NFL
The Minnesota Lynx are officially headed back to the postseason. They are the first team in the WNBA to clinch a playoff berth in 2026.
But if you’ve been paying attention to Minnesota all season, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
The Lynx have spent much of the year looking like the most complete team in the league. Their recent stretch has only strengthened that argument. Minnesota put together a 10-game winning streak from July 8 through August 2. That creates separation at the top of the standings and establishes itself as the team everyone else is chasing.
And over the past week, the Lynx showed exactly why.
Minnesota defeated the Las Vegas Aces 98-87 behind 26 points from rookie Olivia Miles and 22 from Napheesa Collier.
If you watched the game, you could tell Las Vegas came in with a solid game plan. The problem was Minnesota is simply firing on all cylinders right now.
The Lynx starting five combined to make 14 three-pointers, compared to just five for the Aces. Minnesota also turned up the pressure defensively, particularly against four-time MVP A’ja Wilson.
Wilson was held to just 16 points and five made field goals, forcing her to work for nearly everything she got offensively.
Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve explained afterward that slowing Wilson down was a major point of emphasis.
“We just didn’t want her to have 37. You know, we wanted to make her earn it. If she was going to score 20 on us, that she earned it,” Reeve said.
That defensive effort was impressive enough. Minnesota’s next game showed the other side of what makes this team so dangerous.
The Lynx followed their win over Las Vegas with a 103-90 victory over the Dallas Wings, this time behind a historic performance from Kayla McBride.
McBride erupted for a career-high 43 points while knocking down a WNBA-record 10 three-pointers. Miles added 20 points and 13 assists, while Collier finished with 17 points.
But McBride’s impact wasn’t limited to scoring.
While putting up 43 points on one end, she was also tasked with chasing Paige Bueckers around defensively on the other — something Reeve made sure to highlight after the game.
“I think the incredible thing about Mac is, well, first of all, she’s an All-WNBA player. It’s disgraceful she was not an All-Star. All-WNBA player who chased Paige around while dropping 43. She just knows that’s her job. She embraces it, loves it,” Reeve said.
And that may be the best way to describe what separates Minnesota right now.
They can beat you in too many ways.
That depth has been one of the biggest reasons the Lynx continue to trend upward.
Miles has quickly developed into much more than just a promising rookie. She has played herself into the league-wide MVP conversation with her recent stretch, even as Collier has returned to the lineup.
During Minnesota’s 10-game winning streak, Miles averaged 22.3 points, 6.1 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game, providing the Lynx with another dynamic scorer and playmaker alongside their veteran core.
Then there’s Collier.
Minnesota was already winning while its franchise player worked her way back from injury. Now, with Collier returning to form, the Lynx are adding an MVP-caliber player back into a group that had already found its rhythm without needing to rely solely on her.
That should be the scary part for the rest of the WNBA.
On any given night, it can be Collier. It can be Miles. It can be McBride. Natasha Howard and the rest of Minnesota’s supporting cast only add to the number of options Reeve has at her disposal.
More importantly, the Lynx aren’t sacrificing one end of the floor for the other. They can overwhelm teams offensively, as they showed against Dallas, while still turning around and producing the type of defensive effort that limited Wilson against Las Vegas.
Clinching a playoff berth is only the first step.
Minnesota reached the WNBA Finals in 2024 and finished with the league’s best regular-season record in 2025. Now, the Lynx once again find themselves at the front of the pack in 2026 — only this time, they look like a team with even more ways to win.
The question is no longer whether Minnesota is a playoff team.
The question is whether anybody in the WNBA can stop the Lynx from finishing what they’ve started.
