Jessica Shepard’s historic night is the ‘epitome of what she can be in this league’

Yes, the 22 minutes Shepard needed to eclipse 10+ points, rebounds, and assists marked the fastest anyone has ever accomplished the statistical feat in the league’s 29-year history. She also converted 10 of her 11 field goal attempts, making her the only player ever to record a triple-double and shoot above 90% from the floor. And the carrot, all those numbers while playing all 40 minutes of the game, didn’t include a single turnover, etching her name in history next to the likes of Alyssa Thomas and Sabrina Ionescu as the only players ever to pull off a triple-double while maintaining perfect ball security. 

It was a rare performance, no matter what historical lens you choose to view it through. It also portrayed Shepard’s evolution as a player with the 2025 Minnesota Lynx, a player who fills a variety of roles, but one who is always ready to make one more simple play to help the Lynx win their next possession. 

“My teammates made me aware of it at halftime,” Shepard told the postgame broadcast on ION through a laugh. “I was just trying to do whatever to help the team win. Obviously, we have players who carry a really heavy load every night, and we’re missing Phee, so I wanted to be able to help the team and contribute in whatever way I could. I’m just happy we got the win today.” 

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Shepard has contributed in myriad ways all season, but in the last seven games, while Napheesa Collier has been sidelined with the ankle injury she suffered in Las Vegas on August 2nd, she has shown her value. She’s piled up five double-doubles and counting in the month of August alone and has been one of the keys in ensuring that the temporary loss of the team’s MVP candidate hasn’t resulted in Minnesota losing any ground in the standings and only strengthened their grip on the No. 1 overall seed. 

“Can’t say enough about how Jess has filled in, how great she’s been for us, an absolute Sixth Player of the Year,” Lynx head coach and President of Basketball Operations Cheryl Reeve said during Friday’s pregame press conference. “If Jessica Shepard is not a Lynx this year, we’re in big-time trouble.” 

Shepard came to the Lynx as the No. 16 overall draft pick in 2019, the same draft class as Collier. Adversity struck fast for the Notre Dame alum, who also spent time at Nebraska. She tore her ACL in just the sixth game of her career, causing her to miss the rest of her rookie season and all of the 2020 season in the bubble. 

Shepard returned to the fold in 2021, averaging 2.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in 22 games off the bench. Through 2022 and 2023, she made 39 starts in 57 appearances and averaged 7.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest before sitting out the 2024 WNBA season due to overseas obligations. 

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Her most recent overseas exploits came in Greece with Athinaikos AS Vurona, where she had a monster season. In 23 games with Athinaikos, she put up 26.4 points and 14.5 rebounds per game. She arrived at Lynx training camp in April of this year, much the same player she’s always been, but the success she reached with different clubs in different roles around the world helped her to make strides in one crucial area. 

“Confidence, I would have to say,” Shepard told reporters after practice on July 24, when asked what area she focused on most since she was last in Minnesota. “The more you play just different roles on different teams that I’ve been able to have since last playing with the Lynx. I think I was able to build my confidence and that’s translated some this year.”

The need for Shepard to fill a variety of roles for the 2025 Lynx was called into action almost immediately. Alanna Smith sustained a leg injury late in the preseason and missed the season-opener in Dallas. Shepard started the game and poured in 15 points along with eight rebounds in a 15-point win against the Wings. Smith returned two nights later, and Shepard came off the bench, picking up her first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds with a tick more playing time than she got as a starter in Game 1 to help the Lynx to a 14-point victory in Los Angeles. 

“I approach the game the same as a starter or as a bench player,” Shepard said earlier this season. “I think just my years of experience in different roles have benefited me a lot this season. When you’re being thrown in the starting role [one game], and then you’re playing 10 minutes [the next game], you’re kind of all over the place. But, when you’re on a team that wants to compete for a championship, you have to be willing to accept that role and willing to show up every day ready to do whatever the team needs.”

What the team has needed this season from Shepard has continued to be a little bit of everything. Her 10 assists on Friday night marked a career-high for her, but those who have played with her the most and benefited from her passing ability would tell you a statistical output like that has been a long time coming.

“It’s always super fun to play with Jess. She’s like another point guard out there,” Collier said after a five-assist night from Shepard in a win against the Valkyries on July 5. “Her passing ability and her vision on the court is so rare, especially from a big, so it’s really fun to play with someone like that. [She’s] not only a willing passer, but a really good passer who makes good decisions. So, I love playing with Jess, and I have for the last seven years.” 

The all-around dominance in a historic performance Friday night helped the Lynx achieve the most important thing: getting the win. But it also serves as a microcosm for the growth in Shepard’s game since she first put on a Lynx jersey in 2019. 

“We were just saying this earlier as a staff, just talking about Jess’s evolution,” Reeve said to media after the team’s practice on August 14. “Obviously, we [drafted] her in 2019, and we’ve always enjoyed Jess the basketball player and the person, but where she left us in ‘23, and where she is now, there’s a big jump and there’s a maturity to her game. There’s a confidence to her game. She knows who she is, she’s comfortable in her skin. I think she’s growing personally. I think that goes hand in hand when you start to feel comfortable in your skin and you have your identity and you know who you are, then that shows itself when you’re playing the game. Jess is right now at her peak of maturity and how she’s playing.”

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Whether the matchup calls for her to fill in admirably for an MVP front-runner and draw the tough assignment against an All-Star post player, or fill the stat sheet in every possible way while playing 40 minutes or coming off the bench, she’ll find a way to give the Lynx anything and everything she has to give. 

“That’s it, she gave us everything,” Lynx guard Kayla McBride said after the game on Friday. “I get more and more impressed by how Jess just continues to feel the game. It’s just one of her talents. She just understands the game, what’s going on, what her teammates need her to do to win a possession. She’s just grown so much in that space, and she enjoys doing it, and I think that’s the biggest part. 

“The triple-double was cool, but I don’t even think she realized what she was going because she was just hooping like she always does. I’m just really proud of her continuing to grow, and obviously, with Phee out, just really stepping into that spot and doing her thing, because it’s not easy. It’s not easy filling that void, but she does it, and she has done it with so much grace. Tonight was just kind of the epitome of who Jess can be in this league.”

A few minutes before McBride took the postgame podium with Shepard beside her, Reeve addressed the media first and also expressed that Shepard’s performance fully epitomized her as one of the league’s most dependable players. 

“Played 40 minutes, first of all, couldn’t take her off the floor,” Reeve said. “I think in terms of what the group needed and what we don’t have — we’re playing without Phee — is just a paint presence, and so the others needed to be able to have someone to throw it into. Over the last games that Phee hasn’t been in, Jess has kind of taken on the spot of Phee and has done quite well. Obviously, today had some success posting up some good post players down there. This is the epitome of Jess. Good scorer, passer, rebounder, and all of it was on display for us today.”