MINNEAPOLIS - Homegrown point guard and long-time Minnesota Lynx star Lindsay Whalen will announce that she is retiring from professional basketball following the current WNBA season.
Whalen will make her announcement during a news conference Monday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. KARE 11 will have a crew there to cover it.
Whalen will walk away as the WNBA’s all-time wins leader, racking up 322 career victories, including 54 in the postseason, which ranks second all-time behind teammate Rebekkah Brunson (57). Whalen also ranks third in WNBA history in assists, trailing only Sue Bird and Ticha Penicheiro. Her résumé includes six All-Star appearances, 13 playoff appearances, eight WNBA Finals appearances, four WNBA championships and Olympic gold medals with Team USA in 2012 and 2016.
In 2016, she was named to the WNBA’s Top 20@20 Team, honoring the league's best 20 players as part of its 20th anniversary celebration.
“I would like to thank the WNBA, the Connecticut Sun, and the Minnesota Lynx for believing in me all of these years," Whalen said in a prepared statement. "I look forward to the next chapter in my basketball career and wish my Lynx coaches and teammates all of the best in the future.”
The Lynx court general began this season with an eye pointedly focused on transition. Whalen is the new head women's basketball coach at her alma mater, the University of Minnesota, taking over the program from Marlene Stollings. Whalen voiced her commitment to handling both roles, but the physical and mental grind seem to have taken a toll. Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve held Whalen out against Las Vegas last Thursday, and on Sunday against Seattle Whalen started the game on the bench, the first time she hasn't been in the starting five since her first WNBA game with Connecticut in 2004. At age 36, injuries have limited her effectiveness, but that does little to impact her mark on the league and the women's game.
“At season’s end Lindsay Whalen will retire as the winningest point guard in the history of the WNBA,” said Head Coach and General Manager Cheryl Reeve. “I feel so fortunate to have been on the sidelines for so many of her wins. Lindsay’s will to win made her special, along with always putting her team and teammates first. I will always cherish the times we spent together over the last eight years bringing championships to her home state of Minnesota.”
While Whalen's talent and on-court toughness made her a WNBA All-Star, there are also intangibles that contributed to her success. Teammates talk about her quiet, yet assertive leadership, and Lindsay's sneaky sense of humor is legendary. Her 'No soup for you' performance during a Perk at Play segment is considered a classic in the KARE 11 newsroom. Whalen also participated in camps and served as a role model for girls and teens who are learning to play the game of basketball.
