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Napheesa Collier isn’t ready to talk about free agency.
The five-time All-Star said Thursday in her exit press conference that she hasn’t thought about her impending free agency decision following the Minnesota Lynx’s early elimination from the playoffs.
“I haven’t even thought about that,” Collier said. “We lost less than 48 hours ago, and I don’t think, we didn’t expect to be here. So I really haven’t had any time to decompress or anything like that.”
But Collier, who has played all eight years of her career in Minnesota, reiterated her appreciation for the Lynx: “I can tell you, I love it here. I love the organization. … But I just haven’t had the time to give it any thought.”
Collier will be this offseason’s most-coveted free agent in a strong class that includes Kelsey Mitchell, Jackie Young, and Kelsey Plum. She signed a one-year, $1.4 million contract in April, when most of the league was available in anticipation of salary increases under the new collective bargaining agreement. She was not under a core designation, which means she could have signed for longer than one season.
Kayla McBride, Collier’s running mate in Minnesota since 2021, said that while she hopes to see Collier back in Minnesota, other considerations take precedence.
“I just want her to choose her,” McBride said Thursday. “That’s the biggest thing for me now: As a friend, as a sister, I just want her to be good.”
The Lynx were the title favorites entering the playoffs after finishing with the league’s best record (33–11), which they held for most of the season. But they were swept in the first round by the New York Liberty, becoming the first No. 1 seed in WNBA history to lose to a No. 8 seed.
But the Lynx were not pegged as a title contender entering the year, in part because Collier was expected to miss much of the season due to surgery on both ankles. She returned on July 22 and played 16 regular-season games but couldn’t return to the form that earned her MVP runner-up twice.
“Obviously I wasn’t 100%, but I gave 100% of what I was able to,” Collier said Thursday.
Minnesota shot to the top of the standings thanks to the emergence of rookie guard Olivia Miles, who was named Rookie of the Year on Monday and is an MVP candidate. But Miles struggled in her first playoffs, averaging just 8 points and 1 assist on 20% shooting from the field.
Asked about what the Lynx may need to improve next year, Collier said she believes they “have the tools,” particularly with head coach Cheryl Reeve at the helm.
“I have every confidence that Cheryl’s the best coach. She’s going to figure that part out. … We’re all just going to try to get better, build our game, making sure that we’re coming back in the best headspace physically, mentally, skill-wise, all those things to make sure that the outcome is different,” Collier said.
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