MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – Minnesota Lynx today unveiled the second 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. Qualifications for this honor are strictly statistical and award-based, the list is 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. This week’s five of the All-25 Team include:
Damiris Dantas – Power Forward
The 2023 season will be Dantas’ seventh with Minnesota (2014, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022). She was originally selected by the Lynx in the first round (12th overall) of the 2012 WNBA Draft, arrived in Minnesota for the 2014 season. Dantas re-signed with Minnesota on February 8, 2019, making her the fourth player to serve separate stints with the Lynx (Kristen Mann, Janel McCarville, Renee Montgomery).
Dantas’ finest statistical season came in 2020 where she started every game for the first time in her career. She averaged a career-high 12.9 points, 6.1 rebound, 2.6 assists and 1.14 steals while logging 26.6 minutes per game – the rebound, steal and minute figures are career bests. Dantas ranked 9th in the WNBA in three-point accuracy at a career-high 43.3% (39-for-90). She erupted for a career-high 28 points on Sept. 2 vs. Chicago (her fourth career 20+ effort) while swiping a career-best three steals.
Tonya Edwards – Guard
Edwards was drafted by the Lynx with the seventh overall pick, making her one of the founding members of the franchise. In 1999, her best season with Minnesota, she averaged 14.8 points, 2.1 threes, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists, making the 1999 WNBA All-Star team. Edwards played one season with the Lynx, going on to play for Phoenix and Charlotte before retiring after the 2002 season.
Kayla McBride – Small Forward
McBride was signed by Minnesota as an unrestricted free agent on Feb. 1, 2021. She started all 32 games and tallied 13.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 31.6 minutes per game in her first season as a Lynx. Her averages ranked 20th in scoring, 18th in three-point accuracy (37.9 percent) and fourth in free through accuracy (91.0 percent). McBride enters her third season with the Lynx averaging 14.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.
Janel McCarville – Center
McCarville played with the Lynx for three seasons (2013, 2014, 2016) and her memory and impact lives on in Minnesota. She was acquired by Minnesota from New York on Mar. 1, 2013. The 6-2 McCarville was the starting center for the Lynx for two years, holding down the middle during Minnesota’s 2013 WNBA Championship run and their 2014 Western Conference Finals appearance.
McCarville’s best statistical season with the Lynx came in 2014, when she averaged 7.9 points (on 45.7% shooting), 4.8 rebounds, and 1.2 steals. She led all centers in assists (3.1 apg) and ranked 13th in blocks (0.85 bpg) and 21st in steals (1.21 spg). In 2013, she ranked 2nd among WNBA centers (behind Candace Parker) in assists.
Renee Montgomery – Point Guard
Selected by the Lynx with the fourth-overall pick of the 2009 WNBA Draft, Montgomery played in all 34 games for Minnesota her rookie year, averaging 9.0 points on 40.8-percent shooting, making the 2009 WNBA All-Rookie Team. Montgomery returned to the Lynx midway through the 2015 season and was a key player in the Lynx’s 2015 and 2017 WNBA Championship runs. She scored a playoff career-high 18 points in a Game 1 win vs. Washington in 2017. She appeared in 121 total games with the Lynx and averaged 7.8 points and 2.7 assists per game.
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 Lynx legend Sylvia Fowles on Sunday, June 11 vs. the Los Angeles Sparks.
Thus far, Nicky Anosike, Devereaux Peters, Odyssey Sims, Charde Houston, and Crystal Dangerfield have been unveiled and named to the All-25 Team. Learn more about the All-25 Team at: lynx.wnba.com/25th-anniversary.