Napheesa Collier

Napheesa Collier (/nəˈfiːsə ˈkɒljər/ nə-FEE-sə KOL-yər; born September 23, 1996), nicknamed "Phee", is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for the Lunar Owls of Unrivaled. Collier is also a founder of the Unrivaled basketball league along with Breanna Stewart. After playing college basketball for the University of Connecticut Huskies, Collier was drafted by the Lynx with the 6th overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft. She has won two Olympic gold medals playing on the United States women's national basketball team in the Tokyo 2020 and the Paris 2024 games. She is also a vice president on the Women's National Basketball Players Association executive committee.

When Collier wanted to play basketball, the only Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team in Jefferson City wouldn't let her try out because they were told the team was full, so her parents started a new team, the Lady Warriors, and recruited girls from other nearby towns. The Lady Warriors went on to compete in the national AAU tournament. The team that originally denied Collier a chance to try out later offered her a spot, but she remained with the Lady Warriors.

Collier met fellow basketball player Maya Moore, who is also from Jefferson City, Missouri, and watched Moore play at the University of Connecticut and later for the Minnesota Lynx. After the Lynx retired Moore's jersey on August 24, 2024, Cheryl Reeve said, "The impact of Maya Moore is that Napheesa Collier got to dream of one day being like Maya Moore."

In her freshman year, Collier played for Jefferson City High School in Jefferson City, Missouri, where she averaged 17.9 points and 9.8 rebounds. In her sophomore year, she transferred to Incarnate Word Academy, where she averaged a high of 24.6 points and 12 rebounds. Her family moved to St. Louis after her mother's job in hospital administration called for a transfer to the larger city. Collier also competed on her high school track team. She was the 2013 and 2015 Gatorade Missouri Player of the Year, one of five finalists for the 2015 Naismith Award as national Player of the Year and Women's Basketball Coaches Association High School All-American.

Collier received scholarship offers from colleges around the country, but rather than playing for the school that had just won three straight championships (UConn), she was determined to play for a team that could beat them instead. Out of curiosity, Collier visited UConn's campus anyway, and after witnessing the camaraderie among players, she chose to join the UConn team for her freshman year in 2015.

At the end of her time at UConn, Collier ranked 3rd all-time in career scoring, 4th in rebounds, and 7th in blocks. She ranks 4th in most consecutive starts at UConn, with 112, had 49 career double-doubles, and averaged a double-double (20.8/10.8) her senior season. She became the fifth player in the exclusive 2000/1000 club, joining UConn greats Maya Moore, Tina Charles, Breanna Stewart and Rebecca Lobo. Collier reached the 1000 rebound mark in the game against Louisville, and reached 2000 points in the very next game against Cincinnati. She was a member of the 2016 Connecticut Huskies National Champion team and reached the Final Four in each of her four years at UConn. She received the Katrina McClain Award for Power Forward of the Year from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in her senior season. She was an AP 1st Team All-American in both her senior and sophomore seasons, and 2nd Team in her junior season. Collier has the most rebounds (411) in a season at UConn, and finished 2nd with most points in a season at 792 points, trailing only Maya Moore. As a duo, Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson scored the most points in UConn WBB history (4688), topping B. Stewart and M. Jefferson, two teammates from their freshman season.

Collier was selected by the Minnesota Lynx as the 6th overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft. She was asked to play small forward, then power forward, and later, small forward. In her first WNBA game, Collier scored 27 points against the Chicago Sky, the second-highest debut ever for any rookie (after Candace Parker). She played 33.3 minutes per game, the highest among all WNBA players.

She is the second rookie (after Tamika Catchings) in WNBA history to record 400 points, 200 rebounds and 60 steals. Collier is the fourth player (after Maya Moore, Catchings, and Sheryl Swoopes) to have a season with 400 points, 200 rebounds, 75 assists, 50 steals, 25 blocks and 25 made three-pointers. Collier was voted to the 2019 WNBA All-Rookie Team, and made an All-Star as an injury replacement for A'ja Wilson.