It’s safe to say that Napheesa Collier is not happy with the way the Lynx’s season ended on Sunday night.
The controversial foul call on Alanna Smith that sent Breanna Stewart to the free throw line and, eventually, allowed the Liberty to win in overtime has been the biggest talking point from Game 5 so far.
She posted a photo carousel of her journey with the Lynx this season. The last three photos were of three different foul calls, including the last one that did seem like it should’ve been a no-call.
The last three pictures Napheesa Collier posted on her IG after a tough Game 5 loss in the Finals 👀 😭 pic.twitter.com/kWzWOAngdy
The Liberty won the series and absolutely earned their championship — there’s no disputing that. But seeing things end the way they did certainly isn’t a great look for the WNBA’s officials. That’s the thing everyone is talking about today.
Just when you thought the spotlight on the officials and their controversial call might finally clear up, here comes Collier with this Instagram post. She ain’t letting up, folks.
It’s hard to blame her. Lose a game like that and you’ll probably never get over it. We’ll be talking about that last call for years to come.
The WNBA Finals are here, and [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag] is the only former Notre Dame player who made it. Right now, she’s happy about that because her Minnesota Lynx just opened the series with a 95-93 Game 1 overtime victory over the New York Liberty. What makes this game notable is that the Lynx came back from 18 points down.
McBride was one point of the Lynx team-high of 22 points. She was the only player on her team to reach double figures in the first half, and she tied for the team lead with with 12 second-half points. She was held scoreless in overtime, but she had done enough to help set up Napheesa Collier’s game-winning fadeaway with 1.8 seconds left.
It’s been a great season for McBride, who earned her fourth career All-Star appearance and her first in five years. After a regular season in which she averaged 15.0 points a game, she has a 14.6 scoring average through eight playoff contests. Most importantly, she’s two wins away from her first championship.
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But if you’re here, you might be wondering: who is her significant other?
We have an answer! That would be WNBA and NBA trainer Alex Bazzell, and the pair got engaged in 2019 after they started dating in her junior year at UConn. He was her trainer when they first met.
Collier gave birth to their daughter, Mila Sarah Bazzell in 2022 and we’ve seen snaps of the couple together as well as of Mila over the years.
But the WNBA Finals are here. And it’s time to add another name to that list.
Napheesa Collier.
The Lynx superstar and the newly-crowned WNBA Defensive Player of the Year has made waves in the league this season. She’s always been one of the league’s premier talents, but this year Collier took things up another notch. A stellar performance in the finals could raise the bar even more.
Before we get there, though, some of you may still need to get to know her. So here’s everything you need to know about Collier ahead of the Finals matchup.
She’s been an All-Star in four of the six seasons she’s played in the WNBA so far.
Collier has won a ton of awards
Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports
As I said, Collier is the current Defensive Player of the Year in the WNBA. She’s also a four-time All-Star in her six-year career so far.
But Collier has also made two All-WNBA teams so far in her career (2023 first team, 2020 second team) and will almost certainly make another once the league announces the teams for this year.
Collier has also won Rookie of the Year (2019) and made three All-Defensive WNBA teams (2024, 2023, 2020).
She’s an Olympic gold medalist
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Collier won two Olympic gold medals with Team USA — one during the 2020 Games in Tokyo and another in the 2024 Games in Paris.
She played in all six games in Paris this summer, averaging 6.7 points and 6.5 rebounds in 26.7 minutes.
Collier is an NCAA champion
Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Collier played for UConn during her college years so, naturally, she did a lot of winning.
“I think what I learned about myself is that this is the hardest job I’ve ever had, but it’s so rewarding,” she said. “It’s the most amazing job in the world. I feel like I have a purpose in my family and my daughter. I feel like a different person than I was before I had her.”
Good morning, Winners! Happy Wednesday! I hope you’re having a great week so far.
Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx certainly are. They’ve officially reached the pinnacle of the sport. Minnesota has officially punched a ticket back to the WNBA Finals with a dominant win over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday.
None of those names are around anymore. The torch has officially been passed down in Minnesota and Napheesa Collier is its new bearer.
