MINNEAPOLIS — The unraveling happened so jarringly it was as if the Minnesota Lynx vanished beneath a trap door. Their collapse, strangely, was simultaneously sudden and creeping. From magic to misery before anyone could halt the momentum.

Rarely does a No. 1 seed in the playoffs in any sport put forth such a feeble, uninspired effort.

Where was the competitive fight the Lynx showed to grab the WNBA’s attention? What happened to their mojo? Their swagger?

Who were those imposters on the court?

One can reasonably argue the Lynx overachieved in the regular season. Yet a quick exit in a two-game sweep to the New York Liberty qualifies as a flop considering everything we witnessed and felt throughout the summer.

That version of the Lynx disappeared as the season reached a crescendo. The Spectacle became the Spectator. The franchise superstar made minimal impact. The free-flowing offense became disjointed. The Hall of Fame coach had no answers to fix it.

Cheryl Reeve the coach and Cheryl Reeve the general manager have a lot to chew on when deconstructing this season in its entirety. The roster needs more than subtle tweaks to turn an excellent regular-season team into a formidable postseason crew. And one very large question – Napheesa Collier’s future with the organization – overshadows all others as the offseason begins.

The Lynx were severely overmatched against the Liberty’s height and length. Their razor-thin depth and defensive liabilities got exposed. They are not currently constructed to withstand a long playoff run.

Olivia Miles is uniquely talented with a captivating personality, but a team that relies so heavily on a rookie point guard is setting itself up for problems. Miles, who admittedly battled postseason nerves and was dealing with a calf injury, was a non-factor in both playoff games and spent the fourth quarter of the decisive game on the bench. She will learn from this hard lesson.

The no-show performance from Collier is more worrisome. The 2024 MVP runner-up never seemed to regain her form after missing the first 27 games recovering from double ankle surgery.

She looked slow to react and lacked explosiveness against New York’s talented lineup. Technically, she might be healthy, but her game is not at her usual standards. That’s not surprising since athletes returning from lengthy injury absences normally encounter an adjustment period to shake off rust and regain timing.

Collier has earned the benefit of the doubt as someone dedicated to being one of the WNBA’s best players. The question now is whether her career will continue here or elsewhere.

Collier is set to become an unrestricted free agent after signing a one-year, $1.4 million supermax contract. Her decision to seek only a one-year deal before this season was understandable given the changes happening around her.

The organization went through an ownership change. The roster experienced a makeover after the league’s new collective bargaining agreement created better financial opportunities for Lynx veterans with whom Collier had shared close bonds. And the organization was putting its future in the hands of a rookie point guard.

Logically, Collier might have wanted to wait and see how things unfolded this season. Yes, the Lynx performed beyond expectations without Collier and began to slide after she returned, but it’s nonsensical to suggest the team is better off without her. Re-signing her to a long-term deal remains a priority.

And Miles gives Collier a compelling reason to stay. The veteran has yet to win a championship here, but she saw the impact Miles had as a rookie. What superstar wouldn’t want to play alongside a dynamic, pass-first point guard who makes everyone around her better?

The onus falls on Reeve to convince Collier to stay by building a supporting roster capable of winning a championship. The Lynx desperately need to add size, rebounding and quality depth.

That this conversation is happening so quickly feels jolting. The Lynx were cruising along, conquering opponents with a beautiful brand of basketball, loose and free and relentless.

Then things started to slip. Drip, drip, drip … and poof. Suddenly it was gone. Another Minnesota sports season that ended in a familiar place.

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