Napheesa Collier’s free agency fate probably says a lot about where the Minnesota Lynx are heading this WNBA season.
Napheesa Collier will be darn shootin’ in Minnesota for at least one more WNBA season.
Photo Credit: Shawn Mclurkin | Ballislife
The Minnesota Lynx have confirmed the return of their franchise face, with Kendra Andrews of ESPN reporting that she’s back on a one-year supermax deal worth $1.4 million. Collier is one of several newly-minted seven-figure stars on the W circuit after helping bring the league’s new collective bargaining agreement to fruition.
“Phee has been such an integral part of the Lynx since she was drafted in 2019,” Lynx head coach/president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve said in statement. “Coming off a historic 50/40/90 season and guiding the Lynx to the most wins in franchise history, Phee is hungry to position the Lynx for a championship run in 2026.”
Phee Nearly Free From Medical Setbacks
Signing a one-year deal is perhaps a win for Collier and Lynx fans in the sense that her ongoing contributions to the franchise and beyond are being rewarded and that this season should continue to feature the Lynx in WNBA penthouse.
The past dozen months have perhaps been among the most bittersweet for any WNBA superstar: Collier became just the second major professional female player to joined the famed 50-40-90 club that recognizes numerical achievement in field goal, three-point, and free throw percentage respectively. Minnesota also finished atop the WNBA leaderboard after enduring heartbreak in the five-game Finals against the New York Liberty.
But Collier not only missed out on a long-sought MVP award thanks to A’ja Wilson‘s Sin City brilliance but further postseason misfortune arose in the form of ankle injuries endured during the Lynx’s second-round set with the Phoenix Mercury. Collier then reprised her prominent role in the upper ranks of the players association, which eventually carved out a deal with the league just before games were placed in danger. It was perhaps a redemptive ending to a story that featured raised tensions when Collier referred to league leadership as the “worst” during her 2025 exit interview.
The ailments kept her out of the second season of Unrivaled, the domestic three-on-three league she co-founded with Finals foe Breanna Stewart, and perhaps spell trouble with for the Lynx with their May 10 opener against Atlanta looming.
Per Myron Medcalf of ESPN, Collier was accompanied by both crutches and a medical boot when she addressed the state of the Lynx earlier last week. But a one-year deal, combined with her comments, hint at better days ahead at Target Center.
“”Right now, I’m just working as fast as I can with my doctors and my [physical therapy] staff, just trying to get back on the court. But everything is going well, so you’ll see me soon,” Collier reported, per Medcalf. “My goal is to get back as fast as I can and to win a championship and to be with these guys too and to be around them and to still try to be a leader even when I’m not playing.”
Collier Will Be Working With A Different Pack
Collier will be running with a new pack once she’s ready to take the floor: Minnesota was hit relatively hard by the WNBA free agency fastbreak while several of their fellow contenders added to their pristine collections.
Starting staples Bridget Carleton and Alanna Smith respectively plucked by Portland and Dallas. Tenured depth stars Natisha Hiedeman and Jessica Shepard likewise moved on, as did trade deadline acquisition DiJonai Carrington. International project Maria Kliundikova was likewise expansion bait, as she’s moving on to Toronto.
True to form, however, Minnesota managed to salvage the offseason with solid selections: Collier’s partners in contention crime Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams are on their way back. Collier will be joined in the otherwise depleted post by Natasha Howard after she helped right the Indiana Fever’s ship following several injuries to several headliners. The headlining moving on the Lynx roster has to be that of TCU point guard Olivia Miles, who the eventual yield of the second overall draft pick Minnesota gained from Chicago during the previous selections.
Patience may be a more prominent virtue in Minneapolis once the WNBA season gets underway, but there are probably few better stored assets watching on the side than Collier, a staple in recent MVP conversations.
Other key dates on the Lynx calendar include their first preseason game in Washington come Saturday. It probably wouldn’t be wise to expect Collier on the floor but there may be a little more optimism come June 13, when the Lynx get to ponder what might’ve been against the defending champion Las Vegas Aces.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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