WNBA: Napheesa Collier Deserves MVP Award After Record-Equalling Season, Says Minnesota Lynx Coach

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said forward Napheesa Collier deserves to win this year's WNBA MVP award after she strengthened her case by turning in an emphatic display in Thursday's regular-season finale.

Collier made history as just the second player in WNBA history to finish a regular season with a 50-40-90 shooting split, following the Lynx’s 72-53 victory over the Golden State Valkyries in Minneapolis.

Minnesota finished with the league’s best record and secured the number one seed heading into the playoffs, where they’ll again face the Valkyries, a team they swept 4-0 in the regular season. 

Collier posted season averages of 53% from the field, 40.3% from three-point range and 91% from the free throw line, joining Elena Delle Donne (2019) as the only WNBA players to achieve the feat.

She also became the first player to ever do so while averaging over 20 points per game, with 22.9 points per contest.

Minnesota head coach Reeve praised Collier’s accomplishment, stating: “It’s only been done once before and that player was the MVP.

“Phee deserves that recognition. The numbers don't lie. She did it from start to finish, 50/40/90 is historic.

"I don't know how long it will be before it happens again. Napheesa Collier has been the best player in the WNBA. She deserves MVP.

“She’s already great. Two years in a row, she’s been a top player in the league.

“I think her 3-point shooting was a special thing for her to unlock and become really unguardable. Napheesa Collier is the most unguardable player in the league."

Team-mate Natisha Hiedeman added: “She’s the GOAT. Without her, we are not the Minnesota Lynx."