Napheesa Collier is one of the best players in the WNBA. This is not up for debate among ball connoisseurs. She just won the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award. The 28-year-old just averaged north of 20 points per game for the second straight season, averaging close to a double-double (9.7 rebounds).
She finished second in the Most Valuable Player race, losing only to a historic season to Las Vegas forward A’ja Wilson. Collier was the driving force behind a Lynx team that took the league by storm, shocking many en route to 30 regular season wins and the second seed.
And yet, Collier can still go unnoticed at times — everyone knows she’s a great player, but she’s yet to be mentioned in the same discussions as Wilson or Breanna Stewart as the *best* player in the WNBA.
Between that and Minnesota being overshadowed by bigger markets and the attention rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have received this season, it’s easy for the unassuming Collier to not get her due as a top player two-way WNBA.
That could start to change Tuesday evening. The eyes of the WNBA world will be on Minneapolis, as the Lynx and Sun face off in Game 5 of the Finals to declare the winner of what has been an intense WNBA Semifinal series. New York bounced Las Vegas on Sunday. So this is the solitaire game on which all the attention will be focused.
It’s Collier’s time to deliver a moment – the type of outing in which his excellence shines brightly on a national setting to be appreciated and respected by all, and in turn sends Minnesota to the finals for the first time times in Collier’s career. That’s all that’s missing from his resume, along with a title that could be won in the next round.
Think of Kevin Garnett carrying the Timberwolves to a Game 7 victory against Sacramento. The stage is set for a performance that Lynx fans will be able to discuss and enjoy for decades to come.
Frankly, we shouldn’t expect anything less from Collier right now. That’s what she delivered throughout the playoffs. From averaging 40 points in a first-round series win over Phoenix to losing 26 points and 11 rebounds in Game 3 to 29 points and 13 rebounds in Game 4, she brought the goods to every match under immense pressure.
And now the stage will be even bigger and brighter. She plans to shine accordingly.
Of course, Tuesday isn’t all about Collier. Minnesota’s great strength this season and even in this series has been its depth. Courtney Williams, Alanna Smith, Bridget Carleton and Kayla McBride are all capable of knocking down a big shot that could influence the outcome. But in such an important place, the star must at least set the standard. Minnesota noted after Game 4 that it needed to be better defensively in Game 5.
Who better to lead that charge than the new Defensive Player of the Year?
Connecticut and Minnesota are tied on paper – both in terms of production and style of play – and the first four games of this hotly contested semifinal back up the numbers. Any matchup between these two teams feels like a coin toss.
But the Lynx have one thing the Sun don’t: the best player on the field. In these situations, that has to count for something.
Collier is everything any professional sports franchise would want their star player to be. She is a humble face of the franchise who has fully embraced the vision of the organization and puts the team above all else.
But on Tuesday, it’s high time to remind the nation what one of, if not the, best women’s basketball players on the planet is: unstoppable.
