This story was originally published by Dead Spin
To complete a sweep of the Phoenix Mercury in a best-of-three opening-round playoff series, the Minnesota Lynx needed a herculean effort from its lone Olympian, Napheesa Collier.
The sixth-year forward from UConn delivered.
Collier’s career-high 38 points in a seven-point Game 1 victory was followed by resetting her personal best: 42 points in a decisive 13-point Game 2 win. Collier is the first player in the history of the WNBA to score at least 35 points or more in two consecutive playoff games.
Think about that—the history of the WNBA.
Collier did something so impressive that it’s never been accomplished before by anyone. Not Sheryl Swoopes or Lisa Leslie. Not Diana Taurasi or Sue Bird. Not Lauren Jackson or Cynthia Cooper.
Collier stands alone in this exclusive club.
She scored 80 points in the Lynx’s wins over the Mercury, marking the club’s first playoff series win since the 2020 bubble. And she did it in an incredibly efficient fashion, shooting 25-of-39 from the floor, a 64 percent clip, while also making 25-of-28 free throws and 5-of-8 3-pointers. And in 77 combined minutes of play, she had just four turnovers to eight assists.
Collier is playing some of the best basketball of her career.
The question is: Is that enough to lead the Lynx to a WNBA title?
Consider that, if A’ja Wilson didn’t exist, Collier probably would’ve been the league MVP this season. Wilson won the award unanimously—and deservedly so—but Collier finished second with 467 voting points, a sizable margin in front of Breanna Stewart’s 295 points in third place. And in addition to her wild scoring totals over the Mercury, Collier is seen by many as the top defensive player in the WNBA, as evidenced by the AP voting her Defensive Player of the Year.
“I definitely think that Phee should definitely be getting kind of more attention than she’s gotten,” Stewart, Collier’s teammate at UConn, told the Washington Post. “Especially this year, just the way that she’s consistently been at the top from start to finish. People need to appreciate her game.”
In addition to her 20.4 points per game, which is fifth-best in the WNBA, Collier is averaging career highs in rebounds (9.7), assists (3.4) and blocks (1.4) per game. There’s an argument to be made that the 6-foot-1 forward from Missouri is seeing the game better than she ever has.
And back to defense for a moment, Collier is second in the WNBA in defensive win shares (2.9) and defensive rating (89.2), both of which are career-bests for her.
With Collier leading the way, Minnesota went 30-10 in the regular season, posting its best win percentage since 2017 when it went 27-7. Want to guess how that season ended for the Lynx? They won the Finals, marking their fourth championship under the guidance of Cheryl Reeve.
Since that era of Maya Moore, Sylvia Fowles, Seimone Augustus and Rebekkah Brunson ended, the Lynx have been searching for a new face-of-the-franchise. It wasn’t obvious at the time in 2019 that Collier would become that when they selected her with the sixth overall pick of the draft, but it’s crystal clear now that she is. In addition to winning a gold medal this summer on a Reeve-coached Team USA squad, Collier was named to her fourth all-star team and is a lock to make her second straight All-WNBA First Team.
Collier has also already led the Lynx to capturing some hardware. Earlier this season, the Lynx went 4-1 in Commissioner’s Cup play and then, behind 21 points, six assists and six rebounds from Collier, beat the New York Liberty 94-89 for the trophy, while Collier was named the mid-season tournament’s MVP.
“She’s like an amoeba,” Reeve said of Collier. “If they’re going to let her be in the paint, then she’s going to find herself in the paint. She can screen; she can roll. She understands how to play in movement, be on the perimeter, and shoot the basketball. She’s shooting the three well. She just finds different ways to impact the game based on what’s dictated.”
The Liberty are the No. 1 overall seed in these WNBA Playoffs, but—counting the Commissioner’s Cup title game—the Lynx went 3-1 against them in the regular season. The Lynx also went 3-1 against the two-time reigning champs, the Las Vegas Aces.
Seemingly, the biggest hurdle remaining for Collier and the Lynx is their opponent in the semifinals, the Connecticut Sun. The Lynx went 1-2 against the Sun in the regular season, but those games were decided by an average of 2.6 points and Collier played just 24 minutes in a July 4 loss to Connecticut.
With a strong supporting cast around Collier of fellow all-star Kayla McBride, combined with Bridget Carleton, Alanna Smith, Courtney Williams and Myisha Hines-Allen, the sky seems to be the limit for the Lynx. If they can get past the Sun in the semifinals, adding to Reeve’s collection of championships seems increasingly possible.
