Camryn Taylor is making the most out of another training camp in Minnesota

Taylor, who played college basketball at both Virginia and Marquette, signed a training camp contract with the Lynx after going undrafted in the 2024 WNBA Draft. Her energy and competitiveness were apparent through two preseason games and more than three weeks of training camp practices last spring.

“We made the invite when we cut her last year,” Minnesota Lynx head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve told the media after Day 1 of this year’s training camp in Minneapolis. “We said we’d like you to come back to training camp, and have a good offseason, and we tried to give her some things to work on.”

Reeve’s vote of confidence in the young post player helped lay the foundation for a successful first year as a professional. Taylor played outside of the United States for the first time in her career this winter, joining Esperides, a club outside of Athens in Greece A-1, where she averaged nearly 20 points and seven rebounds per game.

“The pace that she plays at, her energy, it’s very infectious in a good way,” Reeve added. “Veterans like that. They don’t want a rookie who’s kind of unsure of themselves and maybe doesn’t play hard enough. Cam is going to compete. We’re trying to marry that level of compete with skill and execution. That’s year one to year two. That’s what we’re asking her to do.”

Tasting professional success on the European stage didn’t dull Taylor’s well-known enthusiasm when a return to Minnesota for another crack at the Lynx roster became official.  

“I definitely had a little dance party in my room once I found out (I was coming back),” Taylor said with a smile at the podium on the team’s official media day on April 29. “So I was really excited. I was just excited to come back and see a lot of familiar faces, but also just have another opportunity to do my best, work hard, contribute, and just learn.” 

Order ‘Rare Gems’ and save 30%

Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The Next and The IX, released his latest book on May 7, 2024. This deeply reported story follows four connected generations of women’s basketball pioneers, from Elvera “Peps” Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.

If you enjoy his coverage of women’s basketball every Wednesday at The IX, you will love “Rare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way for the WNBA.” Click the link below to order and enter MEGDAL30 at checkout.

Now in her second WNBA training camp, with a year in Europe and the knowledge gained through last season’s competitive training camp behind her, she’s earned the confidence of veterans and her coaching staff as she strives to turn potential into payoff. 

“She’s definitely grown,” Natisha Hiedeman said after the second day of practice. “The good thing about Cam is she definitely leans into her vets and asks a lot of questions and is willing to soak up a lot of knowledge. I think that’ll go a long way. She listens and then she does it. She’s gotten tremendously better already, and her camp the past two days has been amazing.” 

For an organization with a rich history of players excelling in the post, Taylor has made it a point to make the most of playing under an assistant coach like Rebekkah Brunson, whose number hangs in the rafters, and alongside the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.

“I love Cam,” Napheesa Collier said after day one of training camp. “She’s such a ball of energy and positivity. It’s so fun. I have seen that she’s improved just in her finishing, and she was with us a lot last year, so knowing Cheryl, that year of expertise, you can see it here where she’s picking up the plays. She’s finishing really well. She knows where we like the post players to be, so she kind of has a leg up on the other people who haven’t been here.”

“(Collier’s) the Defensive Player of the Year, so just being able to get a lot of insight from her is amazing,” Taylor said. “I’m always looking towards her. I look up to her. I love playing with her.”

Running through a couple dozen Reeve-coached practices already is bound to be some kind of an advantage compared to other training camp hopefuls, but Taylor, who arrived in Minneapolis well ahead of the first day of training camp, is not allowing any previous experience at The Courts at Mayo Clinic Square to make her complacent.

“There’s still some nerves,” Taylor told The Next.  “I think there’s a little bit more comfort in terms of confidence and knowing what to expect, knowing what Cheryl wants, and just knowing what I can do to bring energy and bring my personality. I mean that’s the ultimate goal, is just getting better every single day.”

“I think her perspective is different,” Reeve said. “She’s not going to be happy with just being in training camp. She wants to compete for a job on this team. So her focus looks a lot different than when you’re a rookie and you’re kind of like, ‘hey, this is fun.’ Now she’s like, ‘no, I want more than what I got last year.’” 

A pair of preseason games with the Chicago Sky looms large over the early days of this year’s camp. Taylor logged positive minutes and showed plenty of energy and pace in both of Minnesota’s preseason games in 2024. She’ll get another opportunity to show how she’s grown in working to marry that energy and pace with the skill and execution necessary to make this team when those games come around on May 6 and May 10. 

Want even more women’s sports in your inbox?

Subscribe now to our sister publication The IX and receive our independent women’s sports newsletter six days a week. Learn more about your favorite athletes and teams around the world competing in soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and gymnastics from our incredible team of writers.

Readers of The Next now save 50% on their subscription to The IX.

Until then, she’ll continue making her presence known on the practice court, never too far from her veteran mentors, and never without a question ready to help her continue to get better.

“Cheryl, the coaching staff … they know what it means to win championships. They know what it means to win,” Taylor said. “Obviously, they see something in me, and I just want to make sure I’m doing my best every day and learning and contributing to the team.”