Practice Report | Seimone Augustus’ Veteran Instincts

The Lynx sure are happy to have Seimone Augustus back. While the veteran guard is still managing her reps, she handled her minutes well in the Lynx’s game on Tuesday and reminded everyone watching why she is such a valuable part of the team.

“She was ready, she performed, then when she came out she got ready and got back out there. She was obviously what the team needed,” said head coach Cheryl Reeve. “She’s showing them that after all these games we’re trying to tell players what we’re trying to get, what we’re trying to do, then Seimone just goes and does it.”

There is certainly something to be said for having someone who knows the game as well as Augustus does actually in the game instead of just sitting on the bench. Especially when it comes to her chemistry with Sylvia Fowles. Augustus just knows how to get Fowles the ball—after all, they’ve been playing together since their college days at LSU.

“They have to see it before they understand what I’m seeing from the sideline,” said Augustus of her teammates. “We did a few situations and Syl was able to get a few easy buckets and it was like ‘Oh that’s when I’m supposed to throw it…’ It was great because after that you saw players feeling more confident in making passes that they probably wouldn’t have made previous days.”

Reeve said that Fowles is the player who benefits most from having Augustus on the floor. The duo works together well and Augustus is able to her looks off the attention that Fowles gets as well.

“Teams are still choosing Sylvia Fowles, and that’s where I thought Seimone was opportunistic off of help defense. She got some good shots,” said Reeve. “I thought all of her shots looked good which means she’s getting lift. Hopefully, fingers crossed, because Seimone deserves this. Seimone deserves to be on the court.”

Augustus has constantly reinvented herself as a member of the Lynx. It seems now that she is looking to be more of a facilitator from the wing as well as a constant vocal presence to the team. Having Augustus able to walk the walk as well as talk the talk helps her teammates do the same.

“I hope that I bring a little something to the table as far as that confidence, letting them know what they need to do, how they need to be doing it. I think we saw in the fourth quarter; I was proud of the way our team responded to the back and forth between Atlanta,” said Augustus. “You saw us make play after play until Atlanta was the team that broke, and we were able to pull away a little bit.”

Ask Reeve and she will tell you that Augustus has been the ultimate professional her entire career. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone that doesn’t agree with that assessment. Though Augustus is certainly in the later stages of her career, she has never stopped figuring out new ways to add value to the Lynx squad. Even when she was sidelined she was a huge part of the team and now that she is back out there that impact is amplified.

“She’s been incredible in those times that she was out. I so appreciated the way she, we always say bite off as much as you want to chew, and she took a big bite,” said Reeve. “It was just so valuable, and still is. She just gives up herself. There’s not a more loyal person to this organization. We’ve had some really loyal people, that’s not a slight to anybody else, it’s just that Seimone is just unbelievable in the way she gives up herself to this franchise.”