Every Monday throughout the month of March, Women’s History Month, the Lynx will release five players who have qualified as a top player in franchise history
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Lynx today unveiled the first set of five players who will be recognized as part of the All-25 Team in Lynx history throughout the 25th anniversary season. Each week, a new set of players will be announced followed by a social media campaign highlighting their contributions to the Lynx franchise on and off the court. Qualifications for this honor are strictly statistical and award-based, the list will be comprised of players who have scored 1,000+ points, grabbed 500+ rebounds, started 50+ games, were members of 2+ WNBA Championship teams, represented the Lynx in the WNBA All-Star Game and/or were end-of-season WNBA award winners while wearing a Lynx uniform. This week’s five incredible players of the All-25 Team include:
Nicky Anosike – Center
Drafted by Minnesota in the 2nd round (16th overall) of the 2008 WNBA Draft, Anosike appeared in all 34 games (all starts) during her rookie campaign. Posting averages of 9.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, Anosike earned a spot on the 2008 All-Rookie Team. During the 2009 season, the Tennessee University product tallied career-high averages in every major category, 13.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.7 steals in 29.9 minutes per game, earning a spot on the 2009
All-Defensive First Team and represented the Lynx in the 2009 All-Star game. After three seasons in a Lynx jersey, Anosike averaged 10.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists throughout 95 games (93 starts).
Crystal Dangerfield – Point Guard
Drafted by Minnesota in the second round (16th overall) in the 2020 WNBA Draft, the 5-5 guard averaged 14.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 30 games during her senior campaign at University of Connecticut. Dangerfield joined her former UConn teammate, Napheesa Collier, marking the seventh time the Lynx selected a player from Connecticut in the draft. Dangerfield averaged 16.2 points and 3.6 assists in the 2020 season, held in the WNBA bubble in Bradenton, Florida. She became the fifth Lynx player and second in a row to earn Rookie of the Year honors (Napheesa Collier 2019, Maya Moore 2011, Seimone Augustus 2006, Betty Lennox 2000) and wrapped up her debut season in the WNBA by starting 19 of the final 20 games. Dangerfield led all WNBA rookies with eight 20+ point games, which was the most by a Lynx rookie since Augustus tallied 20 such games in 2006. Dangerfield spent her first two seasons with the Minnesota Lynx.
Charde Houston – Small Forward
Drafted by Minnesota in the 3rd round (30th overall) of the 2008 WNBA Draft, Houston posted rookie averages of 8.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists. Houston finished her rookie season with the ninth best field goal percentage across the WNBA (49.2%) on the season. During her sophomore campaign in 2009, Houston appeared in 34 games (33 starts), showcasing significant improvement with 13.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Houston represented Minnesota in the 2009 All-Star and finished the game with 16 points, on 7-of-10 from the field (70.0%), six rebounds, one assist and three steals in 16.8 minutes of action. During the 2011 season, Houston appeared in 27 games and averaged 2.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists and was the recipient of the 2011 Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award, which is presented to a WNBA player who best exemplifies the characteristics of a leader in the community and reflects Staley’s leadership, spirit, charitable efforts and love for the game. Houston was a part of the 2011 team that brought Minnesota’s first title in franchise history. During the championship run, Houston averaged 3.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists. Houston finished off her Lynx career averaging 9.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists over 128 games played.
Devereaux Peters – Power Forward
Drafted by Minnesota in the 1st round (3rd overall) of the 2012 WNBA Draft, Peters appeared in 30 games (two starts) for the Lynx in her rookie campaign and averaged 5.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Peters led all rookies in field goal percentage at 56% during the 2012 season. In her second season, she appeared in every game for the Lynx and helped anchor the team’s defense off the bench as they won their second WNBA title. In four seasons with the Lynx, Peters appeared in 125 regular season games and 31 playoff games, helping the Lynx win the 2013 and 2015 WNBA championships.
Odyssey Sims – Guard
On April 22, 2019, Minnesota traded for Sims, where she started in all 34 games for the Lynx while leading the team in scoring and assists. Sims averages of 14.5 points per game and career bests of 3.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists earned her a nod to represent Minnesota in the 2019 All-Star game, the first of her career. During All-Star, Sims tallied 10 points on 4-of-7 from the field (57.1%), grabbed two rebounds and dished two assists in 15 minutes of action. Tallied a league-best and Lynx franchise record five 20+ pt/8+ ast games. On July 6 at Connecticut, Sims became just the third Lynx player to dish 8+ assists in three consecutive games (Noelle Quinn, 2007; Whalen, 2012).
In honor of the 25th anniversary, Minnesota Lynx legends who are a part of the All-25 Team have been invited for a reunion weekend celebrating the historic accomplishments of the franchise, which will tip-off at Target Center on Friday, June 9 vs. Indiana Fever and conclude with the jersey retirement of Sylvia Fowles on Sunday, June 11 vs. the Los Angeles Sparks.
View the full list of All-25 Team Members