Napheesa Collier

Napheesa Collier is a professional WNBA player, who plays as the Power Forward for the Minnesota Lynx. She was drafted 6th overall in the 2019 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx, where she has stayed as of July 2024. Collier most recently won the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup in 2024 and was named the Commissioner’s Cup MVP as well. She is a 4-time WNBA All-Star and was of 2 All-Defensive 2nd teams. She also won the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2019 and got her first All-WNBA 2nd-team selection the following year.

Collier is also a NCAA Champion, winning the coveted title in 2016 when she was playing for the University of Connecticut. Her college accolades also include 2 WBCA Coaches All-American nominations (2017 and 2019). 2017 was also the year she was nominated as a USBWA All-American.

In 2020, Collier started a podcast with fellow WNBA player A’ja Wilson called “Tea with A and Phee”, which was also later picked up by Just Women’s Sports in 2021. Apart from this, she has also devised ways of facilitating her fellow WNBA players by starting her own league, Unrivalled League, which will operate in the WNBA off-season, as an alternative for WNBA players to earn money in overseas without having to go outside the USA.

Napheesa Collier Early Life

Napheesa Collier was born on 23rd September 1996 in O’Fallon, Missouri. She played many sports in her childhood, including track and field, soccer and basketball. Even though Collier describes herself as being a “girly girl”, she was still good at sports in general, as per The Players Tribune, and when she was rejected by a team during their try-outs, the Colliers just went and created their own team and named it The Lady Warriors, and soon they were competing in AAU tournaments.

Napheesa Collier Personal Life

According to an article written by Collier herself in The Player’s Tribune, Collier has always been a bookworm and loves to read mystery novels by Ruth Ware. She even goes on to say that she would have loved to have been paid to just read these novels!

Collier was also one of the most prominent track and field athletes in high school and later she committed to basketball and went to the University of Connecticut. According to Collier, talent alone does not guarantee success, but consistent work and hunger is also paramount to become successful. This translates very well to what we see on the court from her.

Napheesa Collier Family Background

Napheesa Collier was born to parents Gamal and Sarah Collier. Her father immigrated to the US from Sierra Leone, where his father was an ambassador to the United States. Collier’s mother is of Caucasian descent. She has a brother, Kai, who is 15 months younger than her and played football at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. She and her brother used to be very competitive growing up and often played football with their father.

Napheesa Collier husband

Napheesa Collier is currently married to Alex Bazzell, as of July 2024. Bazzell is a professional NBA/WNBA trainer and skills coach. He has trained the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Trae Young and Kyrie Irving. Bazzell cites his inspiration to be the late great Kobe “Bean” Bryant, whose tireless work ethic made a lasting impression on Bazzell, a trait he carries to this day.

Napheesa Collier Kids

Napheesa Collier has one girl with her husband Alex Bazzell, who was born in May 2022 and was named Mila Sarah Bazzell.

Napheesa Collier Social Media

Napheesa Collier is fairly active on social media. She has an Instagram account with the handle @napheesa24 and also an X (Formerly Twitter) account with the username @PHEEsespieces.

Napheesa Collier Brand Ambassador

Napheesa Collier has been a pioneer in terms of creating opportunities for her fellow WNBA players, as she has partnered with her UConn teammate, Breanna Stewart to create a new off-season league, the Unrivalled League, which will run for 10 weeks and feature a 3x3 or 1v1 format. This will be a great opportunity for the WNBA players to earn some money during the off-season, where traditionally they had to play overseas to meet their financial needs. With the arrival of the Unrivalled League, WNBA players will be more poised to play in the off-season without much trouble, while also ensuring good pay, which is an innovative solution to a very old problem.

Apart from this, Collier also has a show with A’ja Wilson, “Tea with A and Phee”, which was started in 2020 and was later picked up by Just Women’s Sports in 2021.

Napheesa Collier Career Stats

Napheesa Collier has been playing for the Minnesota Lynx since she was drafted and averaged 13.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in her 2019 WNBA rookie season. Since then, she has gradually improved on her stats year-by-year showing more polish in her game every passing season. She averaged 16.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in the 2021 season, which was more or less on par with her 2020 stats. Her best season statistically, however, came in the 2023 season where she scored 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, right after she came back from her maternity leave in 2022.

Napheesa Collier Achievements

Commissioner's Cup 2024

Napheesa Collier won the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup with the Minnesota Lynx.

All-Star selections

Collier is a 4-time WNBA All-Star. She was nominated for this in the years 2019, 2020, 2023 and 2024 as well.

Euro league champion

Collier also won the Euro League in 2024, playing for Fenerbahce and was an important part of the core team, averaging 18.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game for the entire series.

Turkish Super League champion

Collier also won the Turkish Super League in 2024, which got her the Triple Crown honours, which is when a player wins their nation’s top-tier competition, primary national domestic cup as well as the top-tier European-wide continental competition in the same season.

FIBA Europe Supercup Women’s champion

She won the Supercup in 2023 and was also named as the tournament MVP.

NCAA title

Collier won an NCAA women’s basketball title in 2016 with the University of Connecticut.

McDonald’s All-American

Collier is also a McDonald’s All-American, nominated in 2015 for her splendid performance in her high school (Jefferson City High School).

Napheesa Collier Contract

Napheesa Collier is currently on a 3-year $552,516 deal with the Minnesota Lynx, with an average salary of $184,172, which was signed in 2023 and will last till 2025. She will earn a base salary of $208,219 in 2024, with a cap hit of $208,219.

Prior to this, she was on her rookie deal with the Minnesota Lynx, which was a 4-year $220,235 contract, with an average salary of $55,059.