Playing in the FIBA World Cup right before the WNBA playoffs was a risk for most players involved. It added extra workload for players like Breanna Stewart and Rhyne Howard, who already played a ton of minutes in the regular season, and it came with a big injury risk. Alanna Smith, for example, suffered an injury while playing for the Australian national team, and her playoff status is still uncertain.
Napheesa Collier was in a different position than most players. She missed the start of the season and played just 12 games before the World Cup break. While she looked pretty good back on the court, she needed to catch up with the rest of the league in terms of conditioning and keep playing. Playing for Team USA at the World Cup was the perfect opportunity to do so, and Cheryl Reeve’s evaluation suggests that Collier’s plan to make the competition part of her return to 100% worked out well.
When asked if Collier had looked different in her first practice back, Reeve said, “I think she did. It’s what? Three weeks? You know, continuing to feel better, feel stronger. I think she’ll tell you. I think it was really good for her, and she looked really good today. Moving well, and so that’s what we anticipated.”
With just four games left in the regular season and a big playoff run looming, that’s good news for Minnesota.
This may be Napheesa Collier’s biggest playoff run yet
Napheesa Collier has only missed the playoffs once in her career when she was on maternity leave in 2022. But it wasn’t until 2023 that she reached All-WNBA First Team level, and even then the Lynx were eliminated in the first round by the Connecticut Sun.
In 2024, Collier and Minnesota finally became championship contenders, finishing second in the regular-season standings and taking down the Phoenix Mercury and Connecticut Sun on the way to the finals. They lost the finals to the New York Liberty, but soared right back to the top of the league in 2025. Collier suffered an injury in the semifinals, and the Lynx ultimately didn’t have enough to beat the Mercury without her.
That loss was followed by an exodus of talent. Bridget Carleton and Maria Kliundikova were selected in the expansion draft, while Alanna Smith, Natisha Hiedeman, Jessica Shepard, and DiJonai Carrington all left in free agency. Due to some poor decisions by the Chicago Sky’s front office, the Lynx ended up with the second-overall pick and drafted Olivia Miles. Still, they were expected to take a step back. They didn’t, retaining their hold on the No. 1 seed with a 31-9 record.
This will be Collier’s third chance to lead her team to a championship. Losing the first time you reach the finals is an experience pretty much every great team goes through. Not reaching your goals because of a serious injury also isn’t uncommon in the WNBA. But eventually you just have to get over the hump or face some uncomfortable questions.
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