The Minnesota Lynx have long had a loyal, consistent fan base.

According to Across the Timeline, which tracks WNBA attendance, the Minnesota Lynx have averaged around 8,800 fans per game since 2011. That’s the third-best mark in the 12-team league, just behind Phoenix and Los Angeles.

Minnesota Lynx fans are excited as the team returns to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2017.

As the Lynx begin their best-of-five series with the New York Liberty on Thursday, fans are excited about the possibility of another championship and hopeful that they will be a winning team in the long run.

Colin Titcomb from Plymouth can be considered a Lynx superfan. He has been a season ticket holder since 2000 and has only missed about a dozen home games since then.

He loved the championship years – with the roster of Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, Rebekkah Brunson, Sylvia Fowles and Seimone Augustus – helping make the team the winningest professional sports franchise in the state. From 2011 to 2017, they won four WNBA titles with six Finals appearances.

Titcomb says having winning teams helps, but that’s not all that draws him back year after year.

“They treat their fans really well,” he said. “It’s fun to watch them. Even in the lean years, they were fun to watch. It’s just a really fun atmosphere here at Target Center.”

This atmosphere has brought new fans to the Lynx faithful.

Devin Xiong of St. Paul loves men’s professional basketball. But the WNBA talk attracted him.

“Just the hype around women’s basketball and how much of a ‘team’ it is compared to the NBA. “There’s more teamwork, more passes and it’s a fun atmosphere,” Xiong said.

Now he proselytizes for the WNBA, bringing friends to playoff games at the Target Center.

“I would say they are almost at dynasty level,” he said, describing the current team. “Just because we have Napheesa (Collier), we have all the pieces in play. I see the Lynx running well for a while. No matter what happens, this is the start of something.”

Collier finished runner-up for the WNBA’s MVP that season. But the success, players and fans say, comes from the way this team comes together.

The Lynx acquired guard Courtney Williams and forward Alanna Smith in the offseason. They rely on goals from Kayla McBride and Bridget Carleton. Individually these players may not all stand out, but as a group they play well together.

Coach Cheryl Reeve noticed the bond on the second day of training camp before they experienced the usual bonding experiences of on the road, winning and losing.

“We had a very obvious and exciting way of playing for each other,” she said.

Reeves’ name comes up again and again in conversations with fans.

“I think she just has a razor-sharp view of all sorts of aspects of the game. She knows how to tell them at halftime, ‘Okay, you’re not doing this and this and this,’ and get them to do it again,” said Jen Rivera, a 10-year veteran.

Minneapolis’ JP Porter said the rest of the league is finally seeing how good Minnesota actually is this season.

“We have Defensive Player of the Year, we have Coach of the Year, we have Manager of the Year, we have second-team defense, we have first-team defense – just this year,” she said. “No one expected us to be here except us – everyone in Minnesota knew we would be a great team.”

The Lynx begin their best-of-five series on Thursday night in New York City with kickoff at 7 p.m. Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m., then the Lynx return to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Wednesday at 7 p.m