In the Minnesota Lynx’s second loss of the season, Kayla McBride dropped 20 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, dished 1 assist, and finished with 4 steals and 1 block. McBride was everything for the Lynx in their 86-79 loss to the Dallas Wings. However, the wildest statistic is that the 33-year-old guard played 39 minutes and 56 seconds out of the 40 total minutes.
She took the toughest defensive assignment, guarding Natasha Cloud, while continuing her offensive workload, which includes a ton of off-ball movement and sprinting around off-ball screens. The minutes loud with her play style didn’t go unnoticed.
“I was just telling her today like, ‘You’re crazy for that,’” Olivia Miles said at practice the day after. “I’m like, ‘Dang girl, you’re getting up there, you know like those legs.’ … It’s just impressive, and she’s a role model like if she can go out there and do it my 23-year-old legs can do it.”
After the Dallas loss, the Lynx went on an eight-game winning streak before the 100-97 loss to the defending champion Aces this past Saturday. It’s impossible to know what spurred the winning streak. However, McBride’s effort in that loss seemed to highlight for the new Lynx players what she’s willing to do to win.
Even Courtney Williams acknowledged the importance of McBride leaving it all on the court, after playing 39:56.
“That couldn’t be me,” Williams said, laughing. “I already be gassed, so I can’t even imagine playing a 40-ball. Shout out to Mac, man, she’s in that mode, she can do what she got to do, we need he to do it.”
It’s impossible to say what caused their winning streak. Still, McBride has been instrumental in their success, not just on the court but also as a veteran leader off it.
McBride’s stats this season don’t necessarily reflect her full value. She’s averaging 14.2 points per game, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists with 1.6 steals per game. All of those are near the five-time All-Star’s career averages.
Her advanced stats tell more of the story. McBride’s offensive rating of 112.2 is the highest of her career by 2.7 points, and her 99.5 defensive rating is the fifth-best of her career. That’s even more impressive because she’s guarding the opposing team’s best player for the entirety of her minutes.
McBride’s combined offensive and defensive ratings have resulted in her posting the best net rating of her career (+12.7). She’s also posting the best assist-to-turnover ratio of her career and her best rebound percentage since 2019. And she’s doing so while posting her worst true shooting percentage since 2022.
Her success has come from understanding a new reality. She’s playing basketball this season without Napheesa Collier, something she acknowledged after Minnesota’s 100-76 victory over the Dallas Wings on June 9.
“I’m not necessarily phased,” McBride said. “It’s just how can I use that to our team’s advantage, you know? And just being able to grind my way through it. … I want to win, and I think that’s always been the name of how I play.”
McBride’s shooting numbers may be down, but she has learned to create gravity as a shooter to draw defenders, allowing the rest of the Lynx’s offense to flourish. For example, in the video below, McBride sets a screen for Olivia Miles. Natasha Howard dives to the rim, and three Seattle defenders opt to stick with McBride, giving up a layup for Howard.
It’s a simple action that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, but the Lynx repeat constantly throughout a game. Whether it’s a screen, off-ball movement, or just spacing the floor, McBride has become a very effective decoy. She’s using her history of strong shooting to her advantage, drawing the defense further away from the rest of the Lynx.
In games that teams have not guarded her as closely, McBride goes back to what she does best, hitting open threes and diving to the rim on backcuts and closeouts. As teams continue to adjust and pick their battles against the Lynx, Napheesa Collier’s looming return will pose even more problems for opponents. It’s a change that Cheryl Reeve has talked about that benefits McBride the most.
I think she’ll make the life of someone like Kayla easier, and that’s what I’ve told Mac. It’s a little bit harder for her right now. She’s feeling a little more sped up because she’s getting a great deal of attention. And Mac knows this, because Phee has been out before, and so Mac knows the difference of Phee being on the floor and not, and that’s probably the biggest thing: Some of that gravity is absolutely going to go to Napheesa Collier.
From an analytical standpoint, McBride has been having a career year, displaying her selflessness in every game as an elite gravitational decoy. It’s led to a 10-3 Lynx start, with 5 wins by 20 or more. McBride’s best basketball is likely still to come this season when Collier returns, which will likely lead to more wins and, hopefully, McBride playing a little less than 39:56 in a game.
