Wednesday night in Minneapolis the Lynx open their WNBA season at home, but it's also the return of a hometown hero.
Hopkins, Minnesota-native Paige Bueckers makes her WNBA debut in her home state taking on the team she grew up rooting for as a kid.
"It'll be fun to play in my hometown, but regardless of anything, the location, the opponent, our focus is on us right now, and so any given team, arena, focus is on us," Bueckers told reporters in Dallas.
The comments came after her new team, the Wings, dropped to 0-2 losing to Seattle. Bueckers did score 19 points and distributed eight assists in the loss. Their first loss was at home against these very same Lynx.
And while Bueckers isn't used to losing many games, either in high school at Hopkins or in college at UConn, this is a different animal and Dallas was able to pick Bueckers first overall because they have struggled.
It's a different story for the Lynx though. Already 2-0 after knocking off LA on the road, the Lynx have their eyes on a championship trophy this season.
Led by one of the league's best playerse now, Napheesa Collier who scored 23 points, the Lynx beat the Los Angeles Sparks 89-75 on Sunday.
Head coach Cheryl Reeve knows what it takes to win championships, leading Minnesota to four of them, and she has been tough on her squad so far despite two wins. Reeve says they haven't put together a full game effort yet, but the second half in LA Sunday - where the Lynx outscored LA 43-30 - is where she expects them to be.
“This is how we want to play,” Reeve said. “We’ve got a great buy-in on how to be successful.”
Dallas Wings (0-2, 0-2 Western Conference) at Minnesota Lynx (2-0, 2-0 Western Conference)
Minneapolis; Wednesday, 7 p.m.
BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota Lynx hosts the Dallas Wings after Napheesa Collier scored 23 points in the Minnesota Lynx's 89-75 win against the Los Angeles Sparks.
Minnesota finished 16-4 at home and 14-6 in Western Conference games during the 2024-25 season. The Lynx gave up 75.6 points per game while committing 16.4 fouls last season.
Dallas finished 6-14 in Western Conference action and 9-31 overall during the 2024-25 season. The Wings averaged 7.1 steals, 4.0 blocks and 14.8 turnovers per game last season.
INJURIES: Lynx: Kayla McBride: out (personal).
Wings: None listed.