Cheryl Reeve did not know what the result of Game 2 of the WNBA playoffs series on Sunday in Connecticut was going to be. But the Lynx coach and general manager was sure of one thing: Napheesa Collier was going to play well.
Yes, that’s a sturdy limb to stand on, but Reeve was indeed correct, as Collier went off for 26 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and a block to power the Lynx to an upset victory that forced a decisive Game 3 in Minnesota on Wednesday to determine the outcome of the first-round series.
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The production came all while pushing through a pinched nerve that only briefly sidelined her in the game. That’s what the 26-year-old does.
The main reason for Reeve’s confidence in Collier is simple.
“She’s awfully good,” the coach said. “Napheesa Collier is a helluva basketball player. So you can’t hold those kinds of players down.”
But also, when adversity rings, Collier is the first to answer the call. That, Reeve noted, is “who Phee is.”
“Since the first time she stepped foot into a Lynx gym, what we learned about her is just her emotional maturity,” Reeve said. “She’s the same all the time, whether we’re in difficult moments, great moments, I’m yelling at her, I’m not yelling at her, whatever it is, she’s the same.”
Reeve once thanked Collier’s parents for the job they did in raising the star forward. The Lynx certainly have needed every bit of what Collier has offered up this season.
The former No. 6 overall draft pick was a second-team All-WNBA player during the bubble season, but she entered a higher stratosphere this summer. Collier averaged 21.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while entering the MVP conversation. In the process, she elevated a Lynx team many assumed would “tank” at the season’s outset to now being one win away from the WNBA semifinals.
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She did that with her play, yes, but also with her leadership. Minnesota starts two rookies. It has others handling larger roles than they’ve been accustomed to at this level. Collier, along with the help of sidekick Kayla McBride, has guided everyone along throughout the season, piloting the Lynx through sometimes turbulent airwaves, including an 0-6 start this season.
Every time, the Lynx have emerged out the other side as a better team. The same was true in Game 2 of this first-round series. A big reason for that, again, was Collier, who rebounded from a 12-point showing in Game 1 to dominate Minnesota’s elimination game. After that Game 1 outing, Reeve surmised Collier would be the one who most badly wanted to get back on the court. The coach wasn’t shy about noting the Lynx needed more from Collier, and Collier delivered.
Collier is the type of leader — and best player — from which you can expect and demand much. No one was more disappointed in her playoff opener than Collier herself.
“I know what my job is, and when you feel like you didn’t do your job and you let your team down, of course you want to go out there and prove yourself to them and to yourself again,” Collier said. “So I wanted to get out there again.”
With Sylvia Fowles retired, this has been Collier’s first season as the Lynx’s true alpha. It’s a role that inherently comes with enough pressure to reduce some to rubble. But it’s only made Collier better.
“I think just coming in with the mentality that my role is a little bit different — it’s a little bit bigger this year,” Collier said. “And that’s a great responsibility to have.”
Because with the bigger responsibility also comes a louder voice. The Lynx truly feels like her team, and the team has been better for it. Because Collier’s voice is such a force for good.
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She’s played a big role in establishing this specific team’s culture and the players’ love for one another. The relationships formed have served as a strong base for a team that thrives off accountability. Just as Collier expects herself to show up and perform on a nightly basis, she demands the same from her teammates — and has the highest confidence they, too, will deliver. And they’ll do it for one another, just as she does it for them.
“When we were 0-6, I never doubted us for a second. I knew we had a lot of young people, a lot of new people, but the chemistry we had off the court, we just needed to translate it to on the court,” Collier said. “It took us a couple of games to get there, and we did have highs and lows throughout the season, but I never doubted us, because the will we have to play for each other as a team is so strong, so we can overcome a lot with that mentality.”
After the Game 2 victory, Reeve discussed Minnesota’s current circumstance — being a win away from a playoff series victory over an elite opponent — through the lens of Collier’s career.
“Phee has an opportunity to put our team in a position to win her first playoff series. We’ve won single-elimination games in her young career, but not yet a playoff series,” Reeve said. “So that’s the next evolution, and I’m thrilled with our team that we’ve put ourselves in that position to have a chance to give Phee that opportunity to take that next step.”
It was a fitting statement, because this season truly has been about Collier and her development, not just as a player, but a leader. The massive steps she has taken in both categories only cement the fact that the Lynx can indeed rise to championship-level competition again — if not this season (and it may indeed be this season), then soon.
And it can do so with, and because of, their superstar forward.
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