Lynx’s Napheesa Collier downplays MVP importance: "Just focused on us getting a championship.”

Nearly every single game in the past year coincided with Napheesa Collier accomplishing another milestone.

She led the Minnesota Lynx to the WNBA Finals in a competitive five-game series before ultimately falling short to the New York Liberty. She won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award. She helped the U.S. Women’s Olympic team to a gold-medal finish in the Paris Games.

She sparked buzz with Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 offseason women’s basketball league that she cofounded, both by winning the one-on-one bracket and collecting the league MVP award.

No wonder Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve sounded bullish on how Collier’s recent accomplishments will carry over into the WNBA’s 2025 season.

“Next step for her is obviously to have a season worthy of being MVP,” Reeve said. “I think that’s what she’s capable of doing. We all know that. Our fortunes hinge on her ability to do that.”

Collier has already made four WNBA All-Star appearances in her six-year career. So what would an MVP campaign look like in her seventh season?

“It’s got to be on both ends of the floor, for sure,” Reeve said. “That’s why I thought she was so impactful last year with getting Defensive Player of the Year. Honestly, if she’s probably remotely close to last year and maybe other players aren’t other worldly in what they do. Maybe a tick better than last year should get it done.”

Collier spoke to a small handful of media outlets, including Sportskeeda, ahead of the Lynx’s recent win over the Los Angeles Sparks. Collier addressed the early MVP discussion, building off of last year’s finals run, Unrivaled’s inaugural success and recently signing with ‘Jordan Brand.’

Editor’s note: The following group interview has been edited and condensed.

How do you evaluate your game to where you were earlier in your career?

Collier: “I think a big thing is just experience. Being in the league for so long, you learn how to play against professional athletes. That’s done a lot. Then every year, I try to pick something to get better at. My ball handling has gotten better. So has my 3-point percentage. I try to get better every year.”

Cheryl talked that with how impressive you’ve been that this could be an MVP year for you. What do you think?

Collier: “I’m really just focused on team stuff. We obviously got so close to the championship last year. That’s my No. 1 goal. I think all of the other stuff comes after that. I’m really just focused on us getting a championship.”

What do you take away both from the Lynx’s deep playoff run to the Finals and then coming up short against the Liberty?

Collier: “I think our chemistry was our No. 1 thing last year. That was something that we hit on right away. The fact that we have almost our whole team back is amazing. Then we added some really great pieces like Karlie [Samuelson]. So I hope we can build and get it done this year. I think we have all the tools. We just have to go out there and execute.”

How do you think playing in Unrivaled will impact your game this season?

Collier: “I made sure I was able to get those reps in. You touch the ball at Unrivaled in almost every play. So it allows you to get those in-game reps in. I felt like I got better really fast.”

What do you think Unrivaled has done?

Collier: “I’m just really proud. The reason that we created Unrivaled is to grow the women’s game. Do what it takes to grow women’s athletes and pay them and train what it takes to be a women’s athlete. I think we’ve done that this first year. So hopefully the sky is the limit. We want to keep impacting other salaries. There’s a bright future.

"I think it’s just amazing how quickly fans embraced what it was. Obviously, that’s what you hope for. But you never know what’s going to happen. I think the way people got behind us right away and supported us as players and supported the league in general, it was amazing to see.”

What do you expect it will be in year two and beyond?

Collier: “Hopefully growth. We plan to travel this year on the road for a couple of games. So we get to come see people and meet them where they’re at. Hopefully we get to improve the fan experience when they come to our arena and make it as good as possible.”

With you signing with ‘Jordan Brand,’ what do you think MJ would say about your game if he was watching you?

Collier: “I just signed, so I hope he would be proud. I think it would be my footwork. I’ve modeled a lot of my game after MJ and Kobe [Bryant] because of their footwork. I admired them so much. So I hope he would be proud of that.”

What’s your all-time UConn team?

Collier: “My all-time actual team would be the 2016 championship. It was a great lineup. But if I had to pick five, I would pick Diana [Taurasi], Sue [Bird], Maya [Moore], you have to put me on there and Breanna Stewart, our Unrivaled co-founder.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.