Lindsay Whalen

Lindsay Marie Whalen is a retired American basketball player. She is a four-time WNBA champion and a two-time Olympic Gold medalist. Presently, she is the head coach of the women’s basketball team of the University of Minnesota.

Whalen was born on May 9, 1982 in Hutchinson, Minnesota, the daughter of Neil and Kathy Whalen. She has two younger sisters (Katie and Annie) and two younger brothers (Thomas and Casey).

Whalen attended Hutchinson High School in Hutchinson, Minnesota, where she was a 4-time All-Missota Conference pick, and she led her team to three consecutive conference basketball championships. Whalen attended the University of Minnesota as a sports management major, and played basketball for the Golden Gophers.

In her sophomore year, Whalen was named 2002 Big Ten Player of the Year, only the fourth sophomore in conference history to have achieved that distinction. Whalen became the school’s all-time leading scorer, male or female, with 2,285 career points, fifth all-time in the Big Ten Conference. Whalen was the first 3-time All-American and 4-time team MVP for the Golden Gophers. She averaged 20.3 points per game in her college career.

She was the 4th pick in the first round of the 2004 WNBA Draft, by the Connecticut Sun. Until 2005 when Minnesota teammate Janel McCarville was selected at number 1, she was the highest drafted WNBA player ever from the Big Ten Conference. In her rookie season, Whalen was selected to play in the historic WNBA vs. USA Basketball game at Radio City Music Hall. Then she led the Sun to the WNBA Finals in her first and second seasons.

Whalen led the team in the 2008 Season and was named to the All-WNBA First Team. She was then traded to the Minnesota Lynx on January 12, 2010. Whalen helped the franchise win its very first WNBA Championship in 2011. She was leading the WNBA in assists during the 2012 Season.

She became the only second player to record 4,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,500 assists in the history of the WNBA in the 2013 Season. She was named an All-Star again in the 2015 Season and the Lynx would again win the championship. However, Whalen’s minute was greatly decreased in the 2016 Season.

Whalen was unable to play for 12 games due to a left hand injury during the 2017 Season. In August 2018, she announced that she was going to retire after the season ended. She then became the head coach of the University of Minnesota’s women’s basketball team.

Career Accomplishments:

• Gold medal, 2012 London Olympic Games
• Gold medal, 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games
• Gold medal, 2010 Czech Republic World Championship
• Gold medal, 2014 Turkey World Championship
• 4-time WNBA champion (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
• 5-time WNBA All-Star (2006, 2011, 2013–2015)
• 3-time All-WNBA First Team (2008, 2011, 2013)
• 2-time All-WNBA Second Team (2012, 2014)
• 3-time WNBA Peak Performer (2008, 2011, 2012)
• 3-time WNBA assists leader (2008, 2011–2012)
• WNBA Top 20@20 (2016)
• WNBA playoffs all-time assists leader
• Turkish Cup winner (2013)
• EuroCup winner (2014)