Growing pains and losses are all a part of rebuilding and the Minnesota Lynx are definitely experiencing that this season. The started out the season at 0-6 and just picked up their first win on Saturday against the Washington Mystics. They have a franchise cornerstone in Napheesa Collier but not much else around her. Their prized lottery pick Diamond Miller is out indefinitely and she had been one of the lone bright spots through the first few games of the year. The Lynx got more worrisome news when veteran wing Aerial Powers was added to the injury report in advance of Friday's game against the Indiana Fever.
Aerial Powers showed up on the Lynx injury report as questionable due to an ankle injury. Prior to that though, Powers had been receiving only minimal playing time for a struggling team that could probably use her talent. This is Powers' third season with the Lynx after signing as a free agent in the 2021 offseason. She played regularly during her first two seasons with the Lynx but has been conspicuously absent from the rotation this season.
Powers has played in all seven games for the Lynx so far but at a career-low 9.7 minutes per game. She's been averaging 5.4 points per game and 2.1 rebounds with splits of 34.1 percent shooting from the field, 12.5 percent shooting from the three-point line and 87.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
This is Powers' eight season in the WNBA and she is still capable of contributing in a big way to a team. Only time will tell what the Lynx ultimate plans for her are.