The 2021 WNBA season concluded with Napheesa Collier completing her arc from being a blazing rookie to a genuine centerpiece at the Minnesota Lynx. However, her life was about to turn for the better. Collier took a pregnancy test, and it was positive. She couldn’t wait for her fiancé, Alex Bazzell, to get home the next day to tell him they were having a baby. But she couldn’t even wait for him to reach his apartment and spilled the news on the phone while he rode in an Uber. 

Collier was always a mother, even when she wasn’t. Her mom, Sarah Collier, had Napheesa and her brother in her early 20s, prompting Napheesa to consider starting a family when she was young, too. Even from a young age, Sarah said, Collier gravitated toward children and would want to hold babies at functions. So while the fact that Collier was going to be a mom imminently came as a shock and initially was a lot to process, it still was “the best surprise,” she said. Let’s look at her daughter, Mila Sarah Bazzell. 

Who Is Mila Sarah Bazzell? Meet the Napheesa Collier and Alex Bazzell’s Adorable Daughter

Napheesa Collier has one girl named Mila Sarah Bazzell with her husband, Alex Bazzell, who is a professional NBA/WNBA skills coach, trainer, and the Unrivaled President. Mila was born eight pounds, 14 ounces on May 25, 2022, at 3:38 PM CST. “Mila Sarah Bazzell made her way into the world 5*25*22 we are so in love 🤎,” wrote the couple announcing their daughter in a post that featured the adorable family of three, along with solo shots of the new parents cradling their little girl. Little Mila was born with Collier’s face, nose, and forehead, meet Bazzell’s eyes, and “his flat feet,” Collier joked. 

“Mila is her mother made over,” Collier’s mother, Sarah, said. “Mila is nosy. Mila is dramatic. Mila gets hangry. So those three things are her mother, just copy and paste it.”

Now, Mila is three years old, and it seems like we have watched her grow via Collier’s Instagram. Every festival, every birthday, or even a random occasion where Collier felt Mila looked cute, the Lynx star posted her picture. She was even with Collier in a post-match conference after her mother dropped 30 points with 6 rebounds, 8 steals, and 2 blocks, but Mila was only interested in the mic!

Inside Napheesa Collier and Alex Bazzell’s Relationship

Bazzell and Collier’s love story goes way, way back. The future couple met during Collier’s senior year of high school, according to People. Bazzell and Collier stayed in touch after she graduated, and their life lines met one again when he became her trainer at the University of Connecticut. 

The pair began dating when she was a junior in college, but all was not well early into the relationship. “It was hard at first because we started out in a trainer-trainee relationship first.” Collier has said. However, as time went on, the relationship blossomed, and Bazzell popped the big question in October 2019. 

The couple eventually got married in October 2022 in St. Louis, Missouri. In the past, Bazzell has called himself the delicate one in their dynamic. Meanwhile, Collier says, “I get disappointed when you don’t give me feedback. I know you’re thinking something, but you don’t say it.” Both naturally challenge one another, making them better in their respective fields. Collier is a 2025 MVP candidate while Bazzell continues to grow $340 million Unrivaled as their president. 

Balancing the WNBA and Motherhood: Napheesa’s Inspiring Journey

Napheesa Collier took a mere 74 days to return to the court after giving birth to her daughter.“That’s Phee,” Lynx boss Cheryl Reeve simply said, “That’s the kind of stuff that we missed.” In her first game back against the Atlanta Dream, she played 21 minutes while scoring 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block, with Mila donning a miniature No. 24 Collier jersey in the stands with Bazzell. What was her motivation for such an early return? To play with the legend Sylvia Fowles for 1 final time before she retires. Fowles, for her part, said she fought back against Collier’s plans for a speedy return out of fear that “it was unsafe” for the new mom to rush her recovery, but the 2025 MVP favourite kept her promise.

Now Collier continues to juggle her responsibilities as a mother, as a businesswoman, and as a WNBA player. The thing that helps her is that Collier is not alone; she has a team there, too. “I’m just really lucky to have such a great family and support system,” said Collier, “My dad has been with us the past two seasons in Minnesota. He has an apartment in our building. My daughter stays with him the night before games so I can get a good rest.”

“My husband takes a huge load of the parenting during the season just because I’m gone so much,” Collier continued. “I’m just so lucky to have a partner who supports me in this way. It’s not easy juggling this. He also has a full-time job.”

Bazzell is not only busy growing Unrivaled, but he is also the CEO of Through the Lens, an athlete-branding and content platform he co-founded with Carmelo Anthony in 2020. However, just like Collier works with the Lynx on the court, she works with team Baby to give little Mila everything she needs.