Lindsay is back in action.
The Lynx announced Saturday that Lindsay Whalen, their Hall of Fame point guard, will join the team as an assistant coach along with former Washington Mystics coach Eric Thibault, who will be associate head coach.
Whalen, who led the Gophers to a Final Four and was a three-time All-America before starting her pro career, also coached her alma mater for five seasons after retiring from the WNBA as a four-time league champion with the Lynx playing for Cheryl Reeve.
She was a two-time Olympic gold medalist and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
Reeve, the Lynx president of basketball operations and head coach, announced the hires in a news release. The team will hold a news conference Monday.
“Eric has vast experience coaching in the WNBA as both a head and an assistant coach and ... Lindsay adds a unique perspective as a Lynx legend and Naismith Hall of Famer,” Reeve said in the release.
Thibault coached the Mystics the past two seasons after being an assistant for the previous 10 years under his father, Mike Thibault. Washington won the WNBA title in 2019. Eric Thibault was fired in October after the Mystics went 33-47 in his two seasons, including 14-26 in 2024.
Whalen was 71-76 in her five seasons (2018-23) with the Gophers, and 32-58 in the Big Ten. Whalen left the job in March 2023 in what was described as a mutual decision with athletic director Mark Coyle. She accepted a $215,000 settlement to be terminated without cause rather than continue to work for her alma mater as a special assistant.
