The rest of the WNBA should’ve been worried about Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx long before the season started. Collier finished the 2024 season as the runner-up MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year. She led her team to the finals only to lose in a heartbreaking Game 5. Collier and the Lynx ended the 2024 season hungry for revenge.
Anyone who wasn’t worried about Minnesota before the start of the season certainly should be now that Napheesa Collier made a big statement in her first regular-season game. Collier scored 34 points in 32 minutes, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out four assists. The Wings had no answer for her.
Napheesa Collier already looks like one of the best players in the league this season
The season is still young, but Collier already looks like one of the top players in the league this year. Given her success last season and in Unrivaled, that is not very surprising.
A’ja Wilson may have won the MVP unanimously for her historic 2024 season, but that doesn’t diminish what Collier did on both ends of the floor last season. She carried that success over to Miami, winning the inaugural Unrivaled MVP award.
This may be her best season in the WNBA yet. If Collier continues to play this way, she should be the favorite for the MVP award, and the Lynx will have a solid chance to win it all.
While it was just one game, the rest of the league should definitely be worried after Collier’s season opener. There will be many more performances like this. Collier and the Lynx are back and ready to build on last season’s success.
Collier wasn’t the only Lynx player who showed out in the season opener
As good as Collier was in the Lynx’s season opener, she wasn’t the only player who put on a show. Courtney Williams was great, too. She scored 25 points, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out a game-high nine assists. Several of Collier’s baskets were the result of a pass from Williams.
Jessica Shepard also looked great, getting the start in Alanna Smith’s absence and finishing the game with 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Once the team is healthy, she will be the Lynx’s X-factor off the bench.
Diamond Miller, who struggled with injuries in her sophomore season, also looked good. She scored 13 points on efficient shooting, dished out three assists, and got two steals.
If this first game is any indication, the Lynx are well set up for another big season.