Napheesa Collier

Napheesa Collier boasts an impressive career in professional basketball, currently playing for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Her journey began as a key player for the Connecticut Huskies National Champion team in 2016. After her senior season at UConn, she received the distinguished Katrina McClain Award for Power Forward of the Year from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. This success led to her selection as the 6th overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft by the Minnesota Lynx, and she did not disappoint, garnering the title of 2019 WNBA Rookie of the Year by ESPNW, Associated Press, and the WNBA itself.

Collier's achievements didn't stop there. Between 2019 and 2024, she was recognized as a 4× WNBA All-Star and earned accolades, such as the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2024. This same year, she led her team to victory in the WNBA Commissioner's Cup, earning the title of Commissioner's Cup MVP. Additionally, her prowess on the court extended internationally with victories in the EuroLeague and the FIBA Europe SuperCup Women's championships in 2024, where she was also named MVP. In the same year, she set a new record for the most points in a single postseason with 249 points and became the first WNBA player to score 35+ points in consecutive postseason games.

Off the court, Collier serves as a vice president on the Women's National Basketball Players Association executive committee and co-hosted a podcast with A'ja Wilson called "Tea with A & Phee." She also co-founded a 3x3 women's basketball league with Breanna Stewart in 2023 called Unrivaled, set to start in 2025. Notably, Collier's dedication to the sport also includes international representation, having won two Olympic gold medals with the United States women's national basketball team in the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris games.