Napheesa Collier Earns Kia WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month Award

Add another trophy to the overflowing case. Napheesa Collier nabs an award for her basketball dominance in addition to her work off the court.

This may come to a shock to you, but the Minnesota Lynx are very good at basketball. In fact, they’re so good, we’re a month into the season and they have yet to lose a basketball game. Sitting at a perfect 8-0 on the season, the biggest reason is none other than their captain, Napheesa Collier.

To be honest, the biggest surprise is that this is actually Collier’s first time winning a Player of the Month award. She joins Maya Moore (8x), Sylvia Fowles (4x), Seimone Augustus (1x), Lindsay Whalen (1x), and Rebekkah Brunson (1x) as the only other players in franchise history to have earned this honor. Surely, this is the first of many more to come.

An astonishing footnote to this achievement is that she actually had to sit out one game versus the Phoenix Mercury due to a knee injury, but was still selected due to her outstanding performance through five games:

• @ Dallas: 34 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 three pointers, 8/8 FT
• @ Los Angeles: 23 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 three pointers, 10/18 FG
• vs Dallas: 28 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 8/13 FG, 12/12 FT
• vs Connecticut: 33 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 3 three pointers
• vs Seattle: 16 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks

Collier has been on an absolute tear. Many opposing broadcast teams have already given her the nod as the current frontrunner for the MVP award. Everything she does appears easy, but never lacking effort. Timely shot making. Important stops. Never taking a possession off. If there’s ever a moment where she makes a mistake, you have to rub your eyes to make sure that was Collier.

It should also never go unmentioned that the 28-year-old accomplishes all of this only in addition to what she does off the court. Phee was recently named as one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influence People for all the equity-centered work she has poured in. Much like her Lynx predecessors, she has taken the mantle for speaking up for social justice, despite heavy (and unwarranted) criticism.

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A funny extra twist is that the Eastern Conference Player of the Month, Alisha Gray, was Collier’s teammate in the inaugural Unrivaled season where they finished as runner-ups for the title.