In her second trip to the Olympics, Napheesa Collier figures to have a more prominent role as she has emerged as one of the top players in the WNBA. She made her first Olympics appearance with Team USA in 2021 as the youngest player on a loaded team that rolled to the gold medal. To be named to this team twice is quite an accomplishment as it’s pretty well known that one of the hardest teams to make in all of sports is the USA women’s Olympic basketball team.
In her sixth season with the Minnesota Lynx, the 27-year old Collier is having an MVP-type season in leading her team to a 13-3 record, which is currently third best in the league and first in the Western Conference. The Lynx entered this week’s action on a six-game winning streak.
With each season, Collier continues to add to her already expansive offensive game, which has enabled her to climb up the ranks of top players in the league. She has always been a dynamic player around the basket with her tremendous footwork and low post game. Now, she has become even more comfortable on the perimeter to the point where she is taking and making more 3-pointers.
At 6-feet-1, Collier is the primary inside player for the Lynx, which means she is usually matched up with the likes of 6’5” A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Sparks, 6’4” Breanna Stewart and 6’6” Jonquel Jones of the New York Liberty, yet she continues to produce at a very high level.
Through the first 13 games of the season, Collier has become one of the best two-way players in the WNBA. She is averaging 20.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.4 blocks a game while shooting 46 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free throw line.
In an 81-76 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks last Friday, Collier scored a game-high 30 points, along with six rebounds and a season-high eight steals. It was her second game in which she has scored at least 30 points this season. On May 23, Collier had 31 points and 11 rebounds in an overtime loss to the Connecticut Sun, the leader in the Eastern Conference.
It has been quite a successful year for Collier on and off the court. Earlier this month, it was announced that she and fellow WNBA star Breanna Stewart will found a new women’s professional league called “Unrivaled.”
The new league will make its debut in January of 2025. It will feature 30 players on six teams in a 3-on-3 format on a compressed full court. The league will be played during a 10-week period with all games being held in Miami. The league will also give WNBA players an opportunity to earn more money while staying in the USA for the winter months instead of going overseas to play.
