Lindsay Whalen is Minnesota basketball.
A Minnesota native, Whalen grew up and excelled at high school basketball in rural Hutchinson before beginning to make a name for herself and soon becoming a statewide figure at the University of Minnesota.
Whalen became a household name in Maroon and Gold, leading the Golden Gophers to their first NCAA Final Four appearance in program history. After being drafted by the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun in 2004 and spending six seasons in Connecticut, Whalen returned back to her home state after being traded to the Minnesota Lynx in 2010.
And of course, she did what she’s always done throughout her career: achieved greatness. Four WNBA titles, five All-Star appearances, five All-WNBA selections, two Olympic Gold Medals and the most wins of any player in league history later, Whalen will go down as one of the best WNBA players in history – all while spending a large chunk of her basketball career in Minnesota.
Monday morning, Whalen announced that run will soon come to an end, releasing to the public that she will officially retire following the 2018 season. After her playing career, she will solely focus on her new gig of leading her alma mater at the University of Minnesota as the head coach of the women’s basketball program.
Her greatness on the court is undeniable, but what’s even more impressive is the impact she’s had off the court in her home state and across the country as a whole.
Memories of Whalen
In 2016, I had the opportunity to work for the Timberwolves and Lynx organizations for a little over a year as the organization’s web editorial associate.
During my time there, I spent nearly every day around Whalen and the Lynx during the 2017 championship season. From a dominant regular season to the title run that summer, it was one of the highlights of my career thus far.
A few moments stand out in particular during that 2017 WNBA season, and they are centered around Whalen.
In the latter part of the regular season, Whalen was nearing a milestone in her career, soon to become the winningest player in WNBA history. In a game against the Washington Mystics in the nation’s capital, she did so and will retire with the most wins by a single player in league history.
Right before Whalen broke that mark, I sat down with her after a practice to talk to her about a story I was working on. The story was highlighting some key wins and moments leading up to her milestone win. I asked her a decent number of questions that required her to think back earlier on in her career.
Understandably so, Whalen was tired after hours of an action-packed practice and could have easily told me she didn’t want to talk or could have been short with her answers. But she didn’t and wasn’t; she acted like she could have sat there all day, going back down memory lane and just talking about basketball in general.
That story is one of my favorite things I’ve written thanks to the insight and detail she provided.
Later on that summer, I traveled to Los Angeles during the WNBA Finals with a group of Lynx employees to cover Games 3 and 4 of the Finals at STAPLES Center. Yes, a guy who grew up in Cold Spring, Minn. – which has a population of like 3,000 – traveled to Los Angeles for the first time ever. I think there were more people in one block than in my entire hometown.
Following a Game 4 victory where the Lynx beat the Sparks in an intense, back-and-forth game to force a decisive Game 5 back at The Barn in Minneapolis, I was walking back out to the arena after finishing a game recap when I ran into Whalen as she exited the locker room to walk out the tunnel to the arena as well.
I asked her a bit about the game, while talking about the playoff atmosphere and taking down a rival to force a winner-take-all Game 5. She was ecstatic yet even-keeled at the same time, acting like she already knew the outcome of the series.
I asked her about going back to The Barn a few days later – a place she was very familiar with from her time with the Gophers – and what she expected the crowd to be like.
Her response was something I’ll never forget: “It’ll be good. Lynx fans will be loud, I’m sure. We need that place packed. It’s Minnesota and The Barn, there aren’t many better environments to play a game like this. I’m ready for it, are you?” That question was, of course, followed by the trademarked Whalen smirk.
The simple gestures of Whalen giving her time while being genuine with her answers and interactions make her one-of-a-kind. Those types of players — and people in general — aren’t that common in the sports world.
Always Giving Back
Throughout her WNBA career, Whalen has spent endless time giving back and helping grow the game of basketball in Minnesota and beyond.
From making endless appearances at camps to making trips back to her hometown of Hutchinson, she’s helped give young basketball players – both male and female – a role model they can relate to, as well as look up to.
In the offseason, Whalen announced she will be a minority owner of her former AAU team, the Minnesota Stars. Along with educating fans while broadcasting games for Fox Sports North during the NBA and college basketball seasons, Whalen will now transition to educating and leading the next wave of athletes as a head coach at the collegiate level.
“We all came from somewhere and are a part of greater community,” Whalen told Zone Coverage in an interview during the offseason. “Any way that you are able to give back is important. When you have the ability to give back, I think you should.”
That’s just the type of person Whalen is. Her greatness on the court speaks for itself – and it’s quite impressive – but she might be even greater off the court.
She’s excelled in her home state, she’s given back to her home state and has stayed grounded while she’s never forgotten where she came from.
Lindsay Whalen is Minnesota basketball. And although the playing chapter of her career is soon coming to an end, her story of excelling in her home state is far from finished.
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