Collier, the WNBA’s defensive player of the year, has always been a name that frequently comes up in the WNBA discourse when talking about the league’s best players. She’s always been the player who gets mentioned last in those conversations about the league’s elite. You know how it goes: “Don’t forget about Napheesa Collier” or something along those lines, right?
She’s always been a very good player. A great player, even. It’s just that, when discussing the greatest, it always felt like her name was on the outside looking in.
For so long, the conversation about the best player in the league has centered around two names: A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. Appropriately so, I’d say. Those two have been, far and away, the standouts in this league of excellence. Even this season, Wilson was just a cut above everyone else. That’s why she was the unanimous MVP.
But as far as who might be heading up that next tier? Well, that’s up for debate now.
Stewart’s name is the one that usually comes up, and she’s still a great player. She was arguably the best player in Game 5 against Wilson’s Aces when the Liberty sent Vegas packing.
But Collier’s run of dominance and the Lynx’s push to the finals put her squarely in the middle of those conversations that were once reserved just for two. Napheesa has been the best player in these playoffs and there’s no doubt about it.
She’s averaged 27.1 points per game while shooting nearly 55 percent from the floor and 45 percent from deep, according to Basketball Reference. The Lynx have been -14.2 points per 100 possessions worse when Collier sits the bench, according to the WNBA’s stats database. That’s an exceedingly small sample because she’s only been able to sit for 18 minutes in these playoffs and things have been that bad when she does.
A run to the Finals has solidified Collier’s position in the WNBA’s upper echelon. Now, she’s just a few wins away from climbing to the top of it. Winning a championship over Stewart and the Liberty would mean so much.
Our Meg Hall spoke to Collier after last season. She opened up about finding new purpose with motherhood and being a parent athlete. In that conversation, she also spoke about her goals and what she still has left to accomplish on the court.
“There are a lot of things I still want to accomplish in my career — winning a championship is one of them,” she said back then. “I also want to be MVP.”
She didn’t win MVP this season, but that championship is in sight, folks.
The Danger Zone
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
There’s no such thing as a guarantee in Major League Baseball. The sport has so much randomness — anything can happen at any time.
But if you’d asked anyone at the top of the season to pick two teams that were the closest thing to a guarantee to make it to the World Series representing the National League, most people would probably have said the Dodgers and the Phillies.
Now, after losing their respective Game 3 on the road, both teams are on the brink of elimination.
The Mets destroyed the Phillies in a 7-2 game that was never close. New York wasn’t sweating at all. Jesse Winker was confident enough to sit in the batter’s box and admire his moon shot.
That might be a better way to go out than the Dodgers, who fell behind early but managed to bring it close before losing by a single run. The Padres jumped out ahead and outlasted LA.
Here’s a wild stat: Both series could end on Wednesday. If they do, this would be the fourth consecutive year that the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the National League are eliminated before the League Championship Series.
A bunch of firsts for the Utah Hockey Club
Well, that’s a pretty great start, huh? The Utah Hockey Club opened its inaugural season with a dominant 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
I don’t know how the rest of the season will go in Utah. Surely, the highs won’t be this high all the time. But the vibe around this team is extremely fun. That means a lot for a franchise just cutting its teeth.
Even after Napheesa Collier locked up DPOY, WNBA fans are still debating about the award.
WNBA fans had lots of thoughts about Napheesa Collier winning Defensive Player of the Year.
The WNBA revealed several season awards on Sunday, including Defensive Player of the Year honors. That title went to Collier, who has been the life and soul behind the Minnesota Lynx and a massive reason why the team has one of the best records in the WNBA.
Additionally, Phee’s high motor helped Minnesota sustain a top-five defense for most of the season. With Collier’s help, the Lynx ranked second in defensive rating (94.8) and fewest points allowed (75.6.) At the individual level, Phee ranked second in the WNBA in steals per game (1.91), fourth in defensive rebounds per game (7.5) and seventh in blocked shots per game (1.41).
Collier’s campaign to secure her new hardware was not without pressure from other players. A’ja Wilson, who also had a stellar season, was right behind Collier in voting.
