2025 Became A Lost World For the Lynx

Shoutout to Olson’s Market in my hometown of Circle Pines. They always had a copy of The Lost World: Jurassic Park on VHS. The VHS case is iconic, a cardboard box with a centered holographic T. rex that – get this, kids – appears to pop out of the box if you turn the case from left to right, set against a jungle background.

Awesome right?

Anyways, Olson’s kept a copy for over a decade, the box wrapped in cellophane with a styrofoam insert in the middle. They’d replace the cellophane almost weekly as kids, like myself, rubbed their nails over the holograph to make the tsh tsh noises on the ridges. You’d hand the box to the cashier, and they would provide you with the VHS, in a dark brown case, featuring a “Be Kind, Rewind” sticker on the inside.

For people my age, this memory likely evokes a long-forgotten memory in the deep recesses of their brain. A memory that can be so specific, but like the movie’s name, lost to time. Twenty-five years later, the memory is just that – a memory. The VHS tape never won awards. The case is not just a novel collector’s item that sits dusty on collection shelves. In a way, the movie is not only rerun on cable networks before a new Jurassic World movie plays, but it also serves as a precursor to the new movie.

The Minnesota Lynx’s 2025 season has a lot in common with The Lost World. They both had excellent titles, with the Lynx going with The Revenge Tour. Both were sequels to unexpected greatness. They had amazing casts, excellent producers and directors, and the soundtracks were excellent. Hopefully, the Lynx’s season won’t fade into obscurity 25 years from now, and fans will remember the fonder moments.

The Lynx achieved a great deal following their 2024 finals run. They finished first in offensive rating, defensive rating, net rating, effective field goal percentage, assist to turnover ratio, three point percentage, opponents field goal percentage, just to name some of the dozens of statistical categories Minnesota led in all season. Truth be told, the Lynx’s 2025 season is historically excellent. They would finish with a league record-tying 34 wins and just 10 losses.

Individually, like the cast of The Lost World, the Lynx had the star power. Arguably, they had more star power than the Jeff Goldblum-led sequel. They had three all-stars in Courtney Williams, Kayla McBride, and Napheesa Collier. They had the co-defensive player of the year in Alanna Smith, and Collier finished runner-up for MVP. Natisha Hiedeman finished runner-up for sixth player of the year. Cheryl Reeve is on a Steven Spielberg-like run and received coach of the year votes at season’s end.

Minnesota began the season without star guard McBride, and Napheesa Collier injured her knee and missed time early. Katie Samuelson broke bones in her foot, ending her season. Jessica Shepard left the team for a month to play for Slovenia in the Euroleague. In the middle of the season, the Lynx traded Diamond Miller for DiJonai Carrington.

Collier missed extended time again to finish the season, this time with an ankle sprain. Carrington found a role immediately but missed the end of the season with a shoulder injury. It was a season of success but also one of turmoil and adversity.

On the surface, the Lynx appeared nearly perfect all season, finishing as the 1-seed going into the playoffs with a four-game lead for the top seed. That alone was impressive. Then, factor in that the two seeded aces finished the season by winning 16 straight games and were still four games behind in starts, demonstrating Minnesota’s dominance. Through 30 games, the Lynx were 25-5 and had essentially locked up the top seed with 14 games to go.

Individually, the Lynx also set records. Collier became the first player in WNBA history to average over 50% shooting from the floor, 40% from three, and 90% from the free-throw line while scoring over 20 points per game.

She became only the sixth professional basketball player, male or female, to do so, joining Larry Bird, Dirk Nowitzki, Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant. Collier also led the WNBA in total plus minus with a +343 in 1065 total minutes. For context, MVP A’ja Wilson was +292 in 1247 minutes.

Smith would win Co-Defensive Player of the Year, making Collier and Smith the first teammates to win the award back-to-back, with Collier winning last summer. Williams would make the All-Star team and finish third in the WNBA in assists, while finishing tenth in assist-to-turnover ratio.

McBride also made the All-Star Game. She finished second in the WNBA in made threes while hitting 39.5% of them. McBride would also finish fifth in the WNBA in plus-minus despite playing 14 games without Collier.

Unfortunately, for the Lynx, the postseason has to be considered a disappointment. The Lynx were historically good, not only compared to their 2025 peers but even compared to past teams. The Lynx were a championship team on paper during the regular season. In Round 1, they took care of the Golden State Valkyries in two games.

In the first six quarters of Round 2, the Lynx also seemed to be making quick work of the Mercury. However, Phoenix’s 20-point second-half comeback, which culminated in an overtime win in Minneapolis, was a haymaker.

Minnesota never fully recovered. Phoenix outmuscled them in Game 3, and Collier suffered another injury. In Game 4, the Lynx played with pride but ultimately just didn’t have enough.

The Mercury series is why sports are so fun and occasionally painful. In a matter of a week, the Lynx went from up 20 to out of the playoffs. Just like that, it’s over. It was unpredictable and dramatic. It’s why people always say, That’s why they play the games.

There will be time to analyze the game all offseason, but the Lynx took a different approach. On the night of exit interviews, they held a fan and player appreciation event, and thousands of fans gathered to celebrate the team. That may be where my hope comes from.

The 2025 Lynx sequel may have landed with a thud in the playoffs. Still, because of the fans and how much the Lynx mean to them, we will probably remember them for the times they shone, even if the tape became ruined over time.