Minnesota Lynx sign Myisha Hines-Allen at the trade deadline
Hines-Allen meets head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve’s goals on several levels. First and foremost, Hines-Allen brings instant toughness and rebounding ability to a team that needs both. While the Lynx have plenty of talent on the inside in all-world power forward Napheesa Collier and centers Alanna Smith and Dorka Juhász, they can rarely claim a size advantage most nights and tend to get pressured by stronger, more physical teams. The Lynx allow the second-most offensive rebounds per game in the league at 9.2 and rank seventh in the league at 34.6 rebounds per game.
The addition of Hines-Allen should immediately improve Minnesota’s physicality and her production at the basket. At 6’1″, she won’t suddenly make the Lynx one of the bigger teams in the league, but she has plenty of experience defending against the league’s biggest and most talented post players, especially since Shakira Austin missed a lot of time for the Mystics this season and in past seasons when Elena Delle Donne was in and out of the lineup.
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In seven seasons in Washington, Hines-Allen was required to use a wide range of skills with the Mystics, both as a starter and as a key player off the bench. She is one of only two players in franchise history with more than 1,400 points, 900 rebounds and 300 assists in a Mystics uniform (the other is Monique Currie). Jenn Hatfield, Mystics reporter and editor-in-chief of The Next, wrote an article during the 2022 season about how important Hines-Allen’s versatility was in a “season of adjustments” for the Mystics.
“She probably had to adjust more than any other player on our team,” Mike Thibault, the Mystics’ head coach at the time and current general manager, said in the article. “…I think she had a difficult adjustment. I think in the last three or four weeks it’s gotten a little easier for her. She’s got more rhythm in what she’s doing. And she knows we need her to perform well every night.”
Hines-Allen helped the Mystics navigate the difficult waters of their 2022 season and get back into the playoffs. After the Seattle Storm eliminated Washington in the first round, Hines-Allen was forced to postpone her plans to join the USA’s 28-man training camp roster in September ahead of the Women’s World Cup. Instead, she had to undergo knee surgery to partially repair the patellar tendon in her left knee, which she originally injured in June 2021 and which has bothered her throughout the 2022 season.
The timing of the injury interrupted her promising rise. After being named to the All-WNBA 2nd team in 2020, Hines-Allen was racing through 2021 and establishing herself as a nightly double-double threat when she strained her patellar tendon in the eighth game of the season against the Atlanta Dream. Hines-Allen missed about two months, mostly during the 2021 Olympic break, and returned to the court on Aug. 15, where she played for the next 12 months with lingering knee pain.
While Hines-Allen’s physical strength was evident as she battled the pain night after night, her 2023 season also showed her mental strength. The original prognosis of a 3-4 month recovery time proved to be significantly shorter than the time Hines-Allen actually needed to be medically cleared to play again. Her season debut was pushed back to June, and she didn’t surpass the 20-minute mark in a game until late July.
Her best game of the 2023 season came when the lights were brightest. The Louisville graduate opened the playoffs with a 21-point performance against eventual finals runner-up New York Liberty. Hines-Allen hit 9 of 13 shots from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. Our own Jenn Hatfield wrote another great article about Hines-Allen’s journey from surgery to finding her “sweet spot in the playoffs.”
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This season has been another rollercoaster ride for Hines-Allen, as it has been for the entire Mystics organization. Still, she’s been a stabilizing force whether she’s been in the starting lineup or coming off the bench. Like last season, Hines-Allen could peak again at the right time in 2024. She posted her first two double-doubles of the season in her final six games, the first being an 11-point/10-rebound performance against the Lynx at Target Center on July 6.
“With everything she’s given us here, to contribute to a championship with a second-round pick is a huge success story,” Mystics head coach Eric Thibault told the media before Washington’s home game against Seattle on Tuesday night. “And then they played a season like they did this year in the bubble. Not just individually, but I have a real heart for everyone who went through that bubble experience with us…”
“I’m glad she’s in a good situation with a team that’s fighting for titles. We obviously wish her all the best and only the best for the future. It’s hard for players and staff when you consider that people have had a long relationship with her. Sometimes it’s hard to separate the private and the business.”
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Hines-Allen is also a gifted passer and is currently averaging a career-high 2.7 assists per game, making her a good fit for her new team, which prides itself on leading the league in that statistic. She can also help the Lynx with their other identity, the three-point shot, where she is currently shooting 35.9%.
“She gets to play for a playoff team now and, you know, has a nice role,” Mike Thibault told the media before Tuesday night’s game. “I think she’s done a great job for us. She’s been a big part of what we’ve accomplished in the seven years she’s been in the league. She’s been part of a championship. In the bubble, she was a second-tier player and then she had some unfortunate injuries.”
Minnesota heads to Las Vegas for its first game after the trade deadline against the Aces on Wednesday night. The game starts at 9:30 p.m. ET and will be televised nationally on ESPN.
