The 2001 WNBA season was the third season for the Minnesota Lynx.
Offseason
WNBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/School/Team |
| 1 | 7 | Svetlana Abrosimova (F) |  Russia |
Connecticut |
| 2 | 23 | Erin Buescher (G) |  United States |
Master's College |
| 2 | 28 | Janell Burse (C) | United States |
Tulane |
| 3 | 39 | Tombi Bell (G) | United States |
Miami |
| 4 | 55 | Megan Taylor (G/F) | United States |
Iowa State |
Regular season
Season standings
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Sparks x | 28 | 4 | .875 | 19–2 | – |
| Sacramento Monarchs x | 20 | 12 | .625 | 13–8 | 8.0 |
| Utah Starzz x | 19 | 13 | .594 | 11–10 | 9.0 |
| Houston Comets x | 19 | 13 | .594 | 13–8 | 9.0 |
| Phoenix Mercury o | 13 | 19 | .406 | 8–13 | 15.0 |
| Minnesota Lynx o | 12 | 20 | .375 | 9–12 | 16.0 |
| Portland Fire o | 11 | 21 | .344 | 5–16 | 17.0 |
| Seattle Storm o | 10 | 22 | .313 | 6–15 | 18.0 |
Season schedule
| Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
| May 31 | @ Portland | 82-65 | Win | 1-0 |
| June 2 | Phoenix | 80-89 | Loss | 1-1 |
| June 9 | Los Angeles | 60-62 | Loss | 1-2 |
| June 12 | Indiana | 60-65 | Loss | 1-3 |
| June 16 | @ Indiana | 65-67 | Loss | 1-4 |
| June 17 | @ Detroit | 71-63 | Win | 2-4 |
| June 22 | Miami | 63-57 | Win | 3-4 |
| June 23 | @ Utah | 80-87 | Loss | 3-5 |
| June 25 | @ Washington | 55-51 | Win | 4-5 |
| June 28 | Seattle | 68-59 | Win | 5-5 |
| June 30 | Houston | 52-59 | Loss | 5-6 |
| July 1 | @ Cleveland | 47-52 | Loss | 5-7 |
| July 3 | Sacramento | 52-91 | Loss | 5-8 |
| July 6 | New York | 57-70 | Loss | 5-9 |
| July 8 | @ Los Angeles | 95-100 | Loss | 5-10 |
| July 10 | Portland | 73-52 | Win | 6-10 |
| July 13 | @ New York | 64-67 | Loss | 6-11 |
| July 14 | Phoenix | 67-80 | Loss | 6-12 |
| July 18 | Seattle | 68-58 | Win | 7-12 |
| July 21 | @ Orlando | 49-71 | Loss | 7-13 |
| July 23 | Houston | 46-51 | Loss | 7-14 |
| July 27 | Washington | 60-62 | Loss | 7-15 |
| July 28 | @ Utah | 60-68 | Loss | 7-16 |
| July 30 | @ Los Angeles | 69-78 | Loss | 7-17 |
| August 1 | @ Phoenix | 68-63 | Win | 8-17 |
| August 3 | Charlotte | 64-72 | Loss | 8-18 |
| August 5 | Sacramento | 79-76 | Win | 9-18 |
| August 7 | @ Sacramento | 59-76 | Loss | 9-19 |
| August 8 | @ Portland | 70-58 | Win | 10-19 |
| August 10 | @ Seattle | 65-51 | Win | 11-19 |
| August 12 | Utah | 69-62 | Win | 12-19 |
| August 13 | @ Houston | 60-74 | Loss | 12-20 |
Player stats
| Player | GP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
| Katie Smith | 32 | 122 | 70 | 23 | 5 | 739 |
| Svetlana Abrosimova | 26 | 174 | 53 | 42 | 9 | 343 |
| Erin Buescher | 32 | 118 | 62 | 27 | 29 | 183 |
| Lynn Pride | 32 | 146 | 28 | 28 | 20 | 170 |
| Betty Lennox | 11 | 54 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 121 |
| Maylana Martin | 31 | 86 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 95 |
| Kate Paye | 32 | 61 | 97 | 21 | 0 | 91 |
| Val Whiting-Raymond | 26 | 83 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 88 |
| Georgia Schweitzer | 24 | 50 | 34 | 11 | 6 | 87 |
| Shanele Stires | 18 | 27 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 51 |
| Janell Burse | 20 | 42 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 47 |
| Michele VanGorp | 22 | 34 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 41 |
| Kristi Harrower | 4 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 21 |