. The Liberty have beaten losing teams by larger margins, but the Lynx have also occasionally looked like the far better team.

For example, Minnesota’s 85.6 defensive rating in the second half of games is the best in the league by a 7.0-point margin. As a result, they have the best second-half net rating in the WNBA (20.1), 6.3 points higher than the second-place Fever.

Minnesota’s play in the second half of games is its biggest claim to being the WNBA’s best team. It also indicates they’re capable of improving throughout the year. If the Lynx could harness the defensive intensity and overall play they display in the second half and carry that out for the entire game, they could shatter records.

The Lynx also rank first in the league in assist percentage (77.8%), meaning roughly four out of every five baskets come off an assist. Minnesota’s ball movement powered its 2024 title run, finishing with the league’s best assist percentage (78.1%).

Minnesota’s ball movement has been a constant for the team. It’s the one item virtually everyone on the team has been satisfied with, arguably the biggest reason for the Lynx’s 8-0 record.

“It comes natural to them,” Cheryl Reeve said after Friday’s practice. “We do ask for the ball movement and we do frown upon bad shots… so just working for the easy one, they buy into it, they believe in it… and they’re all willing to make one more (pass).”

Unfortunately, the Lynx and Liberty won’t play each other until July 30, well over a month. ESPN will air the game.

However, a few weeks later, the Lynx and Liberty meet the final three times of the season on August 10, 16, and 19. Four of Minnesota’s last eight games of the WNBA year will be against the Liberty, and all four will be on national TV.

“It’s really exciting for the league to have two teams that are performing really well,” said Alanna Smith. “It’s disappointing we’re not seeing them until August. … I think we’re out here on a mission to prove that we’re the better team.”

However, like her teammates, Smith isn’t satisfied with the Lynx’s current play and record.

“I mean it looks really pretty on paper for sure, and winning is always really nice,” Smith continued. “But the best thing about this team is they’re never satisfied. I think we’re always trying to improve.”

The Lynx are off to one of the best starts in franchise history and have taken care of business against every team they have played. They have shown flashes of their potential as a defensive unit and roster while maintaining the ball movement that was crucial to them last season.

While the Lynx have a case for being the league’s best team, they remain hungry to improve. That hunger will likely last until they prove they are the better team against the Liberty, which they will have to wait months to play.

However, when the ball tips on July 30, the entire nation will be watching to see which team is the league’s real measuring stick.