The Athletic: Lexie Brown Finds a Home with the Lynx

After a discouraging year, Lexie Brown has found a family again with the Lynx

By Katie Davidson

As quickly as she can roll off a screen, set her feet and pop a 3-pointer in front of a defender’s face, Lexie Brown can tell you exactly where she was when she was traded to the Lynx.

The next chapter of the former Connecticut Sun player’s WNBA career began April 10 while she was at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. It was the night of the 2019 WNBA Draft, but Brown had agreed to spend her night taking her younger brother to an Atlanta Hawks game.

It was there that Brown got the game-changing news.

“I got a text from my agent, and she was like, ‘You’re about to get traded,’” Brown recalled. “Then she called me and told me it was the Lynx, and I was so excited.”

On draft night, excitement is typically reserved for rookies. But when Brown looks back on that night three months later, she remembers the trade with relief.

“I was super excited, and it’s funny because when I talk to some of my friends who play in the NBA or the WNBA who’ve been traded, it’s like a sad thing,” Brown said. “But everyone was like, ‘Congrats on the trade, we can’t wait for you.’ You don’t ever get congratulated on a trade like that.”

That’s because those close to Brown knew what the trade meant for her. One year earlier, she had been the ninth pick in the 2018 draft by the Connecticut Sun but then spent a frustrating rookie year languishing on the bench for a team that finished fourth in the league during the regular season. Instead of returning to Connecticut for another season in an environment where her worth was questioned and her playing time was sparse, the deal allowed Brown to become a key member of the Lynx, reigniting her sense of belonging in the WNBA.

“I didn’t think it was going to come around this fast,” she said, “but I’m glad it did.”

Read the full story on The Athletic.