28-05-2025
Newcomer Karlie Samuelson thriving with the Minnesota Lynx this season
One of the off season additions that is paying dividends for the Minnesota Lynx is Karlie Samuelson. She's a 7-year WNBA veteran that joined the Lynx this season hoping to be part of something special.
"I couldn't be happier, and I get to play for a legend like Cheryl [Reeve]," said Samuelson.
The Lynx acquired Samuleson on draft day in April. She says she was mid-flight at the time of the trade.
"My phone start blowing up with 'Congrats, Oh my gosh…' and my heart starts pounding. I kind of figured I was traded or something happened, but I didn't where. No one was saying where," said Samuleson. "Then I had a text from Eric Thibault who was my coach in D.C. that said 'Let's go!' I'm like 'I'm traded to Minnesota?' I called my sister [Katie Lou Samuelson] when I finally got service, and she's like, 'yeah it's been public for 5 hours now.' I just didn't know." said Samuelson.
Samuelson's not alone as a newbie. Her former head coach for the Washington Mystics, Thibault, joined the Lynx this season as the associate head coach under Reeve.
"Last year we saw something in Karlie, maybe before some other teams did, and knowing we had a chance to get her here to compliment the players we already had, I thought it would be a great fit," said Thibault.
Samuelson is fitting in seamlessly with 27 points after 4 games, scoring 41% from the arc.
"I know that [Thibault] has my best interests at heart, and he'll tell me things as they happen, like, 'Hey, you missed that tag over there, and I'm like thanks yeah you're right," said Samuelson. "I'm new, but I feel super comfortable in the system and all the girls are lovely."
