Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier was named the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year on Friday, but the four-time All-Star’s game expands well beyond that side of the floor.
Selected to the WNBA All-Defensive team twice, the six-year veteran may have been overdue to receive DPOY honors. This season, the 28-year-old held opponents to just 39.6 percent shooting while finishing second in the league in blocks per game (1.9).
Collier’s skill set in defense is well known, but a year after finishing with a career-high 21.5 points per game, she continues to showcase her value on offense.
The 28-year-old built off her breakout in 2023, averaging 20 or more points for the second time in her career. She ranked fifth in the league with 20.4 points a game, joining A’ja Wilson (2023), Sylvia Fowles (2011), Lauren Jackson (2007) and Sheryl Swoopes (2000) as the only players to average 20 or more points in a season and win the DPOY Award, per Stathead.
Meanwhile, Collier has picked up her game significantly during the postseason.
In the Lynx’s opening-round playoff series against the Connecticut Sun, she became the first player in WNBA history to tally at least 38 points, five rebounds and four assists in back-to-back postseason games. Collier capped off her history-making feat with another, scoring 42 points with five rebounds and four assists in Minnesota’s 101-88 Game 2 victory, recording only the second 40-point, four-rebound, four-assist playoff game ever (Maya Moore, 2015).
Collier’s DPOY Award is well-deserved recognition, but, paired with her offensive prowess, she’s quickly becoming one of the WNBA’s most complete players.
