THE Minnesota Lynx former hire The Washington Mystics coach Eric Thibault as associate head coach and former Lynx star and University of Minnesota coach Lindsay Whalen as assistant coach, coach Cheryl Reeve announced Saturday.
Thibault and Whalen will fill the position vacated by Katie Smith, who joined the Ohio State staff, and add a fourth assistant coaching position to the Lynx bench. THE WNBA the finalists have yet to announce the hiring of a general manager, a position left vacant by Clare Duwelius, who left in November to become general manager and executive vice president of the new basketball league, Unrivaled.
“I am excited to add Eric and Lindsay to our coaching staff,” Reeve said in a statement Saturday. “Eric has extensive coaching experience in the WNBA as a head coach and assistant coach and is a WNBA champion. Lindsay adds a unique perspective as a Lynx legend and Naismith Hall of Famer. I look forward to working with both in our pursuit of another WNBA championship.”
Thibault, a longtime assistant with the Mystics under his father Mike Thibault, spent the last two seasons as the Mystics’ head coach. The franchise went 33-47 in those two seasons, reaching the playoffs in 2023 but failing to make the top eight in 2024, which was considered a rebuilding season.
Thibault was an assistant on Washington’s staff during the franchise’s most successful seasons in 2018 and 2019, when the Mystics advanced to the WNBA Finals, losing in 2018 and winning in 2019.
His hiring is the latest development in the WNBA’s offseason coaching carousel, which has seen numerous teams, including the Mystics, part ways with their coaches in recent weeks.
“I am excited to join Cheryl’s staff and be a part of the Minnesota Lynx organization,” Thibault said in a statement Saturday. “The players and staff have built an incredible winning culture, and I’m excited to do my part as we pursue a WNBA championship.”
It’s a homecoming for Whalen, who grew up in Minnesota and spent nine seasons playing for the Lynx, including winning four WNBA championships between 2011 and 2017. Whalen holds the Lynx franchise record for assists (1,384) and ranks fifth in scoring (3,233). The team retired its jersey in 2019.
Whalen only played for two clubs during his career: Connecticut Sun (coached by Mike Thibault) and the Lynx (where she was coached by Reeve), in addition to an international playing career and a gold medal for the United States at the 2012 Olympics.
After retiring, Whalen spent five seasons as head coach of the Minnesota Gophers from 2018 to 2023. This was his first time on the sidelines as a coach. The local star who put Minnesota on the map with a Final Four appearance during his senior season in 2004 was never able to recapture that kind of success as a coach, having only appeared twice in the WNIT playoff tournament.
“I’m so excited to be back with the Lynx and back with Coach and Becky (Rebekkah Brunson),” Whalen said in a statement Saturday. “Eric and I have known each other for a long time as well, and for me, I couldn’t imagine joining a better team as I return to coaching and have my first opportunity to coach in the WNBA. We have a special group with this team and I can’t wait to get to work.
Both rookies bring a lot of familiarity back to Minnesota for Reeve, as she has a long history with the Thibault and Whalen family.
Reeve and Mike Thibault, originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota, have known each other for years. He took over the Connecticut Sun in 2003 and drafted Whalen out of Minnesota in 2004. In 2010, when Reeve became head coach of the Lynx after spending nine seasons as an assistant with various franchises, Minnesota – which was trying to bring back Whalen to the Lynx. for several seasons – finally managed to negotiate a trade with Thibault and the Sun. Reeve also selected Mike Thibault as an assistant for his Team USA Olympic squad this summer ahead of the Paris Games.
In 2024, the Lynx had their most successful season since the Whalen years, winning the Commissioner’s Cup and advancing to the WNBA Finals, where Minnesota lost in five games to the New York Liberty. The Lynx return their core from this 2025 playoff run, including the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collieras well as stars Alan Smith, Kayla McBride, Courtney Williams And Brigitte Carleton. Minnesota also has the 11th pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
This article was originally published in Athletics.
Minnesota Lynx, Washington Mystics, WNBA, Sports Business
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