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Scott Agness: Minnesota Lynx coach and president Cheryl Reeve with the award sweep. Voted WNBA Coach of the Year and now Executive of the Year for 2026. EOY is voted on by an executive from each team. She was on 13 ballots, Dan Padover (ATL) on 11, Ohemaa Nyanin (GSV) on 8.
Excel Sports Management -- which acquired Nolan Partners in February 2022 and last year rebranded it to Excel Search & Advisory -- has assisted dozens of pro basketball teams with C-suite searches and has ties to the WNBA. Not only does it represent the Fever’s Caitlin Clark and the Lynx’s Napheesa Collier, but it has handled jersey patch deals for the Dream, Sparks and Wings.
Connelly lamented that his contract situation has become a public discussion point but reiterated that he has never engaged with other teams who have come calling to check on his availability. This summer, limited partners Marc and Elisa Stad agreed to purchase some of Marc Lore’s shares in the franchise, elevating them to the majority owners of the Wolves and WNBA’s Lynx. The NBA still has to approve the transaction, which will be the third configuration of controlling ownership — starting with Glen and Becky Taylor before moving to Lore and Alex Rodriguez last year and now the Stads and Rodriguez — Connelly has had in his five years in Minnesota.
The common ground with Stad and his wife, Elisa, who recently agreed to purchase controlling ownership of the Timberwolves and Lynx, is more unexpected. The Stads are not Hollywood royalty. Lowe has been in the spotlight since he was 19, when he burst onto the scene in “The Outsiders.” Marc Stad has spent his life building an investment empire while intentionally avoiding the attention that can come with it. All the success the Stads have had in business has taken them from modest beginnings with immigrant parents to mansions in Santa Barbara, walks on the beach with Lowe and now, after they agreed to team up with Alex Rodriguez to run the Wolves and Lynx, admission to one of the most exclusive clubs in America. “Marc and I bonded over sports and health and fitness,” Lowe said. “He has very smart insight into where the world is heading, both in terms of business and politics. He has the ability to see around corners.”
The WNBA has a new name atop its record book. On Sunday, Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles surpassed Caitlin Clark for the league's single-season rookie points record. The record-breaking moment came on a free throw in the second quarter of the Lynx's matchup against the Connecticut Sun, marking Miles' 770th point of the season.
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American businessman Marc Stad has completed a deal to become the controlling owner and largest shareholder of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx by buying the majority of co-owner Marc Lore's stake at a $4.5 billion valuation, sources told ESPN. Lore will retain a minority investment in the teams, while co-owner Alex Rodriguez has decided to increase his equity percentages, sources said. It's not yet known how much of both teams each would own after the sale is completed. Lore decided to take a step back from his co-owner and co-chairman role in order to focus on the IPO push for his food tech company, the Wonder Group, over the next calendar year, believing changing ownership seats with Stad gave the Timberwolves the best opportunity for continued success.
Stad's wife, Elisa Stad, will serve as the Timberwolves governor as Marc Stad continues as managing partner for Dragoneer. Rodriguez will continue to serve as alternate governor for the Timberwolves and governor of the Lynx under the new arrangement. Elisa Stad co-founded University of California, San Francisco's Stad Center for Pediatric Pain, Palliative & Integrative Medicine after a two-decade career building global consumer brands.
Some WNBA players and coaches have come out in support of transgender athletes, including Seattle Storm center Stefanie Dolson and Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve. "We need to protect trans kids," Reeve said Aug. 1. "To me, it's a human rights issue. Every kid has a right to sports."
Kendra Andrews: BREAKING: Napheesa Collier is signing a one-year $1.4 million super max contract with the Minnesota Lynx, sources tell ESPN. She’s the third player in the WNBA to sign a super max deal.
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The No. 1 pick on Monday will earn $500,000 in her first season, significantly higher than the $78,831 earned by Paige Bueckers, last year’s top pick. For the second year in a row, that pick belongs to the Dallas Wings. The No. 2 pick, heading to the Minnesota Lynx, will earn $466,913, and the No. 3 pick, going to the Seattle Storm, will get $436,016. All drafted players who end up making a team will earn more than any WNBA player did last year. The league’s minimum $270,000 salary, which second- and third-round picks would earn if they make a roster after training camp, is higher than last year’s maximum salary of $249,244.
Ramona Shelburne: Five-time All Star Kayla McBride is returning to the Minnesota Lynx on two-year, lower max salary, her agent @Ticha Penicheiro of @Priority Sports tells ESPN. In the biggest free agency of her career McBride chose to stay where she’s had the best success of her professional career. Last season McBride became the first player in WNBA history to make 100 or more 3-pointers in a single season.
Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett has agreed to reunite with the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Minnesota Lynx in a new, all-encompassing role involving business, community and fan-engagement efforts and content development, sources told ESPN on Thursday. Garnett and the Timberwolves will also hold his much-awaited No. 21 jersey retirement ceremony in Minnesota over the next two seasons, sources said. Garnett had been distant from the Timberwolves' organization since his playing career ended in 2016 due to a fallout with ex-owner Glen Taylor, refusing to have his jersey retired, but built a rapport with new governors Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez and the sides found common ground on a reunion.
Red Panda wasn't on the injured list for very long. The popular halftime performer is scheduled to make her NBA return on Tuesday night in Chicago when the Bulls host the Philadelphia 76ers. She broke her left wrist during a July 1 performance at the WNBA Commissioner's Cup final between the Indiana Fever and the Minnesota Lynx.