The 2015 WNBA season tips off Friday and, going on the beliefs of the league's general managers, the Lynx will have plenty to celebrate.
In the 13th annual WNBA.com GM survey, Minnesota was picked to win the championship and have the best player and coach this year. The survey's findings were announced Thursday by the league.
The Lynx collected 66.7 percent of the votes as the team most likely to win the title, meaning eight of the WNBA's 12 general managers chose them. The Atlanta Dream were picked to be the Eastern Conference champion dispatched by Minnesota in the Finals. The Lynx have already won the championship in two of the last four years.
Moore, the team's star forward and reigning WNBA MVP, was predicted to again win the top individual honor. She garnered eight of the votes; the Chicago Sky's Elena Delle Donne and the Los Angeles Sparks' Nneka Ogwumike each got two votes. Moore was also named the player general managers would pick first if they were starting a franchise today and the league's best finisher. She tied Delle Donne as the WNBA's best pure shooter (three votes apiece).
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve also got positive recognition, selected as the best head coach (seven of 12 votes) and tied with the Phoenix Mercury's Sandy Brondello for the best manager/motivator of people (4 votes apiece).
Finally, Minnesota was chosen as having the league's best home-court advantage (five votes), a distinction that the Seattle Storm had earned the previous five years in a row. This season, Phoenix finished second with four votes.
The complete results of the GM survey will be posted Thursday on WNBA.com.
The Lynx begin the regular season at home on Friday against Tulsa.
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