2018 Roster Review | Temi Fagbenle

Stats: 30 games, 9.4 MPG, 3.1 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 0.6 APG, 50.6 FG%, 69.6 FT%

Season in a Nutshell: Somewhat inconsistent, but there’s still plenty of intrigue.

A Deeper Dive: 

The 26-year-old center developed more into the play that coach Cheryl Reeve wanted her to in 2018.

Fagbenle averaged career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks per game. That’s what happens when your minutes more than double from 4.2 per game to 9.4 per game.

And with those minutes came inconsistency, which is expected for a player who doesn’t have a whole lot of WNBA experience.

She hit 10 or more points in four games but was also held scoreless in nine games. It’s probably unfair to judge her contributions on scoring. For the Lynx, reserve players are just supposed to give some energy where appropriate, but that could change moving forward. Fagbenle’s role should get bigger. Think more of what we saw in the team’s lone playoff game (24 minutes before getting in foul trouble) than what we saw in the regular season.

Top Three Games:

  1. July 11 at Indiana

In this road win, Fagbenle finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes. She shot 5-for-7 from the field.

  1. July 13 vs. Las Vegas

Against the Aces, the second-year big finished with 10 points, six rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes. She shot 4-for-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.

  1. Aug. 21 at Los Angeles

In this playoff game, Fagbenle was a glimmer of hope for the Lynx. In just 24 minutes, she finished with a career-high 15 points to go with four rebounds, one assist and one steal. She shot a near-perfect 7-for-8 from the field and 1-for-1 from the 3-point line.

Offseason Objectives:

Continue to develop. Fagbenle generally dominates overseas. Last season she won a championship in Poland during the WNBA offseason.

She has all of the tools to be a solid contributor for a good team. She has the length to be a good rebounder and a solid rim protector. For her, more often than not, it comes down to her confidence and her assertiveness. The higher those two things are, the more successful she is.

“What I saw from Temi was a player who plays with a sense of urgency that absorbs information and applies it quickly and frankly, Temi was the beneficiary of a not-so-deep post group,” Reeve said at her end-of-the-season press conference.

Role in 2019:

Sylvia Fowles still owns the paint for the Lynx. Rebekkah Brunson will be alongside her. While Fowles is still an MVP candidate, Brunson is nearing the end of her career, although she’s still in great shape and has evolved her game to fit today’s WNBA.

I’d expect Fagbenle to be the first big off the bench for the Lynx. It’s a huge opportunity for her. We know she’s capable of it in spurts, we just need to see if she can do it consistently.