On Friday in Washington, going against the coach she first played for when she entered the WNBA in 2004, Lindsay Whalen will have the chance to become the winningest player in league history.
This isn't huge news. The fact that Whalen has been stalking Swin Cash's record for wins has been talked about for a while now; Michael Rand did a nice Q & A with Whalen over the weekend on this very topic.
But I felt it might be worth a revisit, just considering the success Whalen has had through the years. She currently stands tied with Cash for the most victories in the regular season at 294.
Here is an interesting numerical breakdown of Whalen's career, winning-wise:
--She has played in 433 games, starting 422 of them. She came off the bench once in her rookie season at Connecticut in 2004 while playing for coach Mike Thibault.
--In those 433 games, Whalen – who played six seasons for Connecticut before coming to the Lynx in 2010 – has led teams that have compiled a 294-139 record when she played. That's a 67.9 percent winning percentage.
--In her first 13 seasons Whalen has gone to the playoffs in 11 seasons. That includes two appearances in the finals for Connecticut and another five with the Lynx, winning three championships here in Minnesota. Two other seasons ended in the conference championships.
Tuesday Whalen and Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve talked to the assembled media. Here is some of what they had to say: