Fresh off their return from the Paris Olympics Lynx Head Coach Cheryl Reeve and Forward Napheesa Collier are reflecting on the games as they prepare to jump back into the WNBA season.
Collier, who is now a two-time Olympic gold medalist, says ready to bring that same energy back to the Lynx but she also feels the weight of her win and being a member of Team USA.
"It comes with a lot of pressure and sometimes that is really unfair," Collier explained. "But I think you do your best under pressure and the expectation of that allows you to become an even better basketball player."
Coach Reeve says even with such a short turn around between their return and the Lynx' first game back, everyone is ready to go.
"I think what our, what our possibilities are is exciting, and we play tomorrow night and we're ready to go," she says. "We're ready to go."
The Lynx are set to play the Washington Mystics Thursday night at Target Center and are in good standing for their return to the season, tied with Seattle atop the Western Conference.
Reeve says even when she was over in Paris for the Olympics, she always had an eye on the team.
"All the practices were recorded, and so before I'd go to sleep, it was like reading a book," explains Reeve. "I'd pop in our video and watch. I am really excited because I know that when I got back that they would be ready."
In Paris Reeve lead Team USA to win its eighth straight Olympic gold medal. The team set a record with their win in the Gold Medal game against France with 61 consecutive Olympic victories dating to the 1992 Barcelona Games.
The weren't the only Olympians on the Lynx roster either. Australia’s Alanna Smith and Canada’s Bridget Carleton also returned to the Twin Cities after their Olympic experience. While Canada didn't make it out of group play, Smith proudly wore her bronze medal after Australia defeated Belgium.
Both of those players and Collier are expecting to be back from the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. As for head coach Cheryl Reeve, her status for LA in '28 isn't known. She is Team USA's coach through 2024 and no decision has been made beyond this year.