Lynx guard Diamond Miller faces important offseason after falling out of team’s rotation

Diamond Miller will play overseas in Poland in the upcoming season in Europe. According to Lynx coach and President of Basketball Operations Cheryl Reeve, it is a very important few months for Miller, who just finished her second WNBA season.

“We’re hoping she has a really good, strong, healthy offseason to carry into 2025,” Reeve said.

The second overall pick in the 2023 draft, Miller appeared in and started 32 games as a rookie, averaging 12.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists while making the league’s all-rookie team.

She then went to Europe to play but hurt her knee after only a handful of games and required surgery.

Miller worked hard to be ready for the start of Lynx training camp and began the season in the starting lineup, but she sustained another injury in Connecticut in the third game that required another procedure. By the time she returned, more than a month later, Bridget Carleton had jelled with the starting unit and Miller’s playing time dwindled.

By the time the playoffs started, Miller was out of the rotation.

In Tuesday’s season-ending media session, Reeve lauded Miller, rookie Alissa Pili and guard Olivia Époupa for the way they handled not being in the rotation for the playoffs. Reeve noted how difficult the last year has been for Miller. Surgery prevented her from working on her game after her rookie season. The second injury kept her from getting into the flow upon her return.

“From not playing in the offseason to coming back from injury, to get back on the court and get it interrupted again, it just stunts the growth, the momentum we needed to go from year one to year two,” Reeve said.

Center Alanna Smith finished the season despite a very painful back injury. She hurt her lower back while falling early in the WNBA Finals, then reaggravated the injury when being knocked down by Liberty center Jonquel Jones in Game 5.

“They’re saying it’s muscular, which is a best-case scenario,” Smith said. “So, in simple terms, and this is going to sound really boring, but it’s just a really, really bad bruise.”

To be sure, though, Smith will undergo further testing before heading into an offseason that includes plans to play in China.

Usually the end of a WNBA regular season — especially after a deep playoff run — involves players quickly packing to get to their teams overseas. For many Lynx players, this is true. But for a few, there is time to rest.

Unrivaled — a pro three-on-three women’s league co-founded by Lynx star Napheesa Collier and New York standout Breanna Stewart — is set to begin in Florida this winter. It will be made up of 30 players, including Collier and her Lynx teammates Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams.