Cheryl Reeve had a pointed conversation with Napheesa Collier at the end of the Lynx’s 2023 season.
Collier said “individual defense” was widely discussed. Not that Collier was anything but excellent on that end of the court. She was selected to the WNBA All-Defense Second Team for the second time in her career last season. But it wasn’t enough. Not if Minnesota wanted to raise its ceiling to make the championship.
Collier couldn’t just be great – she had to be one of the best. And Reeve knew it.
“She said, ‘If we want to win, you have to be in contention for MVP and (Defensive Player of the Year),'” Collier recalled. “That’s the conversation we’ve had, because it knows we obviously have to have elite people on both ends of the floor, and defense was something we really lacked last year.”
Fast forward a year, and Collier was the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year and runner-up in MVP voting. She anchors a defense that is currently the best in the league. The byproduct of all this? Minnesota will play a fifth title game Sunday in New York.
The extent of Collier’s impact has been demonstrated throughout these postseasons. In the first round, she was dominant offensively, averaging 40 points per game during a two-game sweep of Phoenix. Collier again dominated offensively in the final three games of Minnesota’s semifinal series against Connecticut, while also making a home on the glass.
And then there are those WNBA Finals, where the 28-year-old was tasked with slowing down one of the game’s greatest offensive players, Breanna Stewart. As is the case with every other task assigned to Collier, the attacker gets the job done.
Stewart is shooting 34% from the field in four games. Collier limited the two-time MVP to just one field goal on her final 10 shots in regulation and overtime in Minnesota’s thrilling Game 1 victory. On Friday, Stewart was a dismal 5-for-21 from the field. His 11 points in Game 4 tied Stewart’s lowest score since New York’s season opener in early May.
Collier had more than three interceptions in the four Finals games. It’s nothing short of defensive domination for the Lynx forward, who will write the final chapter of her epic duel with Stewart on Sunday.
“It’s really tough,” Collier said of the match. “I think we are both great players. It was Game 4, and we played each other, what, four times in the regular season? It will become more and more difficult each time to get the shots you normally get. Everyone is there to do the same thing: make tough shots. That’s my goal every time. She’s a great player, one of the best players in the world, but we have to make her job as difficult as possible.
While still being an integral part of Minnesota’s offense. Friday was a quiet performance for Collier in terms of offensive production, and yet she still had 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists. She was Minnesota’s leading scorer twice in those Finals.
Collier carries the heaviest burden on the team and does so without interruption.
Lynx guard Courtney Williams was seen gasping for air every time the camera panned in her direction throughout the game. Stewart looked visibly exhausted, even on a night where she had to sit out some bad trouble.
“Everyone is tired,” Lynx guard Kayla McBride said. “We play every other day now.”
Collier plays every minute of these contests. She recorded 40 more on Friday, two days after also doing so in the third game. She only had Saturday to recover, and that included a cross-country flight to New York. There is no rest for those who are weary.
Collier is used to this. She played 37 minutes in Game 4 of the semifinals in Connecticut on October 6, then scored another 37 minutes in Game 5 of the win-or-go-home game on October 8 in Minnesota. On October 10, Collier played 43 minutes in Minnesota’s Game 1 overtime victory at New York, representing 117 minutes of playing time over a five-day span that included two steals.
No problem.
“It’s the final,” Collier said in his on-court television interview after the first game. “No one cares if you’re tired.”
Still, there’s something remarkable about Collier’s current workload. She played four complete games during these playoffs, in addition to her 43-minute performance in Game 1. And every minute carries significant stress on both ends of the field.
And yet, Iron Woman’s source of energy never seems to weaken.
What is his secret?
“I can’t lie, I feel like I’m naturally pretty well conditioned,” Collier said.
OK, but there must be something.
“I played football…for a really long time, like the first 10 years of my life,” Collier said. “So it’s obviously like a running sport.”
Well, there you go.
“I also think about the mentality of going as hard as you can all the time,” Collier said. “It naturally also makes you fit, because you work as hard as possible.”
Whatever the reason, Collier noted that she always gets into good physical shape in a short time. Of course, it’s hard to get out of shape when you never give in. This current run follows Collier becoming a key contributor to the U.S. Olympic gold medal-winning team in August.
It should be exhausted by now. And yet, Collier shows no signs of slowing down. She has no plans to stop, at least not until a trophy is in her arms Sunday night.
WNBA Finals
Best of 5
LYNX 2, Liberty 2
Game 1: LYNX 95, Liberty 93, OT
Game 2: Liberty 80, LYNX 66
Game 3: Liberty 80, LYNX 77
GAME 4: LYNX 82, Liberty 80
Sunday: LYNX at Liberty, 7 p.m.
