Minnesota's Championship Nucleus Will Hope To Have The Same Success In Rio


It’s often said that the fatal flaw when it comes to Olympic basketball is team chemistry. Of course, the talent is there, and the coaching is exceptional, but it’s impossible to expect five players to run an offense or sustain defense after a week of practices and few tune-up games.

Basketball is a sport based in extinct; the great teams have an innate understanding of where teammates will be on the floor and can adjust on the fly based on the hours upon hours spent in the gym together. The Olympic timetable simply doesn’t allow for this kind of rapport to be built.

When it comes to the United States Women’s National Team this Olympic go-around, the talent pool is again endless, but team chemistry was also well-ahead of the usual curve from the squad’s first practice. Credit that to pockets of in-league familiarity.

The 12-woman roster that will look to capture a sixth-straight gold for the United States is comprised of four members of the Minnesota Lynx. The team’s head coach, Cheryl Reeve, is also an assistant on Geno Auriemma’s United States staff.

If you were looking to build a successful nucleus for the United States from a single WNBA team, the Lynx are an excellent choice. They’ve won three of the last four WNBA championships and Coach Reeve’s career 70.5% winning percentage is the best in league history.

When Coach Auriemma was selecting his final 12, the fearsome foursome in Minnesota were an easy combo deal. Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, and Lindsay Whalen are not only some of the best players in the world at their respective positions, they all have played vital roles in the team’s three championships.

Moore would have been a no-brainer regardless of team, but her ability to step into a leadership role for Minnesota at such a young age should empower her to do the same with the National Team.

Augustus is a do-it-all kind of player on the court. Whether it’s using her supreme athleticism to skate past opponents or being tasked with defending the other team’s top scoring threat, she’s a terror on both ends of the floor.

Fowles is as technical as they come at the center position in women’s basketball. She’s mastered the post and can systemically break down her defender with machine-like precision. Also, she’ll gobble up rebounds in bunches, either extending a play on offense or squashing it on defense.

Whalen is a wizard with the ball in her hand who immediately makes any team better with her laser-sharp court vision. Her grittiness and determination are also unquestioned.

These four bring an embarrassment of riches to the United States on the individual level, but collectively they are far more important.

This was evident from the start as the United States prevailed in their first exhibition contest over their toughest opponent to date in the Select Team largely because of the play from the Lynx on the roster. Moore led all scorers with 11 points, Whalen dished out a team-high five assists, Augustus nabbed a team-high six boards, and Fowles knocked down two clutch buckets in just nine minutes of game action.

After their second exhibition win over France, Fowles hinted at the value of playing together during the season: “We are just coming together, so we are still trying to feel each other out. But with that said, we play with each other throughout the year, so we pretty much have a feel for what each other likes and where they need to be at certain points in time.”

Whalen echoed Fowles’ sentiment upon the team’s arrival in Rio: “Having played now since 2010 under coach Auriemma’s system, I’m always learning, but I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of what he expects and what my job is to do. And so that’s been really good. Just also with the team, for four of us, this is our second (Olympics). Then there are four Lynx, and then our coach is here, just having that familiarity has been really nice. It’s been really fun.”

Another Olympics and another chase for gold will be the epitome of fun for a loaded United States roster. Whether it’s a rout or nail-biter, the camaraderie between the Lynx on the roster will be a stabilizing force over the hectic Olympic schedule.