1. Napheesa Collier, nicknamed "Phee", is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association.
54 Facts About Napheesa Collier
1. 2.
Napheesa Collier 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.
3.
Napheesa Collier is currently a vice president on the Women's National Basketball Players Association executive committee.
4.
When Napheesa Collier wanted to play basketball, the only Amateur Athletic Union 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.
5.
Napheesa Collier's family moved to St Louis after her mother's job in hospital administration called for a transfer to the larger city.
6.
Napheesa Collier 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.
7.
Napheesa Collier received scholarship offers from colleges around the country, but rather than playing for the school that had just won three straight championships, she was determined to play for a team that could beat them instead.
8.
Out of curiosity, Napheesa 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.
9.
Napheesa Collier reached the 1000 rebound mark in the game against Louisville, and reached 2000 points in the very next game against Cincinnati.
10.
Napheesa Collier was a member of the 2016 Connecticut Huskies National Champion team and reached the Final Four in each of her four years at UConn.
11.
Napheesa Collier received the Katrina McClain Award for Power Forward of the Year from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in her senior season.
12.
Napheesa Collier was an AP 1st Team All-American in both her senior and sophomore seasons, and 2nd Team in her junior season.
13.
Napheesa Collier was selected by the Minnesota Lynx as the 6th overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft.
14.
Napheesa Collier was asked to play small forward, then power forward, and later, small forward.
15.
Napheesa Collier played 33.3 minutes per game, the highest among all WNBA players.
16.
Napheesa Collier is the second rookie in WNBA history to record 400 points, 200 rebounds and 60 steals.
17.
Napheesa Collier is the fourth player to have a season with 400 points, 200 rebounds, 75 assists, 50 steals, 25 blocks and 25 made three-pointers.
18.
Napheesa Collier was voted to the 2019 WNBA All-Rookie Team, and made an All-Star as an injury replacement for A'ja Wilson.
19.
Napheesa Collier was chosen ESPNW, Associated Press, and WNBA Rookie of the Year.
20.
Napheesa Collier was selected for the All-WNBA Second Team and the All-Defensive Second Team for the first time.
21.
Napheesa Collier was on maternity leave for most of the 2022 season due to the birth of her daughter in May 2022.
22.
Napheesa Collier returned to the Lynx in August 2022 and played four games.
23.
Napheesa Collier stated she wanted to be able to return to play once more with Sylvia Fowles, who retired from the Lynx and the WNBA after the 2022 season.
24.
Napheesa Collier returned in 2023 stronger and had an MVP-caliber season for the Lynx in her first as the team's new captain.
25.
Napheesa Collier returned to the All-Star game for her third appearance.
26.
Napheesa Collier was selected for the All-WNBA First Team for the first time.
27.
Napheesa Collier was selected for the WNBA All-Defensive Second Team for the second time.
28.
Napheesa Collier was named to the Minnesota Lynx All-25 Team for the team's 25th anniversary.
29.
Napheesa Collier won the MVP award when the Lynx won the 2024 WNBA Commissioner's Cup championship on June 25,2024, against the New York Liberty.
30.
Napheesa Collier became only the third WNBA player to ever individually outrebound the entire opposing team.
31.
Napheesa Collier was later named the Western Conference Player of the Month for August 2024, which was the first time Collier received this award.
32.
Napheesa Collier was one of two players to be selected unanimously.
33.
On September 29,2024, before the Lynx began their semifinals series against the Connecticut Sun, Napheesa Collier was named the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year and named to the WNBA All-Defensive First Team.
34.
Napheesa Collier was the runner up for the WNBA MVP award with 66 out of 67 votes for second place in the shadow of A'ja Wilson's historic season.
35.
Napheesa Collier was the first WNBA player to score 35+ points in consecutive postseason games.
36.
In Game 1 of the finals against the New York Liberty, Napheesa Collier became the first WNBA player to get 20+ points, 8+ rebounds, 6+ blocks, and 3+ steals in a playoff game.
37.
Napheesa Collier achieved her record in 10 games, while it took Taurasi 11 games to set hers.
38.
Napheesa Collier broke Tamika Catchings' 2009 record and now holds the record for the most steals and blocks in postseason play with a total of 48.
39.
Napheesa Collier played for Lattes-Montpellier in France in 2021, where she was part of the team that won the Coupe De France Finale in Paris.
40.
In 2023, Napheesa Collier played for Fenerbahce in the Turkish Super League on a short term contract, along with her Lynx teammate, Kayla McBride.
41.
Napheesa Collier was part of the team that won the club's second straight EuroLeague Women championship in April 2024.
42.
Napheesa Collier had 33 points in the final, which was the second highest ever.
43.
In July 2023, Napheesa Collier announced she and Breanna Stewart were forming a new professional women's league, Unrivaled, to give WNBA players an option to play in the W's off season and have an alternative to playing overseas to earn money.
44.
On July 10,2024, Napheesa Collier was formally announced to appear and play in the inaugural season of Unrivaled.
45.
On February 14,2025, Napheesa Collier won the Unrivaled 1x1 tournament and the $200,000 prize.
46.
Napheesa Collier's win meant each of her Lunar Owls teammates got $10,000.
47.
In June 2021, Napheesa Collier was named to the United States women's Olympic basketball team to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics, marking her first selection to an Olympic roster.
48.
Napheesa Collier was again named to the women's Olympic roster to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
49.
In November 2021, they announced Napheesa Collier was pregnant with their first child, a baby girl.
50.
On May 25,2022, Napheesa Collier gave birth to their daughter, Mila Sarah Bazzell.
51.
Napheesa Collier became the first WNBA player to join EcoAthletes to work on climate action.
52.
On October 4,2024, a video showed Napheesa Collier talking with a fan using ASL.
53.
Napheesa Collier is the granddaughter of Gershon Napheesa Collier, a Sierra Leone Creole lawyer, former ambassador to the United Nations, former ambassador to the United States, and, briefly, chief justice of Sierra Leone.
54.
Napheesa Collier's father was briefly a professional boxer in five fights.