Ever since the beginning of the 2025 regular season, the Minnesota Lynx have been favorites to win the WNBA title. They’ve been the top team across the league for most of the season, but now in the playoffs, they’re just one loss away from being eliminated.

They’ve suffered back-to-back losses to the Mercury and now stand at 2-1 in the semifinals, but still, they’ve got a chance to make a comeback in decisive Game 4. After a disastrous Game 3, wherein Cheryl Reeve got ejected and MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier got injured, it seems difficult. But… we finally have some good news!

There’s no major injury.

Ever since the beginning of the Round 2 series between the Mercury and Lynx, the game had been physical—especially between Napheesa Collier and Alyssa Thomas. But no one expected this to happen. During Game 3, as Collier attempted to move the ball, AT stole it and came into contact with the Lynx forward’s knee. In the process, Collier’s ankle twisted, while AT unknowingly continued the play.

The next moment, Phee was on the ground, and ever since, there’s been fear of an ankle fracture. Even HC Cheryl Reeve suggested Collier “probably has a fracture” and blasted officiating as “f’—— malpractice.” Since then, we’ve been waiting for the update, and finally, it’s here.

According to WNBA insider Annie Costabile, Collier did not suffer a fracture in her left ankle. She will undergo further testing to determine the severity and recovery timeline. Still, her status for the rest of the playoffs remains in doubt.

But Collier’s injury isn’t the only problem the Lynx are dealing with at the moment. After Collier went down, the HC, who seemed agitated with the Mercury’s physicality, charged at the refs. She had to be restrained by Lynx coaching staff and Natisha Hiedeman before eventually heading to the locker room. It was because the ref called another tech on her as she argued with them.

Later, even Lynx associate HC Eric Thibault got a tech, but Reeve didn’t hold back even then. As Collier didn’t return for the game, Reeve shed light on what went wrong in the press conference: “One of the best players in the league shot zero free throws. Zero… And she had five fouls. Zero free throws. She got her shoulder pulled out and finished the game with her leg being taken out. And probably has a fracture.”

So, while replays showed it wasn’t AT’s fault, Reeve’s anguish was understandable considering Phee is her star player, and they’d already suffered two losses. What makes her even more concerned is that it isn’t the first time the MVP runner-up has gone down. She even missed nearly a month due to the same ankle injury she encountered on August 2 against the Aces. So with a similar injury, the fear now is that history could repeat itself. But this time, they don’t even have Reeve to back them up!

What’s next for Minnesota?

It’s tough—really tough—to play against a Phoenix Mercury team shooting 43.3% from FG and showing no signs of slowing down. Not just that, the Mercury are also averaging 80.7 points per game against the Lynx in this year’s playoffs. All this proves just how lethal their offense had been in the semifinals this season.

Still, before you count Minnesota out, it’s worth noting that the Lynx actually went 3-1 against the Mercury during the regular season. But this time, the challenge feels much steeper. Their superstar forward Collier, is sidelined with an ankle injury after averaging 20.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game in the postseason.

Even HC Cheryl Reeve is suspended for Game 4 following her ejection and heated criticism of officiating in Game 3. To make matters worse,  the Mercury holds the lead, putting Minnesota on the edge of elimination at halftime of Game 4. Still, if the Lynx manage to pull off a win tonight, they’ll force a decisive Game 5 back on their home floor. But if they fall short, their season will end in heartbreak, eliminated from the best-of-five series despite a dominant 34-10 regular season. So, what do you think will happen?