On Sunday, the WNBA announced that Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier has won the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Award. A'ja Wilson, who won the MVP, finished second in voting. Wilson was a candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year Award and some fans were surprised to see Collier win it. Others, though, were confident in Collier.
Collier and Wilson are both focused on preparing for the WNBA semifinals at the moment. The Lynx will play the Connecticut Sun in the first game of their semifinals series, while the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty will also go head-to-head. There is a chance that Collier's Lynx and Wilson's Aces will end up playing in the WNBA Finals.
Wilson unquestionably had a tremendous season. After all, there is a reason why she won the MVP. However, Collier's contributions on the defensive end of the floor cannot be ignored. Overall, Collier enjoyed a great season and she earned serious MVP consideration as well, as she finished second in voting.
Napheesa Collier leads the Lynx
Collier averaged 20.6 points per game on 49.2 percent field goal shooting in 2024. She also recorded 9.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per outing.
Opponents shot under 40 percent against Collier, per The Sporting News. Collier finished the regular season tied for second in steals per outing. She was also tied for sixth in blocks per game. Collier's all-around impact on the defensive end of the floor was crucial.
In all reality, Collier made a serious case for winning the MVP this season. Wilson enjoyed a historic season and ultimately emerged as the favorite, but Collier would have won the award in most other years. Still, finishing second in MVP voting and earning the Defensive Player of the Year Award is certainly not a bad year by any means. Of course, she would love to end the '24 campaign with a Lynx championship.
Lynx looking to clinch WNBA Finals appearance
Minnesota played well throughout the entire 2024 season. The Lynx and Sun series projects to be competitive. Connecticut has some question marks, but they feature more than enough talent to make things interesting. Nevertheless, the Lynx should be able to take care of business if they play up to their full potential.
Game 1 of the Sun-Lynx semifinals series is scheduled for Sunday night at 8:30 PM EST in Minnesota.