Individual stats is cool and all but the Lynx team defensive rating was higher than the Aces. Defensively what Phee contributed to her team was remarkable, transcended to the second best record in the league and earned her DPOY.
Tbf, there’s too many defensive things that don’t show up on a stat sheet….. same way DiJonai isn’t top 5 in blocks or steals but she’s absolutely putting clamps on players. Esp cuz forcing turnovers/bad shots doesn’t get recorded
I figured Phee was going to get the nod over A'ja for DPOY. I think it was close, but Phee is more than deserving. Fantastic season on both ends of the court. Real two way players in the house!
this a’ja/napheesa discourse is getting weird like a’ja won mvp and phee won dpoy, the awards are decided and it’s done can we focus on something else idk
Napheesa Collier is a BADDDDD woman, and I feel sorry if you missed her earth-shattering playoff performance against the Phoenix Mercury.
I told myself I was going to bed. I was drifting away quickly as the Minnesota Lynx battled with the Mercury. But something in me said, “Hey, maybe you should stay up for this.” I’m so glad I did because HOLY BASKETBALL, BATMAN. THANK YOU, BASKETBALL GODS FOR THIS MASTERPIECE.
Napheesa Collier rattled off one of the best playoff performances I’ve ever seen. Phee was ELECTRIC as she drained shots from all over the court. It didn’t matter what Phoenix threw at her — like a chess match — she was already three steps ahead. She was patient and adept at using movement to her advantage, and Phoenix was scrambling to keep up. When Phee jokingly said she wanted to “end” Diana Taurasi’s career, I think she meant it.
Napheesa Collier made a funny Diana Taurasi retirement joke Sunday after the Lynx outlasted the Mercury in a playoff thriller.
I hope you were watching Game 1 of the Mercury-Lynx playoff matchup. IT WAS GOOD. Minnesota had a 23-point lead before the Phoenix came STORMING back. Then, a lifetime of buckets was traded until Minnesota’s Bridget Carleton slammed the door with a gritty fadeaway 3-point bucket. It was everything you hoped playoff basketball would be.
So many people were HOOPING, including 42-year-old Diana Taurasi, who dropped 21 points on 50 percent shooting. WHEW. But, it seems that was too much for Phee Collier because she jokingly said during a Lynx postgame presser that she hopes Minnesota could send Taurasi into retirement. This is what Collier shared with the media:
“It seems like it’s her retirement tour. I don’t know. She’s been pretty quiet about it. But, she’s obviously, like I said, a UConn great, a league GOAT.”
“So, I feel lucky to have been able to play with her on Team USA and against her, and hopefully, we can end her career on Wednesday.”
Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier was asked what Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi may do after the end of the season:
Paige Bueckers is now Unrivaled. See what we did there?
UConn guard Paige Bueckers has a dope new NIL deal with Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier’s Unrivaled basketball league.
Paige has been having one heck of an offseason. She attended the WNBA Draft to support her former teammates, has been to multiple WNBA games and even made an appearance during WNBA All-Star weekend. In other words, her WNBA ties are already DEEP. So, it’s not entirely shocking that Paige has a fantastic new NIL deal with a new basketball league, Unrivaled, created by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier.
Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, Bueckers is expected to join the league after her first WNBA season. (Assuming she declares for the WNBA Draft in 2025 and is drafted, she won’t suit up for Unrivaled until 2026.) Her new deal also makes her the first college athlete to receive ownership equity in a league.
UConn’s Paige Bueckers is signing an NIL deal with the new women’s basketball league Unrivaled that makes her the first NCAA athlete to receive ownership equity in a league. Bueckers is expected to play in Unrivaled, along with the WNBA, after her college career is over. pic.twitter.com/NkPImheHig
Paige Bueckers is signing a NIL deal with a new women's basketball league Unrivaled. She is the first ever NCAA athlete to sign a deal with ownership equity and is expected to play in the league, along with the WNBA, after her college career is over, per @ShamsCharania. pic.twitter.com/8ycsmpCC0p
