MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Lynx today set their 12-player Opening Night roster by placing center Temi Fagbenle on the team’s temporary suspended list. Minnesota begins its 21st WNBA season presented by Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine on Saturday, May 25 vs. Chicago at Target Center, with tipoff slated for 7:00 p.m.
The Opening Night dozen returns three players from the 2018 roster: Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles and Danielle Robinson. The roster also features Damiris Dantas, who was selected by the Lynx in the 2012 Draft and traded to Atlanta in 2015 as part of a three-team deal that saw Minnesota acquire Fowles from Chicago. In three seasons with the Dream, she averaged 7.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
The 2019 roster features a plethora of new faces highlighted by offseason acquisitions Lexie Brown, Karima Christmas-Kelly and Odyssey Sims. Brown arrived in a draft-night trade with Connecticut and shined in the Lynx’ final preseason game at Las Vegas when she collected 10 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Christmas-Kelly, who signed as a free agent on Feb. 1, was a WNBA champion with Indiana in 2012 and joins the Lynx after spending the previous three seasons in Dallas. In her best season to date, Christmas-Kelly averaged 12.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game for the Wings in 2016. Sims comes to the Lynx after being acquired via trade on April 22. The Irving, TX native spent the past two seasons with Los Angeles, a stay highlighted by a trip to the WNBA Finals vs. Minnesota in 2017. In 2018, she appeared in all 34 games (24 starts), averaging 8.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per contest.
Joining the veteran acquisitions are rookies Napheesa Collier (1st round, 6th overall), Jessica Shepard (2nd round, 16th overall) and Shao Ting (signed as a free agent), marking the first time since 2014 (Dantas, Tricia Liston, Asia Taylor) that Minnesota’s Opening Night roster will feature a trio of rookies. Newly acquired center Alaina Coates and forward Stephanie Talbot are set to make their Lynx debut on Saturday. Coates appeared in 32 games as a rookie for Chicago in 2018, averaging 3.4 points (on 56.8% shooting) and 3.2 rebounds per contest. Talbot began her WNBA career in 2017 with Phoenix. Last summer, she saw action in 31 games, averaging 3.7 points (on 46.4% shooting), 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
2019 MINNESOTA LYNX ROSTER
| No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate College / From Exp |
| 0 Karima Christmas-Kelly F 6-0 209 09/11/1989 Duke / USA 8 |
| 1 Odyssey Sims G 5-8 163 07/13/1992 Baylor / USA 5 |
| 3 Danielle Robinson G 5-9 136 05/10/1989 Oklahoma / USA 7 |
| 4 Lexie Brown G 5-9 158 10/27/1994 Duke / USA 1 |
| 7 Shao Ting F 6-1 170 12/10/1989 China R |
| 8 Stephanie Talbot F 6-2 175 06/15/1994 Australia 2 |
| 10 Jessica Shepard F 6-3 198 09/11/1996 Notre Dame / USA R |
| 14 Temi Fagbenle* C 6-4 179 09/08/1992 USC / USA 2 |
| 20 Kelsey Griffin^ F 6-2 179 07/02/1987 Nebraska / USA 5 |
| 23 Maya Moore^ F 6-0 175 06/11/1989 Connecticut / USA 8 |
| 24 Napheesa Collier F 6-1 182 09/23/1996 Connecticut / USA R |
| 33 Seimone Augustus G 6-0 172 04/30/1984 Louisiana State / USA 13 |
| 34 Sylvia Fowles C 6-6 227 10/06/1985 Louisiana State / USA 11 |
| 81 Alaina Coates C 6-4 225 04/07/1995 South Carolina / USA 1 |
| 92 Damiris Dantas F 6-3 206 11/17/1992 Brazil 4 |
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*Fagbenle will begin the 2019 season on the Temporary Suspended List
^Griffin and Moore have been placed on the Full Season Suspended List
Minnesota Lynx Pronunciation Guide
| Karima Christmas-Kelly |
Kuh-REE-muh |
| Napheesa Collier |
Nuh-FEE-suh |
| Damiris Dantas |
Duh-MEER-iss DAHN-tahs |
| Temi Fagbenle |
Fag-BEN-lay |
| Sylvia Fowles |
FOULS |
| Shao Ting |
Rhymes with “Now” |
Head Coach/General Manager: Cheryl Reeve (La Salle)
Assistant Coaches: Shelley Patterson (Washington State), Walt Hopkins (Nevada), Plenette Pierson (Texas Tech)
Athletic Trainers: Chuck Barta (Wisconsin-La Crosse), Kate Taber (Iowa)
Assistant General Manager: Clare Duwelius (Wayne State)
Video Coordinator: Will Dunn (St. Thomas)