Mama Taj
MENZIE HENDERSON
Lynx Writer
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Maybe it�s because she has been in this situation before throughout her lengthy career, or maybe because she was setting up for a shot from her favorite spot on the court -- the fifteen-footer from the top of the key.
Either way, Mama Taj came to the rescue much like a mother would do for her kids who are in need of help by drilling the game-winner.
McWilliams-Franklin�s last second exertion was yet another example of why she is better known as Mama Taj. In addition to actually being a mother of three girls -- ages 23, 21, and 8, Taj brings a similar mother-like characteristic to be the voice of leadership with the Minnesota Lynx.
�Taj has really brought us a great deal of discipline,� head coach Cheryl Reeve explained. �She�s into our every move, whether it�s on the court and knowing what is required to be successful, or whether it�s on a road trip making sure we are dressing in a first class way and representing ourselves well. Taj is someone who has really high standards for herself and she shares that with others.�
The Lynx have the unity that championship teams have, and you have to give credit to the chemistry to understand why they are on pace to break the franchise record for total wins. The Lynx are a group full of young, energetic women who have grown into the best of friends. These women eat dinner, hang out, dance, and constantly josh around on Twitter with each other.
And then there�s Mama Taj -- the reserved one of the bunch that is making sure everything stays intact. It is like the Lynx are teenagers again at a slumber party together having fun, laughing, and clowning around -- and Taj is the parent host. But nonetheless, it is a team in every sense. And when you mix talent with chemistry, you have something substantial.
�I have to keep them in line sometimes,� laughed Taj. �Coach Reeve will say something to me and I�ll spread the word to the team. You need a voice that isn�t always the coaches every single time. It�s just what I do naturally. Just because I was a mom so early in my life that now it just happens. I�m a nurturer so I tend to nurture people. I think the family atmosphere that we have with the Lynx makes us special.�
Before Taj decided to sign with Minnesota this summer, the Lynx front office knew the team was missing one essential piece. Similar to when a chef (or Lynx general manager Roger Griffith in this matter) is mixing up the perfect batch of chili, but still misses that last key ingredient -- that's when Cheryl Reeve stepped in and reunited the former Detroit Shock connection with a 2 AM phone call from Australia on the first day of free agency.
�We had a conversation, and I wasn�t sure whether she was going back to New York or what, but I asked her to give us a look and told her what it was we needed,� Reeve said. �When we hung up, I just knew I was hopeful. I knew she would at least do the respect of thinking about it. She understood what the team needed; it was just a matter of did she want to come to Minnesota and do that, and I�m just glad that she did.� But why did Taj return for another season? You just don�t see athletes go past 35 years of age anymore, especially in basketball. A 12 year pro, seven time All-Star, WNBA champion, and a finalist for the fifteen greatest players of all-time, there is not much left to prove for McWilliams-Franklin. But with the Lynx, Taj is playing some of her best basketball in her career. There isn�t more talent than before, but there is a more efficient use of it. It�s not like her first step was ever the key to her game anyways. She�s still knocking down her bread and butter midrange jumper and doing all the intangibles for Minnesota, while being one of the best leaders and mentors the game has ever seen.
�I am getting older and knew I wanted to teach,� McWilliams-Franklin explained. �I want to help the players progress and Coach Reeve said from the beginning that she wanted me to come in and stabilize and help the young players. She needed a voice that is solid and that people can respect.�
The ageless veteran posted her sixth consecutive double-digit scoring game against San Antonio with a season-high 18 points, and the game-winning shot. In that stretch, McWilliams-Franklin is shooting 61.5 percent from the floor, and better yet, the Lynx have extended their win streak to eight games.
So much has been said about her age, but it�s better to think of the grizzled veteran as Taj version 4.0 instead of just the ol� 40 year old. As a player who should be five steps behind the competition, Taj has found a way to defy the age curve and just keep going and going.
�It�s all about the competition more than anything. The competition of it burns through my blood and I think that�s what moves me and keeps me going.�
And Lynx fans are sure glad that Mama Taj is still going.
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