Neal: As Lynx teams of legend crowd the Basketball Hall of Fame, we recall the good times

The Lynx were headed for the 2017 WNBA title but had to complete the mission at Williams Arena because Target Center was under renovation.

No problem for some fans. Longtime high school girls coach Brian Cosgriff liked to take his players to Lynx games, and they were right there at the Barn to witness the finals showdown against the L.A. Sparks.

“It was a rivalry,” said Cosgriff, who last week announced his retirement after 24 years of prep coaching. “Those girls would battle. And watching Magic Johnson sitting courtside, it was worth the cost of the $20 ticket.”

The Lynx trailed 2-1 in the series but beat the Sparks in Los Angeles to force the decisive Game 5 at the Barn. There they prevailed 85-76 to win title No. 4.

Their starting lineup for that game: Maya Moore Irons, Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, Lindsay Whalen and Rebekkah Brunson.

We didn’t know how good we had it.

The procession of players from those great Lynx teams to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame began in 2022, when Whalen was inducted. Augustus joined in 2024. It was announced last week that Fowles and Moore Irons will be inducted in September.

Four players from one team in the Hall of Fame. The same five won the title in 2015 as well.

The Golden Age of Lynx basketball is being recognized in Springfield, Mass.

“It was amazing to watch four players who ended up being Hall of Famers,” Cosgriff said. “The Lynx were the best show in town, and it was very good basketball.”

Moore Irons and Augustus were No. 1 overall picks. Fowles and Whalen arrived through trades, as the Lynx weren’t afraid to include first-round picks in each deal. The pick sent to Connecticut became Tina Charles, but it was worth it. The orchestrator of it all was Cheryl Reeve, now the president of basketball operations as well as head coach. And a future Hall of Famer herself.

Several teams can be offered up for discussion as the best single-season squad in league history. One of the Lisa Leslie-led Sparks teams. The Houston Comets, the original dynasty, led by Cynthia Cooper-Dyke and Sheryl Swoopes. Diana Taurasi driving Phoenix to glory. Perhaps the Las Vegas Aces, led by A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum.

But a team sending four of its five starters to the Hall of Fame must be in the conversation. A 2021 ESPN ranking of the league’s 25 greatest players had the Lynx quartet ranging from fourth (Moore Irons) to 19th (Whalen).

Guess who was 24th on that list? Brunson, the tie binding all four Lynx championships. She wasn’t a big scorer, but she made life easier for the other four on the floor with rebounding, smarts and tenacity.

All five Lynx starters in the Hall? Why not?

Loyal readers know that I annually set myself up for ridicule with my picks to click. Each year, I select a Twins pitcher and position player to have a strong season. I have hit on some of my predictions through the years and whiffed horribly on others.

My pitcher to click this year — Zebby Matthews — didn’t even make it out of spring training. I have my reasons for picking him.

First, Matthews abhors walks. He walked seven batters in 97 minor league innings last season. Second, he practices manipulation through variation, throwing five different pitches — a fastball, cut fastball, slider, curveball and changeup. Third, Matthews’ fastball velocity ticked up in camp to 97 miles per hour.

Matthews presents a lot for hitters to process while in the batter’s box.

Now he’s expected to be promoted from Class AAA St. Paul to start on Monday against the Mets. I’m hoping this is a pick that sticks.

New Gophers men’s hoops coach Niko Medved already has solved one problem.

He has improved the absolute worst free-throw-shooting team in the Big Ten with his initial transfer portal additions.

I’ve never seen a team with so many awful free-throw shooters. Frank Mitchell, for example, is taking his 40.6% foul-line efficiency to St. Bonaventure. Good luck with that, Bonnies.

Davidson transfer Bobby Durkin is a career 85.3% free-throw shooter. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, following Medved from Colorado State, has made 72.7% of his free throws, and BJ Omot is at 71.6% after stops at North Dakota and Cal.

Robert Vaihola shot a career-high 64.3% from the line last season at San Jose State. That’s better than six Gophers who appeared in at least 22 games last season.

Thank you, Niko. Now go find some rebounding.

This won’t be the week the Twins turn things around, as they will drop two of three games to both the Mets and Braves.

The Wild should feel the need for Zeev. Look for them to sign first-round pick Zeev Buium, whose college season ended Thursday, and have him in uniform Tuesday for the regular-season finale against Anaheim.