Wednesday was a very special day for the Minnesota Lynx.

As they have the past three years, the team signed five new honorary members to the squad to form the Minnesota Lynx Dream Team presented by Slumberland. Each member of the Dream Team is a young woman with a unique and inspiring story and was nominated by their Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor.

The day started with a press conference and each member of the Dream Team signing an honorary contract with the team. Then the team headed out to the courts to practice with the Lynx.

Each member of the Dream Team was paired with a member of the Lynx. The pairs warmed up together before going through a few drills. Then the Dream Team got to see what a day in the life of the pros is like as they observed and participated in parts of the team’s practice as the Lynx prepare to face the Liberty on Saturday. The Lynx will continue to hold events with the Dream Team throughout the season.

Dream Team day is an important opportunity to give back to the community and serve as a role models for local youth. A day like Wednesday accentuates the need for increased visibility for the WNBA—seeing women playing at the highest level, coaching and working with the team as well is an extraordinarily valuable thing for young women.

“Just an incredibly valuable day,” said Reeve. “Of course, these girls getting to come and be a part of this is special to them, but the impact it has on us and our staff, and to see the role models, they’ll never forget this day. All of our players at some point at a young age experienced somebody that moved them.”

“I think it was also just looking up to players that were before me, so to have this opportunity to now be on the other side of it is special,” said Danielle Robinson. “She’s been smiling the whole time and I know that’s how I was as a kid. To be able to give back like this, it means a lot.”

Having this special group of young women at practice is inspiring for the Lynx players a well. The Dream Team members all have something unique to share but they have some things in common as well. Basketball, unsurprisingly, is one of those.

“They’re hoopers!” said Danielle Robinson. “I think this is special. They’re a special, talented group. They just want to learn, they want to meet everybody, they’re just soaking it all in.”

The group brought a jolt of energy to the team that they’ll certainly carry with them throughout the rest of the week. In the day-to-day grind of the season, it’s important to take time to realize how much the Lynx’s young fans care about and support them.

“They’re not shy. I was in the room with them for a little bit and it was enjoyable to feel their positive energy, their sunshine, their excitement,” said Reeve. “Sure, there’s that nervous energy that comes with it, but then there’s the anticipation of meeting some people that they have idolized. We sent them videos to let them know that they would be part of the Dream Team, their reactions were just priceless.”