Napheesa Collier Has One Thing on Her Mind Since Returning to the Lynx

Napheesa Collier cut right to the chase.

It was two days after the Lynx forward put up a double-double in her first game back from the longest rehab stint of her career, a 300-day stretch away from basketball that saw her undergo two ankle surgeries. Amidst WNBA All-Star festivities in Chicago, Collier was asked how she defines success in this unique year of her career.

She kept it short.

“Championship,” Collier said.

Every player in the WNBA is fighting for a title, but for Collier, it’s become personal. Minnesota’s championship loss in Game 5 of the 2024 Finals to the Liberty is still fresh. A promising season last year came to a halt after Collier’s ankle injury ultimately led to her team’s semifinals loss to the Mercury.

The Lynx now find themselves in a similar situation as last year—the regular-season leaders, holding a 25–7 record with 12 games remaining before the postseason. But Collier knows that it is going to take more, if the last two seasons are any indication.

“We’ve been here before,” Collier told Sports Illustrated at a Dick’s Sporting Goods panel during All-Star weekend. “I think with the experience, and we do have a lot of new people, but with our coaching staff and Courtney [Williams] and Mac [Kayla McBride] and myself, we’ve been here in this position for the past two seasons, making it pretty far, and so I think we know what it takes.”

It’s a hurdle that Collier has yet to overcome in her career. The Lynx have thus far surpassed preseason expectations, especially without Collier in the lineup. Now the forward is joining a roster that thrived in her stead, standing 2.5 games ahead of the reigning champ Aces.

The Lynx have been rejuvenated in part by No. 2 pick Olivia Miles, who leads the team with 19.8 points per game. Collier gives credit to the Rookie of the Year favorite for guiding the Lynx to the top of the league.

“We’re not where we are without Liv,” Collier says. “She’s an extraordinary player, not just a rookie. Her court vision, like the talent that she has, is really generational, and so I have been really super excited to continue to play with her on the court.”

The two have already thrived alongside one another in a short period, debunking any hesitancy of Collier’s return disrupting the chemistry of a No. 1 team. She’s confident she can only add to what the team has accomplished without her.

“We just have a lot of new people, so you never know how that’s going to go,” Collier says. “But our Lynx offense is made so that it’s not about one person, it’s about the collective, and that’s why we’re so hard to beat because you can’t just shut down one person and then we lose.”

When it comes to rehabbing two separate ankle procedures (one per leg, 2.5 months apart), the four-time All-Star says that she relied heavily on her teammates and friends in the league to keep her spirits up.

Among that group is Liberty forward and fellow Unrivaled co-founder Breanna Stewart, who is thrilled to see Collier back.

“It’s amazing that she’s back on the court,” Stewart told SI. “I know that it’s been a long time coming for her, so I’m really proud of her patience, but the work can’t be denied, and you guys saw it when she stepped out on the court.”

And of course there’s her daughter, Mila, who turned four this past May. Collier returned to the court just 74 days after giving birth to Mila in 2022, which was the longest absence of her WNBA career prior to 2025.

Through the recent challenges, Collier’s daughter kept her grounded.

“I think my daughter was a big one because she doesn’t care about any of this stuff, and so it’s really refreshing,” Collier says. “At the end of the day I’m still her mom, and so she really just gave me perspective on everything, so she was definitely one of my rocks throughout this.”

During the time away, Collier learned to appreciate her time on the court even more. What was a promising season last year was taken away by two ankle injuries and a lengthy recovery process.

She always kept the image of herself on a basketball court as motivation to return to the form that saw her finish top-two in MVP voting in back-to-back seasons.

“I’ve never been without [basketball] for this long, so this rehab process, I think it just made me miss it even more,” Collier says. “And so just really not make me take anything for granted because you never know what's going to happen tomorrow.”

The journey back to the court hasn’t been easy, and neither will a championship run. With each season building upon the last, Collier is anxious to see the Lynx reach the mountaintop.

And she’s confident the time has come.

“I think we have the right pieces,” Collier says. “We have amazing players. We have the best rookie in the league, and so I think we have all the tools we need to make it all the way, to take it all the way.”

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