Each week, we will provide an update on the Minnesota Lynx players overseas and how they are performing as part of our Lynx Offseason Update series.
The WNBA offseason has started to heat up, with not only free agency underway to go along with players playing overseas, but also with the start of the highly-anticipated Unrivaled season tipping off in Miami.
Unrivaled, which now features four Minnesota Lynx players rather than the three that were originally slated to join the league when it begins, took the basketball world over by storm with a successful opening weekend in Miami. This league is going to be a lot of fun to watch over the next nine weeks, and this weekend was just a small look into the entertaining action upcoming.
With Unrivaled now underway, 11 of the 12 Minnesota Lynx players who are under team control and are playing this offseason are underway in their respective leagues. Lynx players staying in the United States or playing overseas include: Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, Courtney Williams, Alissa Pili, Bridget Carleton, Alanna Smith, Natisha Hiedeman, Dorka Juhász, Diamond Miller, Myisha Hines-Allen, Maïa Hirsch and Jessica Shepard.
This week, our Lynx Offseason Update has expanded a bit to include the recent performances of players now back on the court. Let’s take a look at the latest edition of our series that recaps how the Lynx have performed over the past week.
Napheesa Collier — Lunar Owls (United States)
Collier’s vision and dream, which originated alongside Breanna Stewart when they co-founded Unrivaled, came try over the weekend when the league got underway and she stepped onto the court with her Lunar Owls teammates for the first time.
Collier and the Lunar Owls dominated in two games, and the star of the squad and WNBA MVP candidate from the 2024 campaign put on a show over the two-game span during opening weekend. Collier shined in the opening night contest, only to take her game up a notch in the second game to lead her team to two victories.
Season Stats:
- 2 games — 29.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.5 BPG
Recent Games:
- Jan. 17 vs. Mist (84-80 win): 27 points (11-19 FG, 3-6 3Pt, 1-3 FT), 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals
- Jan. 18 vs. Rose (79-70 win): 31 points (14-23 FG, 1-6 3Pt, 2-2 FT), six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block
Kayla McBride — Laces (United States)
McBride has been awaiting the start of Unrivaled for months, remaining in the United States rather than going overseas like she has become accustomed every offseason before this one.
With her Unrivaled squad, the Laces, McBride returned to her signature McBuckets form during opening weekend, lighting things up from deep and putting on a show while leading her stacked squad to a dominating win over Phantom.
Season Stats:
- 1 game — 28.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, 3.0 SPG
Recent Games:
- Jan. 18 vs. Phantom (86-48 win): 28 points (10-19 FG, 7-15 3Pt, 1-1 FT), six rebounds, five assists and three steals
Courtney Williams — Lunar Owls (United States)
Williams was originally teammates with McBride with Laces, but was traded before the Unrivaled season began while now teaming up with Collier on the Lunar Owls squad.
With Lunar Owls, Williams has been the spark plug we have been used to seeing in a Lynx uniform, doing a little bit of everything over two games during opening weekend. The dog is back, and it’s going to be a blast watching Williams on the court during the nine-week Unrivaled season.
Season Stats:
- 2 games — 12.0 PPG, 6.0 APG, 4.0 RPG, 0.5 SPG, 0.5 BPG
Recent Games:
- Jan. 17 vs. Mist (84-80 win): 14 points (6-10 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 1-1 FT), seven rebounds, four assists and one block
- Jan. 18 vs. Rose (79-70 win): 10 points (4-7 FG, 2-2 3Pt), eight assists, one rebound and one steal
Natisha Hiedeman — Phantom (United States)
To this point in the offseason, Natisha Hiedeman had been playing in China with Inner Mongolia, only to have that change right before the official start of the Unrivaled season.
With an injury to Marina Mabrey, Hiedeman was added to the list of Unrivaled players taking part in the groundbreaking league after signing a relief player contract with Phantom. Hiedeman has had a strong season with Inner Mongolia, and she should make her debut in Unrivaled here this week.
Season Stats:
- China-WCBA: 20 games — 14.0 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.9 SPG
Bridget Carleton — ÇBK Mersin (Turkey)
Now with Carleton playing with ÇBK Mersin in Turkey after starting the offseason with UNI Györ in Hungary, she looks to continue a strong offseason put together thus far.
Over the past week, she took the floor in a pair of contests, crossing double figures in scoring in one game and nearing the double-digit mark in the second game. In both appearances, however, Carleton had strong showings on the glass rebounding the ball.
Season Stats:
With ÇBK Mersin:
- Turkey-KBSL: 3 games — 9.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 32.7 MPG
- Euroleague: 2 games — 4.5 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.0 SPG, 31.5 MPG
UNI Györ:
- Hungary-A Division: 5 games — 12.6 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 31.2 MPG
- Euroleague: 2 games — 15.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 2.5 APG, 2.0 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 36.0 MPG
Recent Games:
- Jan. 15 vs. Avenida (79-62 win): seven points (2-7 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 1-2 FT), 10 rebounds, five assists and one steal over 33 minutes
- Jan. 19 vs. Botas (77-73 win): 11 points (3-9 FG, 3-6 3Pt, 2-2 FT), seven rebounds, two assists and one steal over 38 minutes
Alanna Smith — Shandong (China)
Smith has been all over the globe over the course of her WNBA career, currently playing for Shandong in China. During her career, Smith has played in Australia, Poland, and Turkey before landing with her current Chinese squad.
