Written By Zach Bennett
Anna Cruz has been an unsung hero for the Minnesota Lynx (12-4) this season, helping the team secure both the top spot in the Western Conference standings and the best record in the WNBA going into the All-Star break.
Cruz is not your typical second-year player. She’s a 29-year-old scrappy and savvy point guard with loads of international experience. Cruz started playing basketball professionally in Europe in 2004 and has been a member of Spain’s national team since 2009.
As a rookie in the WNBA last season, Cruz averaged 7.7 points, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals in 27 minutes per game through 34 appearances with the New York Liberty, but the Liberty traded Cruz to the Lynx in exchange for the 11th overall pick and other minor pieces.
It was in the midst of last year’s FIBA World Championships that Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, while an assistant with Team USA, scouted Cruz and her Spanish teammates.
Cruz officially joined the Lynx in early July after missing the first 10 games of the WNBA season while playing with Spain at Eurobasket, and she immediately became a crucial component in the rotation.
While Cruz is smaller in stature than the average guard and not particularly an imposing or overpowering presence, she is quick footed and uses crafty handles to penetrate defenses and seamlessly create offense off the dribble, as you can see in the gif below.
While she converted the shot above, there have been a few instances of Cruz forcing shots against larger defenders, and the outcome is generally a missed or blocked shot. This may simply be the result of Cruz still adjusting to the WNBA game after playing so many years internationally.
After Seimone Augustus underwent arthroscopic a few weeks back, Cruz was inserted into the starting lineup. She averaged 10.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists while shooting 55 percent from the field over the final three games heading into the All-Star break.
Without Augustus and Lindsay Whalen, who was recovering from an eye injury, the Lynx were defeated in tantalizing fashion on their home floor and in front of a record-setting audience of more than 17,000 last Wednesday, falling to Connecticut in overtime, 78-77.
Minnesota needs steady and solid contributions from Cruz in or order to stay atop the Western Conference, and she’s risen to the challenge thus far.