The Lynx’s worthy opponents in the WNBA semifinals that started Sunday night in Target Center are candidates to represent the most unique franchise in a major professional sports league in North America.
Reusse: A look back at the Connecticut Sun’s unique WNBA journey
Born after Orlando Miracle was sold to the Mohegan Tribe in 2003, the Sun was the first independently owned and operated WNBA franchise.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 30, 2024 at 4:16AM
The Connecticut Sun, 73-70 winners in Game 1, still would have to settle for No. 2 on that list for me, trailing the Green Bay Packers, headquartering a franchise in the most wildly successful league in history — in a city of 100,000 that wouldn’t exist without the vital importance of toilet paper.
The NBA started the WNBA with eight teams in 1997, added two teams in 1998 and the Orlando Miracle and the Minnesota Lynx were added to make 12 in 1999. The Timberwolves’ commitment to the effort was considerably more determined than that of the Orlando Magic.
The Miracle folded the operation and the franchise was sold to the Mohegan Tribe, to be located at the Mohegan Sun Casino and Resort. Address: Uncasville, in southeastern Connecticut, surrounded by smallish towns and much water.
This was a complete change of structure for the WNBA — the first franchise that had no connection to the NBA. When the Sun joined as independent owners for 2003, there were 14 teams.
Six of those either folded or moved: Detroit Shock, Charlotte Sting, Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets, Sacramento Monarchs and San Antonio Streaks. The Mohegan Tribe has remained steadfast.
Among those with a fond memory of that commitment is Lindsay Whalen. For some, it is easy to forget that there was a lengthy gap for this homestate wunderkind between her stardom for the Gophers and her importance to the Lynx dynastic period.
Whalen led her team from ineptitude to the 2004 Final Four during her four seasons with the Gophers, then was taken fourth overall by the Sun in their Year 2. The Lynx were selecting two picks later and took Nicole Ohlde.
There was some irony in this, since Ohlde was the star of a well-seeded Kansas State that the Gophers drubbed in the second round of the 2004 NCAAs in front of a crowd of 14,000-plus (including Sid Hartman) in Williams Arena.
There were immediate rumors the lynx would swing a trade for Whalen, but it would be 2010 before Lindsay made it back to Minnesota as a player.
On Sunday morning, Whalen was doing a most-Minnesota of things — coming back from the lake Up North — and was asked about her time with the Sun.
One added note: In 2008, her fifth season for outstanding coach Mike Thibault, Whalen was the runner-up in MVP voting.
Candace Parker won it and Sue Bird was third. That’s called good company.
Tell us about those Sun-ny Times, Lindsay:
“It was good for me to get drafted by Connecticut. It was good to be more than an hour away from my parents [in Hutchinson] for the first time. Had to solve my own problems.
“It was completely different than any other place in the WNBA. They put us up in a residence in Groton; lots of fishing, but also the Naval submarine base. You saw a lot of service people around town. Our apartments — they gave up a one-bedroom; if you wanted two bedrooms, you paid some extra, and if you wanted three, you paid more.
“Great mix of players on that team. Several of us rookies, but we also had Debbie Black, who was 37, and Taj McWilliams-Franklin … she was a great player and person, and I think she had three kids.
“We made the WNBA Finals my first season. We won the first game at home, and then went across the country to play two in Seattle.
“It was a best-of-three Finals then. We played in that old arena — Key Center — in Seattle and that was the loudest crowd I ever played in front of in pro basketball.
“Nykesha Sales was our star, and she had a shot in the air to win Game 3 at the end. That close. One shot from the title.
“The Sun have been successful because they’ve almost always had great leadership. Mike Thibault was a terrific coach. Mitchell Etess represented the tribe and he was fully committed.
“Now they have Jennifer Rizzotti running the franchise as president — tremendous person — and I really like the coach, Stephanie White.
“When we had our dynasty going with four titles, we had some great games with the Sun. This series probably won’t be any different for us.”
The “us” being the Lynx, of course. Four WNBA titles’ worth of loyalty there.
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