Napheesa Collier Return Could Give Lynx Missing Piece for Championship Pursuit
Napheesa Collier finished second behind A’ja Wilson in MVP voting for two years in a row. She was also named 2024 Defensive Player of the Year. She is one of the best two-way players in the WNBA and the Minnesota Lynx’s key to true championship contention, while Olivia Miles is still in the early stages of her career.
Losing Collier to double ankle surgery while Bridget Carleton, Alanna Smith, Jessica Shepard, Natisha Hiedeman, DiJonai Carrington, and Maria Kliundikova all found new homes in the expansion draft or free agency threatened to ruin the Lynx’s 2026 season. It didn’t. Miles came into the W ready for the moment, and Nia Coffey and Natasha Howard were perfect free-agency additions for Cheryl Reeve’s system. Minnesota sits comfortably at the top of the standings without its veteran superstar.
Now, Collier and Dorka Juhasz are close to returning to the court. They “were in full practice” yesterday, according to Collier, who spoke to the media after practice, per a video on the Lynx’s YouTube channel. Their return will bolster the Lynx’s frontcourt depth and give them a veteran MVP candidate to pair with Miles. Collier’s return is definitely the bigger deal, but Juhasz could be a real X-Factor for the Lynx. She is, after all, fresh off a EuroLeague MVP season.
Getting Collier back could tip the scales in what promises to be a thrilling championship race with the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty—as well as maybe the Golden State Valkyries, Atlanta Dream, and Indiana Fever—in the Lynx’s favor if she can play like her MVP-level self in time for the playoffs. Miles has been phenomenal all season long, but the playoffs are a different beast, especially if you’re competing with star-studded teams full of championship veterans.
The Lynx haven’t played the Liberty yet, but they lost a close game to the Aces earlier this season, and Las Vegas is the team to beat this season. It’s difficult to envision a team with little frontcourt depth behind Coffey and Howard and a rookie as its best player beating an Aces team led by A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, and Chelsea Gray in a playoff series. Having a veteran superstar like Collier, who has been in the finals before, alongside Miles and a deeper frontcourt, could make all the difference.
There will be an adjustment period, but the Lynx have their eyes set on a championship
The Lynx have a good thing going with their starting lineup of Olivia Miles, Courtney Williams, Kayla McBride, Nia Coffey, and Natasha Howard. So, there will be an adjustment period when Collier steps back into the starting power forward spot. While she’s very familiar with Williams and McBride, she has never played with Miles, Howard, or Coffey.
“There’s just players that I haven’t played with before,” Collier said in the practice media availability. “So, I think just naturally there’s that learning curve, but that’s why I’m in practice right now, so we can try to work out all those kinks.”
But the good thing is Collier and the team don’t need to be at 100% right now. They are only one game ahead of the Aces, but have a nice cushion between themselves and the Valkyries, Dream, and Liberty. So, they can focus on getting Collier back to her best self and building chemistry over the next three months to ensure they are in the best possible position to make a deep playoff run and get another shot at the championship that has eluded them over the past few seasons.
“I think the goal we come in with every season is to win a championship, and I feel like we have the pieces to do that,” Collier said.
If Collier can play as she has in the past few seasons, the Lynx are one step closer to achieving that goal.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.