Smith has put together a strong offseason thus far, once again taking the court for a trio of contests again this past week. Not only did she record a double-double in all three games, but she capped off the week by nearly tallying a 30-20 game against Inner Mongolia.
Season Stats:
- China-WCBA: 24 games — 16.2 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 2.1 SPG
Recent Games:
- Jan. 12 vs. Guangdong (75-74 loss): 23 points (10-14 FG, 0-3 3Pt, 3-6 FT), 12 rebounds, three steals and one assist
- Jan. 15 vs. Shanxi (80-75 loss): 13 points (4-4 FG, 1-5 3Pt, 2-2 FT), 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals
- Jan. 18 vs. Inner Mongolia (72-69 loss): 29 points (12-16 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 2-4 FT) and 18 rebounds
Dorka Juhász — Famila Schio (Italy)
Juhász is back in Italy again this year, coming off a strong campaign with Famila Schio last offseason and looking to build upon that this season as she prepares for her third WNBA campaign in 2025.
As the offseason progresses, Juhász has seen her play and production increase, and that was once again the case over the past week. In two contests, she tallied a double-double in both of those outings while earning Euroleague’s Week 10 MVP honor.
Season Stats:
- Italy-Serie A1: 7 games — 8.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.4 BPG, 18.4 MPG
- Euroleague: 5 games — 8.6 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.6 SPG, 23.2 MPG
Recent Games:
- Jan. 14 vs. Zabiny Brno (82-71 win): 15 points (6-11 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 3-4 FT), 13 rebounds, one steal and one block over 30 minutes
- Jan. 18 vs. San Martino (85-41 win): 18 points (8-10 FG, 2-4 FT), 15 rebounds, four assists and two steals over 25 minutes
Diamond Miller — Gorzow Wielkopolski (Poland)
Miller had her season cut short last offseason while dealing with a knee injury, only appearing in three games in Hungary before returning to Minnesota to rehab her injury. This offseason, she has done well in her first full healthy offseason.
Over the past week, Miller once again took the court for one game, doing a nice job offensively and on the glass while extending her streak of double-digit scoring games to three straight and finishing two boards shy of a double-double.
Season Stats:
- Poland-OBLK: 10 games — 17.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 3.1 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 28.3 MPG
- EuroCup: 4 games — 12.8 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 31.5 MPG
Recent Games:
- Jan. 19 vs. Poznan (78-74 loss): 17 points (7-11 FG, 0-4 3Pt, 3-4 FT), eight rebounds and three assists over 27 minutes
Myisha Hines-Allen — Heilongjiang (China)
Also a soon-to-be free agent, HInes-Allen is spending her offseason in China while playing for Heilongjiang in the same league as her Lynx teammates Smith and Hiedeman. During her career, Hines-Allen has also played in France, Italy, South Korea, Russia and Turkey.
Hines-Allen has dominated in China-WCBA action all offseason long, and that continued over the past week while taking the court in one game. Hines-Allen has been a nightly double-double for Heilongjiang, posting her fourth straight such performance this past week.
Season Stats:
- China-WCBA: 22 games — 23.6 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 5.0 APG, 2.1 SPG
Recent Games:
- Jan. 12 vs. Ganzhou (94-64 win): 19 points (8-13 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 3-3 FT), 14 rebounds, six assists and two steals
Jessica Shepard — Athinaikos AS Vurona (Greece)
Some may have forgotten about Shepard since she didn’t play in the WNBA in 2024 on a suspended contract while remaining overseas, but the veteran is still under control of the Lynx.
Shepard has dominated in Greece while playing with Athinaikos AS Vurona, averaging a double-double in Greece-A1 play. Over the past week, she impressed even more while posting two more double-doubles, one of which included a wild 32 (!!) rebounds on Jan. 15.
Season Stats:
- Greece-A1: 10 games — 28.5 PPG, 16.0 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.4 SPG, 33.4 MPG
Recent Games:
- Jan. 12 vs. Amyntas (88-65 win): 33 points (14-18 FG, 5-8 FT), 14 rebounds and four assists over 28 minutes
- Jan. 15 vs. Olympiacos (82-72 loss): 29 points (10-17 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 9-15 FT), 32 rebounds, one assist and one steal over 40 minutes
Maïa Hirsch — ESB Villeneuve (France)
Hirsch has yet to appear with the Lynx or in the WNBA after being drafted 12th overall by Minnesota in 2023 but is still under team control as she remains in France with ESB Villeneuve.
So far this offseason, Hirsch hasn’t seen a high level of production in France-BWL action, some of that due to the lack of minutes on the court in France. Over the past week, Hirsch didn’t appear in any action on the court with ESB Villeneuve.
Season Stats:
- France-BWL: 6 games — 3.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 0.5 BPG, 12.8 MPG
- EuroCup: 2 games — 8.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 0.5 APG, 19.0 MPG
Recent Games:
- Jan. 5 vs. Landerneau (81-65 win): no points (0-0 FG) and three rebounds over six minutes
Just About Underway
While the players listed above have already begun their seasons across the globe, one more Lynx player is preparing for action to begin while remaining in the country.
Soon-to-be sophomore Alissa Pili will take part in the Athletes Unlimited league in just a few weeks. Athletes Unlimited, which was founded in 2022, will be taking the league to Nashville this season, kicking off the year on Feb. 5.
That will do it for this week. As always, thank you for reading! We will catch up with you next week with another Lynx Offseason Update.