MINNEAPOLIS _ This tender scene was striking.
Rebekkah Brunson was sitting on a couch of her Minnetonka living room, her son on her lap, her big, strong hands cradling his tiny head.
For the last decade Brunson has put the power in the Lynx's power forward position, been the 6-2 soul of a team that has won four WNBA titles. The only player in league history with a championship ring for all four fingers and a thumb has spent her career battling opponents on both ends of the court, using those strong hands to rip rebounds off the glass.
And now this.
Graham Matteo Lamar Brunson.
He'll be 4 months old next week. He is the nearly brand-new son of Brunson and her wife, Bobbi Jo Lamar Brunson. They first met in Sacramento, where Brunson played _ and won a championship _ before coming to Minnesota. With the sun streaming in the bay window and Graham fussing, just a bit, Brunson looked down and smiled. "It's hard to even put into words," she said. "But everything has changed."
Brunson and her wife are new parents. They have launched a food truck and catering business, one that, of course, was slated for its grand opening on the day Graham decided to show up early. They have recently moved into a new home and Brunson has begun dabbling in broadcasting, appearing in selected Timberwolves broadcasts on FSN this season.
"There is a lot going on," Brunson said. "It's busy. But I'd rather be busy than bored."
There's more, of course. At 37 she's still a player, not ready to let go of a game that, while not defining her, certainly offers her a sense of camaraderie and competition she doesn't know if she can find somewhere else. She wants to return for another season, she plans to, but there are issues.
Late last season, on Aug. 5, the Lynx were hosting the Atlanta Dream at Target Center. In the second quarter under the Lynx basket, Brunson took a Tiffany Hayes elbow to the face, breaking her nose. The next day, she was diagnosed with a concussion, the effects of which she feels to this day.
But on this day, that is on the back burner. Brunson and her wife are on the couch, adoring their son, smiling. Joking back and forth.
Will you have another?
"We have so many things going on right now I cannot imagine another," Brunson said. "They say one is one and two is 20."
Countered Bobbi Jo: "I disagree. He popped out, and I was like, again! Again!"
This discussion is to be continued. But one thing is clear.
"The little things? They don't matter," Brunson said. "It's really all about him."
