No one expected the Minnesota Lynx to reach the Championship Finales this year. Throughout the WNBA season, there were chants that the NY Liberty might have a rematch of their 2023 WNBA Finals. But defying all odds, the Lynx reached the Finals, losing the game only in a few final seconds. And passing on with gratitude the feeling of keeping trust in the underdogs, the Lynx have now appointed two fired coaches at major positions thanks to Napheesa Collier and Cheryl Reeve.

The Lynx are preparing to hire Lindsay Whalen as an assistant coach and former Washington Mystics head coach Eric Thibault as associate head coach as per the announcements on Saturday. While Cheryl Reeve will continue in her position as the head coach, Thibault will replace Katie Smith, who was the former associate head coach and departed to Ohio State in the offseason. Meanwhile, as for the assistant coaches, .  it remains to be seen if Rebekkah Brunson and Elaine Powell two will retain their positions since they were most probably the second assistant coaches after Kristin Haynie had left the Lynx.

“She was really supportive… Always congratulating after a good game, or saying we got this after a loss… just really had that supportive role this whole time.,” Collier spoke about Whalen. Meanwhile, Reeve showed her trust in the two by enunciating “We worked hard to put our best foot forward for [our players] because we continue to have big goals for this group… I think this staff is well-positioned to help us get there.”

It is said that Reeve had tried to hire Whalen two years ago when she was coaching the Golden Gophers, but this time around it didn’t need much to convince her. Meanwhile, Thibault had developed a close relationship with Reeve as the Mystics often practiced against the Lynx in the preseason and maybe this close bond with Reeve is what will propel them to start their redemption arcs.

Eric Thibault and Lindsay Whalen top begin a new phase

Whalen was the head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers as mentioned before from 2018-2023. At the beginning of her coaching career, she was so committed to her duties that she took on the responsibility while playing for the Lynx in 2018. However, after a 5-year stint with the Gophers in which she took the team to a 71–76 overall record, the former Lynx star was fired after her team lost to Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Though she was paid a termination fee of $215,000, it must have affected her image in the balling circuits.

“It just feels like it’s time to get back, work hard and be a part of a team and a group… It just all felt like the timing was really right.,” Whalen stated after the recent news. As for Thibault, he was the head coach with the Washington Mystics for two seasons, 2023-24. In those seasons he had a record of 33-47, and after the team failed to qualify for the WNBA playoffs this year, he lost his job.

Reflecting on the same, he expressed “You want to make sure you’re aligned where you are, and that wasn’t really the case anymore… I’ve got no ill-feelings whatsoever towards D.C. … I felt gratitude towards D.C. as it all ended, and I feel a lot of gratitude towards Minnesota now.” Hopefully, both the coaches will prove their worth. And help the Lynx win the championship title next season under the able leadership of Reeve.