For the past year, Napheesa Collier has been on a mission to prove she’s the best women’s basketball player in the world.
On Saturday, Collier was locked in on that again, dominating the all-star game and reminding everyone why the Minnesota Lynx star is the runaway favorite for the WNBA MVP Award with a record-breaking 36 points.
After being named MVP of the Unrivaled league, Collier hasn’t slowed down at all this season, leading the WNBA in scoring average (23.2), in addition to ranking in the top 10 in rebounds (7.6), steals (1.8) and blocks (1.6), as well as free throw percentage (94.6).
On top of being the best player on the league’s best team, Collier dominated the WNBA All-Star Game Saturday in Indianapolis, stealing the show on a night where the biggest story was the fact that Caitlin Clark wasn’t playing.
WNBA All-Stars also made waves in pre-game warmups, wearing shirts that said, “Pay us what you owe us.”
It’s a bold stance as the WNBA and its players renegotiate their collective bargaining agreement.
Collier is a leader in that fight. But on Saturday, she made a bold statement of another kind, setting a WNBA All-Star Game record with 36 points to earn MVP honors.
Defense felt optional in the game, but nobody else scored more than 20 points. Collier was 4-of-5 from three-point range, and pulled down nine rebounds, while making 13-of-16 shot attempts. She was 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, but free throws weren’t actually attempted.
So the 36 points have a slight asterisk, although Collier probably would have made the free throws, considering she’s made 9.4 out of every 10 attempts this season.
Collier has been the best player in the WNBA — even the world — for a while. It’s not a secret, at least to those who have been paying attention. Saturday’s All-Star Game was just another reminder.
