32-year-old WNBA guard has been one of the league’s best players

Basketball players don’t usually peak in their thirties. But Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams, who is 32 years old and in her 10th WNBA season, is playing some of the best basketball of her career.

Williams, who is in her third year playing for head coach Cheryl Reeve on the Lynx, is averaging a career-best 17.8 points, along with 5.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.3 steals. She’s shooting 50% from the field and 44.4% from three — both career-highs — while turning the ball over just 1.8 times per game, her lowest figure since 2022.

She is coming off a season-high 30-point explosion against the Phoenix Mercury on Monday night. In that 34-point victory, Williams shot 13-of-20 from the field in 29 minutes — the fewest minutes played in a 30-point game in franchise history.

And, the Lynx are thriving. They are currently riding a 5-game win streak and have a league-best 7-2 record. They have outscored opponents by an average of 12 points per game, the highest point differential in the WNBA (for reference, the Dallas Wings and Golden State Valkyries are tied for the next-best differential at +6.2, so no one else is particularly close).

Olivia Miles, Natasha Howard have also been powering the Lynx’s early success

Williams has been the team’s leading scorer (and the 11th-leading scorer in the WNBA), but she’s far from the only reason why the Lynx find themselves on top of the standings.

Natasha Howard is also undergoing a revival; the 34-year-old is averaging 16.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game, while anchoring the team’s defense. Kayla McBride is averaging 13.2 points per game (while shooting an uncharacteristically low 28.6% from three), and Nia Coffey is averaging a career-high 9.9 points per game and playing some of the best basketball of her career.

But the most impactful player might be No. 2 overall pick Olivia Miles, who is averaging 15.8 points, 6.2 assists, 5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game, while shooting 49.5% from the field. Miles has taken the mantle at point guard, allowing Williams to be more of a primary scorer than a playmaker, which is her natural position.

The Olivia Miles / Courtney Williams fit in the backcourt has been seamless.

“Court, the second I stepped on the court was like ‘Go run the one, I’ll be your running mate,‘” Miles said last week, per Andrew Dukowitz. “It’s so easy with her — she’s in her natural position, she’s where she’s thriving. I think she’s playing some of her best basketball that I’ve seen. It’s so easy to play with her, it’s easy to play with everyone — when you have people who are willing to let you be you and trust you.”

Now, the Lynx, despite losing key rotation players like Alanna Smith, Jessica Shepard, Natisha Hiedeman, and Bridget Carleton in the offseason, find themselves at the top of the standings.