What Napheesa Collier’s Injury Timeline Means for the Lynx’ Start to 2026 Season

Napheesa Collier won’t be healthy in time to start the 2026 WNBA season out with the Lynx, the team announced on Tuesday.

The five-time All-Star suffered an ankle injury during Game 3 of the Lynx–Mercury WNBA semifinal series in September last year. She was ruled out of the past season of Unrivaled, the women’s basketball league she helped create with Breanna Stewart, after undergoing surgery on her right ankle in January. On Tuesday, Minnesota shared that Collier underwent successful surgery on her left ankle on March 24.

However, the Lynx noted that Collier’s recovery is progressing further than they originally expected, which is a good sign. As of now, the forward is expected to return to on-court activities in early June, meaning she’ll likely miss at least the first month of the WNBA season. The Lynx open up their season on Sunday, May 10 vs. the Dream.

Collier became the third WNBA star to sign a supermax contract this month when she agreed to return to the Lynx on a one-year, $1.4 million contract. She’ll be an unrestricted free agent next offseason. Collier was the runner-up to the WNBA MVP award the past two seasons, finishing behind A’ja Wilson both times.

Lynx’s offseason moves so far

Minnesota has lost quite a few star players this offseason, which was shortened because of the collective bargaining agreements. In free agency (click here to catch up on all the major moves), the Lynx lost Alanna Smith and Jessica Shepard to the Wings, Natisha Hiedeman to the Storm and DiJonai Carrington to the Sky. The expansion draft saw three of Minnesota’s players leave: Bridget Carleton and Karlie Samuelson to the Fire, followed by Maria Kliundikova to the Tempo.

Minnesota did sign Natasha Howard from the Fever on a two-year, $1.4 million deal. Additionally, the Lynx landed Czechian players Eliska Hamzova and Emma Cechova, and later Nia Coffey from the Dream.

The Lynx decided to bring back some star players, too, starting with Kayla McBride on a two-year, lower max salary. Courtney Williams will also return on a two-year max contract. McBride and Williams are the only two members of the Lynx’s starting five from last season who will start right away when the 2026 season begins. Carleton left in the expansion draft, and Smith left in free agency. Collier will obviously miss some time with her injury recovery.

The team’s newest addition is Olivia Miles, the TCU guard who was drafted No. 2 overall last week. Miles averaged 19.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists with the Horned Frogs last season. She’s expected to become a key member of the Lynx roster.

Lynx projected 2026 starting lineup

Minnesota’s roster is stacked now even without Collier ready to play. The somewhat obvious two starters for this season include McBride and Williams—they’ll be the veteran Minnesota players to lead the newbies up north. Speaking of newbies, it’s definitely expected for rookie Miles to fit into the starting five right off the bat. Dorka Juhász is expected to return this season after taking last year off—she most recently was named the EuroLeague MVP. Howard, who started in 44 games for Indiana last season, should round out the starting five for the Lynx. She has plenty of experience leading a team as she’s consistently been a starter since 2018.

Projected Lynx starting lineup (without Collier):

Courtney Williams
Olivia Miles
Kayla McBride
Natasha Howard
Dorka Juhasz

When Collier does return to the court, Juhász will likely be demoted back to the bench. But, of course, it’s all dependent on how the players are performing at that point of the season.

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