As Lynx ‘run it back’ this season, their bedrock is three from Class of ‘19

Three of the five starters who return for the Lynx — who are in many ways running it back with a team that came within a questionable call of a fifth WNBA title last fall — are all basically the same age. They’re all part of the 2019 draft class, have all played in the Olympics, are all coming off career years, are all convinced even better things lie ahead.

But Napheesa Collier, Alanna Smith and Bridget Carleton have taken such different paths to get here.

“We compare stories,” Smith said.

The Lynx will open the regular season Friday at Dallas. They won 30 games last season, finished with the No. 2 seed, made it to the WNBA Finals. This year, with so many players back, they have a chip on their shoulders, a chair and a chance.

Collier, Smith and Carleton are examples of how the Lynx have managed to get back into the championship mix. Collier was a top draft pick. Smith was identified and signed as a free agent. Carleton was claimed off waivers and developed.

“It’s interesting to hear about the different paths and journeys with different coaches and experiences,” Smith said.

The roster is filled with the class of 2019, including top backups Jessica Shepard and Natisha Hiedeman.

But Collier, Smith and Carleton return as starters.

Collier played at UConn, Smith on the other coast at Stanford, Carleton in the Midwest at Iowa State.

Collier has won two Olympic golds with Team USA, is an emerging face in the league and is the team’s unquestioned leader.

Smith is from Australia, Carleton from Canada. Collier won an NCAA title with the Huskies. Smith went to a Final Four with the Cardinal, Carleton went to two NCAA tournaments with the Cyclones.

Collier was taken sixth overall by the Lynx in 2019, a starter from Day 1. There have been multiple All-Star Game berths and all-WNBA teams. Last season she finished second in MVP voting and was the league’s defensive player of the year, averaging 20.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists.

Smith went No. 8, to Phoenix back in 2019, but she never really fit there — or in Indiana. She found both an opportunity and her footing in Chicago in 2023 before coming to Minnesota last spring and setting career highs in scoring (10.1), assists (3.2), steals (1.4) and blocks (1.5) and was named to the league’s all-defensive second team.

Carleton went to the Connecticut Sun in the second round of the 2019 draft and made the roster, but lasted just four games before being waived. She was signed to a seven-day contract by the Lynx, then a full-season deal, and has been here since. With her confidence rising — and with encouragement from coach Cheryl Reeve — Carleton asserted herself last summer. After entering the starting lineup, she set career highs in scoring (9.6) and rebounds (3.8) while shooting 44.4% on three-pointers while finishing third in the league’s most improved player voting.

As a trio, they comprised 44.6% of the team’s scoring last season, and 50.8% of its rebounding.

And it could get better.

“They’re still on their upward trajectory right now,” Reeve said. “They’re still coming into their own. They can get better. We can do better in how we use them, feature them. Their improvement is going to continue.”

Collier’s step-through can be deadly, her fadeaway midrange difficult to guard, her rebounding relentless.

And yet, when asked to estimate how much of her potential she’s realized?

“Sixty percent,” she said. “I have not reached my peak. I’m still ascending.”

Every year she works on her ballhandling, her outside shot. “I feel I’ve gotten my game where I want it in the paint, but I’m versatile,” she said. “I have to perfect the outside. It’s such a big part of the game.”

Smith was signed in large part because Collier told Reeve how hard the 6-4 Australian was to play against.

Turns out Smith just needed the chance. At times questioning whether she would make it in the WNBA, she turned a strong season in Europe into a deal in Chicago, where she played with Courtney Williams.

Here?

She had always believed in herself. But with the Lynx she found a team that had just as much belief. Early on in her time with the Lynx, Reeve told Smith she was not a player Reeve had to worry about, she was someone who would always do the right thing, someone who had her trust.

“That was the first time a coach had ever said that to me in the W,” Smith said. “Maybe my entire career. Having a coach like that can propel you anywhere.”

There are more levels to be reached, Smith said. She has shown her defensive chops, her ability to stretch the floor. She wants to be more of a scoring threat. “Not only from three, but in the paint and on the dribble,” she said.

Carleton will always be thankful to the Lynx for picking her off waivers years ago. “They took a chance on me my rookie year, when I hadn’t done anything yet,” she said. “And then sticking with me. Cheryl always says what I can bring to the table.”

Early on, that was defense, moving the ball, timely rebounding, the occasional three. As time went on that included a more aggressive approach on the offensive end. Now? An established deep threat, Carleton wants to create more off the dribble.

“There is another level I can get to,” she said.