“Phee deserves that recognition,” said Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve when making a case for why Napheesa Collier should be named WNBA MVP, pointing out that the 50/40/90 season had only been done once before. Collier left a memorable mark this year, reportedly pulling off one of the most “efficient” performances, and leading the Lynx to the top seed with a 34-10 win record. Despite that, the MVP honor went, for the 4th time, to Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson. With the playoffs in full swing, now is not the time to feel bad about the snub.

WNBA reporter Noa Dalzell recently hosted another episode of ‘WNBA Today on CLNS Media’. During her segment, Dalzell highlighted that the Minnesota Lynx squad doesn’t necessarily “get rewarded with hardware”. After Collier’s MVP upset, her prediction of Natisha Hiedeman to win Sixth Player of the Year also faltered. Dalzell felt that the Lynx players would only be more motivated by these snubs.

“So, if I were a Minnesota Lynx player, I would say, ‘they’re overlooking us. They’re again not giving us the credit that we deserve.  and we’re going to come out and make a statement in this postseason’. And so far, they’re undefeated. They’re the only undefeated team in the playoffs. They’ve had some close calls. That Golden State Valkyries game two was a tight one, but they’re 3 and 0 so far. No team, no other team has done that. Every other team has dropped at least one game. And they are for sure my favorite to win it all at this point,” Dalzell said.

During Game 1 of the Minnesota Lynx-Phoenix Mercury series, the latter team dominated the first half of Game 1 with 47 points before the break. 42 of them were made right in the paint. However, Minnesota, true to its character, made adjustments in the later part of the game.

Napheesa Collier recorded 18 points, along with 9 rebounds and 2 assists, by shooting 8-16 (50.0%) field goals, 2-6 (33.3%) 3-pointers, and 0-0 (0%) free throws. She had 10 first-quarter points, didn’t score at all in the second quarter, and scored just 8 points in the 3rd quarter. While it wasn’t her best performance, Collier’s contribution went a long way in the final 82-69 score in favor of the Minnesota Lynx.

On top of that, it showed the 29-year-old power forward going the extra mile. During halftime of Game 1, Alyssa Thomas, who finished 3rd in MVP voting, was asked about the task of guarding Collier. Thomas confidently stated, “She’s gotta guard me too, we’re doing the same thing. So, we’re good”. That answer backfired, as Thomas scored just 2 points in the second half.

The Lynx locker room might certainly use the MVP snub to show why they shouldn’t be overlooked. However, so will Napheesa Collier. After all, the player recently made her priorities clear.

Napheesa Collier dismissed MVP snub amid focus on championship title

In the aftermath of the announcement of the winner of the 2025 WNBA MVP, Napheesa Collier was interviewed by SB Nation’s Noa Dalzell. During the conversation, Collier highlighted not taking the loss too much to heart by stating, “The team is way bigger than me. Whatever my personal goals are, I’m here for the team, and right now, we’re focused on a championship. So, it was easy not to think about that”.

A’ja Wilson earned 51 of 72 first-place votes and 21 second-place votes. All of this totaled and presented 657 points to her. Meanwhile, Napheesa Collier trailed behind with 534 points. The same drew backlash from several netizens, with a few of them raising the conspiracy theory that the player’s association with ‘Unrivaled’ had anything to do with the snub.

For now, Collier isn’t choosing to focus on conspiracy theories. After all, the Minnesota Lynx haven’t won a championship in the last 6 years. They had a chance to do so back in 2024, but lost to the New York Liberty. With the best regular season record and having gone undefeated in the playoffs, there is no better opportunity than now to repeat history. Napheesa Collier aims to do just that, and the MVP snub might give her the additional push.