Consistency has defined the Lynx over the better part of the past decade. With an established core of players that remained largely unchanged through four WNBA championships and eight straight playoff appearances the Lynx had the WNBA in the palm of their hand for years. That era may be over, but its foundation remains.

There are a lot of new faces in Mayo Clinic Square, but one thing hasn’t changed—a championship culture. The Lynx have fewer veterans and fewer stars than they have in years past. They aren’t at the top of WNBA win projections; they won’t be on many shortlists for a championship run.

Don’t count them out, though. The impact of culture and top-down stability can’t be overstated, and the Lynx have a leadership core that is ready to continue building towards the ultimate goal of a championship with a different group of players. Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles, with the help of Danielle Robinson, who is all of a sudden one of the most established players on the roster in just her second year, have become the stewards of a somewhat legendary culture and organizational ethic.

Somehow, someway, it seems like the Lynx will find a way to be successful, whatever that means to them this year.

“It starts with the leadership. Not just the player leadership, I’m talking about the coaches here,” said Augustus. “When you have a coach that’s as experienced as coach (Cheryl) Reeve, has won on every level, it’s easy to transition into applying that mentality. It’s literally a winning mindset that changes everything for your team, and you see players here that now understand. When we did the huddle at the beginning, she made everyone introduce themselves so you had myself, Plenette Pierson, saying ‘I’m a three-time WNBA, I’m a four-time WNBA [champion],’ so all the young players are like, ‘Oh I’m in the right place at the right time to learn and to grow and possibly even win a championship.’”

Lynx players are exceptionally well-supported by their ownership and the organization at large. That certainly comes into play when establishing the base for lasting success. In the last few days we’ve heard many new additions to the team—Lexie Brown, Odyssey Sims, Karima Christmas-Kelly—praise the way the Lynx treat their players. As it turns out, when people are happy and supported, they tend to do their best work.

“It starts with the owner, Glen [Taylor], and trickles down to Reeve and her getting the right players in the right place. She’s not solely on talent, she’s making sure you’re a good person and you fit into what she has to offer,” said Fowles. “Those have been the key things to our success, because they make sure you’re right eternally before you come out here and showcase yourself talent-wise.”

There’s something about Augustus and Fowles’ personalities that meshes perfectly with what the Lynx have built and continue to build. They are giants in the history of the franchise, two of the greatest players to ever play the game, yet they are extraordinarily welcoming of new players and rookies. They aren’t trying to cloister what they Lynx have; they recognize the value in sharing it.

Because of that, it’s easy to bring new players into the team.

“I don’t think there’s really a difference besides new faces. I think our core foundation will always be the same, has always been the same, no matter who came in and out of the system,” said Fowles. “We have a set core that we want people to follow and that’s to give it your all and play to where we’re capable of playing. Being selfless and having fun doing it. Those things are still the same.”

That’s not to say nothing will change. There are challenges that come with this new territory including a smaller group of leaders than when the Lynx had Rebekkah Brunson, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen on the roster. Reeve may be a championship coach, but she isn’t on the floor with her players. She relies heavily on her captains to be her voice on the court, a role that Augustus, Fowles and Robinson need to lean into.

“We’ve always led by committee, so it’s Seimone, it’s Syl and it’s Danielle, those are my three captains,” said Reeve. “They bounce things off of each other and I always said this, you go as your captains go. So, we’ll go as Danielle, Syl and Seimone go. If they’re going well, playing well and connected with their teammates we’ll do well.”

It’s fair to say that Fowles and Augustus have both typically preferred to lead by example and have had success doing so. While that remains important—they set the tone in practices and in games—with some of the more vocal presences from past years missing, they need to be more active in finding their voices.

“I have to talk more. I’m a very soft talker,” said Augustus. “Now I have to be way more vocal, speak louder, speak up, and communicate what it is that needs to be communicated, whether it’s something that they need to fix or an extension from the coach. The coach is always calling on our captains to be her voice on the court, so I’ll definitely be doing more of that.”

The presence of Robinson has been extremely helpful in the early goings of this year. Robinson spent the offseason in Minnesota and has grown immensely in her relationship with Reeve, understanding of the Lynx’s playbook and her comfort level with the franchise. She spent time with Fowles and Augustus as well, and the three of them have become an effective leadership unit. They know how one another think, they all understand when the other players are comfortable speaking up.

“If Mone or D-Rob can’t get it done then I’ll get it done. I think we kind of tag off each other. We try not to all be vocal at the same time,” said Fowles. “If it was up to me, I’d rather lead by example. I don’t really like talking as much. But if need be, I will. But I don’t see any pressure in that at all, as long as you can be honest and tell people what you want and how you want it, you go from there.”

“I’m comfortable in it, we just never had to,” said Augustus on her and Fowles being vocal leaders. “We had five captains on the team, so everyone had a different role that they were good at. Now that we lost three players that contributed to that, I had to step up and that’s no problem.”

However, even with those inside and outside the organization looking to Fowles and Augustus for leadership, Reeve wants to make sure they’re spending time on themselves as well. The team needs them at their on-court best.

“They’re both so giving as teammates. They embrace the idea of teaching. As I told them, I don’t want them to worry too much because that’s what can happen, you can start worrying about everyone else and not yourself,” said Reeve. “I’ve been there with that, I just talked to Syl about just teaching when she can but really working on her game and what’s necessary. Otherwise your head gets a-spinning if you’re trying to worry about everyone else. Syl is just so selfless that she wants to.”

Having a young team isn’t all responsibility and change for the Lynx veterans. It’s also a ton of fun. The players that the Lynx have brought in are hungry, energetic, and in many cases, fighting for their future in this league. That adds a level of energy and intensity that the more established players are obligated to match.

“They keep my energy high,” said Augustus. “I was looking around today like ‘Ok I got to get on my horse,’ because they are going 100 miles an hour today. They keep us feeling youthful, keep us feeling like we can still come out and add or contribute to the team the way we should.”

“They give you a fresh look that we haven’t had in the last couple years and that’s speed. You get it from D-Rob, me now and then, but to have it collectively as a squad, that’s something we can take into this year and capitalize on,” Fowles said.

It’s easy to be optimistic three days into camp, and overreactions and overconfidence never translate well into a long WNBA season, but the culture and leadership the Lynx have in place is no joke. Their three-person leadership team, along with Reeve, is one of the most stable foundations in sports. How the rest of the pieces fit in around them is a puzzle that might take some time to figure out, but for now, the Lynx should be very happy with who they have steering the ship.