Minnesota Lynx Team History | SPORTS TEAM HISTORY

Established
1999

City
Minneapolis

League History
1999 – Present / Women’s National Basketball Association

Team History
1999 – Present / Minnesota Lynx

Nickname
Lynx – The Minnesota Lynx are among the most successful teams in the WNBA, having won four championships since their inception in 1999. But where did they get their name? It turns out that it has some exciting origins!

The team’s original owner, Harvey Ratner, chose “Lynx” as a tribute to Minnesota's rich Native American heritage. The lynx is an animal native to North America and was seen by many of its indigenous peoples as a symbol of strength and power. This idea resonated with Ratner, who wanted his team to be decisive on the court just like its namesake animal was powerful off it!

In addition to being symbolic for Native Americans, the lynx also had special meaning for Minnesotans at large: when settlers first came into contact with local Ojibwe tribes during fur trading expeditions in 17th-century Canada-Minnesota borderlands regions (including present-day Wisconsin), they observed how these people hunted using packs composed entirely of female animals—namely wolves and lynxes—to track down prey more effectively than if males were included. So not only does this nickname have historical significance but also practical hunting applications, which makes it even more unique!

Since then, Lynxs fans have embraced their nickname proudly – both because it honors Minnesota's proud history while simultaneously representing power on the basketball court today – making them one of WNBA's most iconic franchises ever since 1999.

Championship
WNBA Championships 4
2017, 2015, 2013, 2011

Arena
1999 – Present / Target Center
2016 – 2017 / Xcel Energy Center

Owner
1999 – Present / Glen Taylor

Who is the greatest Minnesota Lynx?

To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.

History of the Lynx

The Minnesota Lynx, home to some of the WNBA's greatest players, is a professional Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) basketball team. Founded in 1999, the Lynx has become one of the WNBA's most successful teams. With six conference titles and four championships, they are among only two teams to win multiple championships since 2000.

Since their inception, the Minnesota Lynx have been led by some of women’s basketball’s biggest names. The first head coach was Brian Agler, who served from 1999-2002 and won two conference titles with them. He was followed by Suzie McConnell Serio, who coached for seven years from 2003-2009 and took home three more conference titles and a championship title during her time with them. From 2011-2018 Cheryl Reeve became head coach, leading her team to five straight playoff appearances, including four consecutive finals appearances which resulted in three additional championship wins, making it an impressive total of four overall championships for this historic franchise!

Under Head Coach Ryan Saunders, at just 30 years old, he is officially tied with Reeve as the youngest coach ever hired into league history! Since then, Saunders has continued building up this already successful franchise, bringing back veterans such as Sylvia Fowles and adding new talent to build upon what has already been established within these past twenty-plus years! As we look forward to future seasons, there is no doubt that fans can expect nothing less than greatness out of their beloved Minnesota Lynx organization each year in the future.

History of the Lynx

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