Detroit Lakes, MN (KDLM) – Napheesa Collier is staying in Minnesota.
The Lynx signed their star forward to a one-year, $1.4 million supermax contract on Thursday. Collier joins the Indiana Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell and the Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson as the only WNBA players with supermax deals under the league’s new collective bargaining agreement.
Collier, 29, is entering her eighth season since the Lynx drafted her with the 6th overall pick in 2019. She has spent her entire career in Minnesota, starting all 193 games and averaging 18.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists across those appearances.
The 2025 season was arguably her best. Collier averaged 22.9 points and 7.3 rebounds while becoming just the second player in WNBA history to finish a regular season with a 50-40-90 shooting split. She shot 53.1% from the floor, 40.3% from three-point range and 90.6% from the free throw line, making her the first player to achieve that split while averaging more than 20 points per game. She finished as the runner-up in MVP voting to A’ja Wilson for the second consecutive year.
Collier’s 2025 campaign was slowed by a right ankle injury that caused her to miss seven games in August. Despite posting the best regular-season record in the WNBA, the Lynx were eliminated by the Phoenix Mercury in a five-game semifinal series.
Collier is expected to miss time at the start of the upcoming season after undergoing surgery on both ankles earlier this year.
Her return comes at a critical time for Minnesota. The Lynx lost several key contributors this offseason. Bridget Carleton was taken by the Portland Fire in the expansion draft, while Natisha Hiedeman, Jessica Shepard, Alanna Smith and DiJonai Carrington all departed in free agency.
Minnesota has moved to rebuild around Collier, re-signing Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride and selecting Olivia Miles with the 2nd overall pick in Monday’s WNBA Draft.
Collier will become an unrestricted free agent in 2027.
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