2006–2008: Personal success, team failure Augustus was drafted No. 1 overall in
2006 WNBA draft by the
Minnesota Lynx. Selected as a reserve for the 2006
WNBA All Star Game at
Madison Square Garden, Augustus led the West squad with 16 points and won the Skills Competition the previous evening. Augustus finished 2006 second to the
Mercury's
Diana Taurasi in scoring at 21.9 points per game, a rookie record. Only one player (Taurasi 2006), scored more points in a single season. In addition, she finished sixth in free throw percentage (.897). On August 20, Augustus was named the 2006
WNBA Rookie of the Year. The former LSU star improved to a career-high 22.6 points per game in 2007, while shooting nearly 51% from the field. An All Star for the second straight year, Augustus finished second to Seattle's
Lauren Jackson in scoring average and played in all 34 games. The Lynx however, finished 10–24 tied with
Los Angeles Sparks for the league's worst record.
2009–2010: Injuries In June 2009, Seimone suffered a season-ending injury, a torn
ACL, against the
Phoenix Mercury. Augustus's return in 2010 was derailed by medical issues as well, as she was forced to undergo surgery to remove
fibroid tumors, including one the size of a golf ball. Augustus had attempted to postpone surgery until after the season, but the pain was too difficult to play through. Despite the setback, Augustus returned to play the final 25 games of the season.
2011–2018: Dynasty Augustus was finally back to full strength in 2011, and a part of a potent Lynx team that included a supporting cast of
Lindsay Whalen,
Rebekkah Brunson and newly acquired rookie
Maya Moore. Augustus led the team in scoring and served as the team's lead defender as the Lynx rolled to a league best 27–7 record. Augustus also made her first all-star game since 2007. She finished eighth in MVP voting, and was named
Second Team All-WNBA for the third time in her career, and the first since 2007. Augustus elevated her game in the
playoffs. She led the Lynx in scoring in five of their eight games, and scored the second-highest number of points in
WNBA Finals history – 36 – in game two of the
2011 WNBA Finals. The Lynx swept the
Atlanta Dream in the title round, with Augustus being unanimously named Finals MVP. The Lynx were not a flash in the pan; they would return to the finals the next two seasons, losing to the
Indiana Fever in
2012, and defeating Atlanta again in
2013. Augustus continued to earn accolades during this time. She was named first-team all-WNBA in 2012, and voted an all-star-game starter in 2013. During the 2015 season, Augustus was named a WNBA All-Star for the sixth time in her career while averaging 13.8 points per game. However, Augustus was battling a right knee injury and was out indefinitely midway through the season to have knee surgery. The Lynx had remained dominant; making a trade for star center
Sylvia Fowles, strengthening their starting lineup as they finished first place in the Western Conference with a 22–12 record. Augustus returned in time for the playoffs and The Lynx returned to the finals for a rematch against the Indiana Fever, this time with the Lynx beating Indiana in a hard-fought series, 3–2, with the newly acquired Sylvia Fowles winning Finals MVP, as the Lynx won their third WNBA championship in five years. In the 2016 season, the Lynx continued to be a championship contender in the league, as they finished with a franchise best 28–6 record. With the WNBA's new playoff format in effect, the Lynx were the number 1 seed in the league with a double-bye to the semi-finals (the last round before the WNBA Finals) facing the
Phoenix Mercury. Prior to the playoffs, Augustus had signed a multi-year contract extension with the Lynx. The Lynx defeated the Mercury in a three-game sweep, advancing to the WNBA Finals for the fifth time in six years. The Lynx were up against the
Los Angeles Sparks, making it the second time in league history where two teams from the same conference faced each other in the Finals due to the new playoff format. However, the Lynx were defeated by the Sparks in five games. Also in 2016, Augustus was chosen to the
WNBA Top 20@20, a list of the league's best 20 players ever in celebration of the WNBA's twentieth anniversary. In the 2017 season, Augustus seemed to decline in scoring. She was still voted into the
2017 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her seventh all-star game appearance of her career, despite being less of a scorer she was more of a facilitator on offense, averaging a career-high in assists. On August 12, 2017, the Lynx made history as they defeated the Indiana Fever, 111–52, marking it the largest margin of victory in WNBA history; they also went on a league record 37–0 scoring run during the game. The Lynx finished with the number 1 seed yet again, with a 27–7 record, receiving a double-bye to the semi-finals. In the playoffs, Augustus stepped up on offence and scored more to be more effective for her team. In the semi-finals, the Lynx defeated the
Washington Mystics in a three-game sweep, advancing to the WNBA Finals for the sixth time in seven years, setting up a rematch with the Sparks. Augustus scored a season-high 24 points in game 1 against Washington. The Lynx avenged last year's Finals loss, this time by defeating the Sparks in five games to win their fourth championship in seven seasons, tying the now-defunct
Houston Comets for most championships wins.
2018–2020: End of an era, departure from the Lynx In the 2018 season, the Lynx would start showing signs of age as their days of yearly championship contention started coming to an end. They failed to get off to a hot start to the season as they were 4–6 in their first 10 games. Despite averaging a career-low in scoring, Augustus would still be voted into the
2018 WNBA All-Star Game for her eighth all-star game appearance. By the end of the season, the Lynx finished as the number 7 seed with an 18–16 record, making it the first time in 8 years that they did not finish as a top 2 seed. In the first round elimination game, the Lynx lost 75–68 to the rival Los Angeles Sparks, ending their streak of three straight finals appearances. Despite the retirement of her longtime teammate Lindsay Whalen, Augustus re-signed with the Lynx. In 2019, Augustus would only play in 12 games due to a nagging knee injury, she had missed the first half of the season to recover and made her return in August. The Lynx finished 18–16 with the number 7 seed but were eliminated by the
Seattle Storm in the first round elimination game. In 2020, Augustus left the Lynx after 14 seasons and signed a one-year deal with the
Los Angeles Sparks. Her mother had planned events for 2020 to thank Minnesota for taking care of her daughter for so long but both mother and daughter wound up in tears. Augustus explained that she was saddened and disappointed with the tone of negotiations with the Lynx — who were all business, and who had offered her more money than L.A. Augustus would take a bench role with the Sparks. On July 25, 2020, she would make her Sparks debut, scoring 14 points in the team's 99–76 win against the
Phoenix Mercury. On August 9, 2020, she scored 13 points in the team's 97–81 win against her former team. The Sparks finished 15–7 with the number 3 seed, receiving a bye to the second round. The season had been delayed and shortened to 22 games in a bubble at
IMG Academy due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. In the playoffs, the Sparks would come up short as they lost 73–59 to the
Connecticut Sun in the second round elimination game. In 2021, Augustus re-signed with the Sparks on a one-year deal. On May 13, 2021, she announced her retirement from play, and joined the Los Angeles Sparks coaching staff. Later that year, as part of the league's celebration of its 25th season, Augustus was named to
The W25, consisting of the top 25 WNBA players of all time as chosen by a panel of media and women's basketball pioneers. On May 29, 2022, the Minnesota Lynx retired her jersey in Target Center. ==Career statistics==