From Hutchinson High to the world stage: Lindsay Whalen's career timeline

1996-2000: A standout guard for four seasons at Hutchinson High School, Whalen is recruited to the University of Minnesota by Gophers coach Cheryl Littlejohn.

2000-01: As a freshman, Whalen is the team MVP.

2001-02: Whalen is Big Ten Player of the Year and an All-America after leading the Gophers to a 22-8 record and an NCAA tournament berth.

August 2002: Whalen wins a gold medal with the U.S. at the world under-21 basketball tournament.

2002-03: Whalen again earns All-America honors and the Gophers advance to the Sweet 16.

2003-04: Whalen, an All-America for the third season, misses time because of a broken right hand but returns to combine with center Janel McCarville to lead the Gophers to the Final Four in New Orleans, where they lose to UConn 67-58 in the semifinals.

April 17, 2004: The Lynx trade up to No. 6 in the WNBA draft in hopes Whalen will be available, but she is taken fourth overall by the Connecticut Sun.

2004: The Sun loses to Seattle in the WNBA Finals. Whalen is fifth in the league in assists.

Jan. 3, 2005: The Gophers retire Whalen's jersey No. 13. She has 2,285 career points, most in school history — male or female. She gets her bachelor's degree in sports management that spring.

2005: The Sun goes to the WNBA Finals again, losing to Sacramento. Whalen misses one game in the finals and plays sparingly in the others because of a broken bone in her left leg.

2006: Whalen has surgery in January to repair ligaments in her left ankle. She finishes fourth in the WNBA in assists.

2007: Whalen leads the WNBA in assist average and narrowly misses becoming the second player in league history to average 10 points, five assists and five rebounds per game.

Oct. 6, 2007: Whalen marries former Gophers golfer Ben Greve at St. Anastasia Catholic Church in Hutchinson. She switches European teams, playing for USK Praha in the Czech Republic, the start of a three-year stint for that team.

2008: Whalen finishes second to Los Angeles' Candace Parker in the closest WNBA MVP voting ever (276.79-242.08).

Jan. 12, 2010: The Lynx trade the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft and guard Renee Montgomery — the team's No. 1 pick out of UConn in 2009 — to the Sun for Whalen and the No. 2 pick in the draft.

March 8, 2010: Whalen is named to the 20-player USA Basketball women's roster.

2011: With rookie Maya Moore, Whalen helped pace the Lynx to their first WNBA championship. Whalen was named first-team all-WNBA for the second time.

2012: Whalen led the league in assists for the third time and the Lynx returned to the Finals, losing to Indiana. … She is named to the Summer Olympics team, which won gold.

2015: The Lynx made it back to the WNBA Finals, this team beating Indiana, and Whalen was named an All-Star for the fifth time.

2016: Whalen wins a second Olympic gold medal. She's also inducted in the WNBA Top 20 at 20, marking the best players in the league's 20-year history. She becomes the first player in WNBA history to record 5,000 points, 2,000 assists and 1,500 rebounds in a career.

2017: On her collegiate home court, Williams Arena at the University of Minnesota, Whalen and the Lynx won the WNBA title, their fourth championship in seven seasons.

April 12, 2018: Whalen, returning to her alma mater, is named the Gophers head women's basketball coach.

Aug. 13, 2018: Whalen announces her retirement from the WNBA, effective at season's end.