Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx have been nearly unbeatable since the Olympic break.
The Lynx star, who helped the United States win its eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal, has been averaging 20.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists and the team has won 13 of 14 since the Paris Games to surge into second place in the standings.
The Minnesota Lynx clinched the No. 2 seed with their 78-76 victory over Connecticut Tuesday. Minnesota is the hottest team right. They’ll face Phoenix in the opening round of the playoffs which begin Sunday.
Collier’s also been an anchor on the defensive end as the Lynx have only given up an average of 78 points in those games. In the last five contests, including a huge win over the New York Liberty on Sunday, and Connecticut on Tuesday, Minnesota hasn’t allowed a team to reach 80 points.
“Each year she knows that if she plays like an MVP that our team has a chance to be highly successful,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. “That’s what we’ve seen this year. Both sides, her impact defensively each night there are different ways you can use her. She’s defensive player of the year and MVP, that’s why were are sitting where we are.”
In any other year where A’ja Wilson wasn’t putting up historic numbers, Collier would be a front runner for the league’s top award. Unfortunately for the Lynx star, Wilson has been truly amazing, becoming the first player in WNBA history to score more than 1,000 points in a season and averaging 27.0 points — the highest in league history.
That doesn’t take away from what Collier and the Lynx have done. Coming into the season, Minnesota wasn’t talked about much as one of the elite teams in the league like Las Vegas, New York or Seattle. The Lynx have broken through, winning the Commissioner’s Cup earlier in the year and now finishing as one of the top three teams in the regular season.
“We have a strong, strong feel for who we are and if I could describe our team, I would say everyone is comfortable in their own skin and we all accept each other for who we are and that just gives us all confidence,” Reeve said.
Minnesota will host No. 7-seeded Phoenix on Sunday when the best-of-three playoffs open. Time for that game is still TBD.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.