Standing at just 5-foot-5, Crystal Dangerfield has always been small in stature but big in her impact on the basketball court. After four solid seasons at UConn, where she helped lead the Huskies to 136 wins and three Final Four appearances, Dangerfield moved on to the next level after COVID-19 deprived her of another deep tournament run.

As pick after pick went off the board, Dangerfield kept falling, further down than many expected. While there were legitimate concerns about her skill set translating to the bigger, faster WNBA, Dangerfield was still one of the top guards in the draft class coming from a UConn program known for producing top WNBA talent.

So when Dangerfield was still on the board in the second round, former teammate Napheesa Collier made her pitch in the Minnesota Lynx Zoom War Room to take a flyer on Dangerfield. The team obliged and selected her with the 16th overall pick. It didn’t take very long for Dangerfield to prove Collier right and make an impact in Minnesota.

Dangerfield forced her way into the starting lineup just three games into the season due to injuries and never looked back. She finished the season leading the Lynx in scoring with 16.2 points per game, and continued to be an incredibly efficient point guard with 3.6 assists per game.

After helping the Lynx to yet another postseason appearance, Dangerfield was recognized as the WNBA’s 2020 Rookie of the Year on Thursday, becoming the first-ever second-round pick to do so. She joined Collier, who won the award in 2019, Breanna Stewart (2016), Maya Moore (2011), Tina Charles (2010), and Diana Taurasi (2004) as former Huskies to win the award.

“It just means a lot, because like I said earlier, this draft class was great,” Dangerfield said. “It's just hard work paid off, you know that's what I've always tried to do, whether it be college or here now just be consistent and conduct myself like a pro. That's putting up the numbers my team needs me to do, making sure that they're doing their jobs and helping my team win first and foremost.”

While Dangerfield had already established herself as a legitimate contributor on one of the WNBA’s top teams, she knows that her job as a facilitator is just as important as being a scorer, especially on a team with Collier, Odyssey Sims, and Sylvia Fowles.

“As a point guard, it all starts with me so I want to go out there with energy, making sure everyone's in the right spot and things like that, but I wouldn't say that this is my team or anything like that. I'm just a point guard trying to do a job.”

Even with this impressive accolade, Dangerfield remained focused on the task at hand - the Lynx’s second-round series against Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury which began Thursday night.

“Even for like, the Rookie of the Year right now, my focus has been for the game tonight. So it goes like things are, you know, one thing after another. My mind has to focus on other things,” Dangerfield said. “Once things are over I can go home I can sit down and think about what's happened since 2020 started.”