Napheesa Collier will miss the upcoming Unrivaled season and potentially the start of the WNBA season as she plans to undergo surgery on both ankles, Unrivaled announced Thursday. The surgery is expected to occur next week, a source briefed on the situation told The Athletic.<\/p>\n
The league said her expected timeline for recovery is four to six months, which could run into the start of the Minnesota Lynx\u2019s season.<\/p>\n
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Collier, an All-Star for the Lynx and one of Unrivaled\u2019s co-founders, suffered injuries in both ankles during the 2025 WNBA season. She sprained her right ankle during a blowout win over the Las Vegas Aces on Aug. 2 before returning on Aug. 24. She played the rest of the regular season and almost all of the postseason, though the right ankle issue lingered and will now need surgery to repair torn ligaments. She also suffered ligament tears in her left ankle and a muscle in her left shin during the closing seconds of Game 3 of Minnesota\u2019s WNBA semifinals loss<\/a> to the Phoenix Mercury.<\/p>\n Collier said on Dec. 17 that she did not need surgery on her left ankle and hoped that through rehab, she would be ready for Unrivaled\u2019s season, which starts on Jan. 5. Her medical team, involving staff from Unrivaled and the Lynx, determined she needs multiple procedures following additional exams during Unrivaled\u2019s preseason.<\/p>\n \u201cI have fought hard over the last few months to be back with my Owls and was devastated to be told by my team of doctors that surgery was the best path forward,\u201d Collier wrote in an Instagram post Thursday. \u201cI will still be cheering on my teammates every step of the way, and I will continue to work relentlessly with the rest of the players and our staff to push our sport forward and raise the bar for women\u2019s basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n WNBA games traditionally begin in mid-May, although ongoing negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement<\/a> could alter the start of the season.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Collier was a WNBA MVP front-runner before sustaining her initial ankle injury, but she still finished second in the award\u2019s voting despite missing 11 games. The top-seeded Lynx lost in the semifinals when Collier sat out Minnesota\u2019s season-ending Game 4 loss.<\/p>\n Golden State Valkyries center Temi Fagbenle will replace Collier on the Lunar Owls. Fagbenle spent the start of her WNBA offseason playing in China in the WCBA. The Lunar Owls also features Skylar Diggins, Marina Mabrey, Rebecca Allen, Rachel Banham and Aaliyah Edwards.<\/p>\n In addition to her leadership role at Unrivaled, Collier is a vice president for the Women\u2019s National Basketball Players Association and a member of its executive committee. The players\u2019 union and league have continued exchanging proposals in recent weeks, with Jan. 9 as the new deadline following two extension agreements between the parties.<\/p>\n Unrivaled expanded by two teams before its second season and will feature eight teams.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The league, which raised capital from a group of investors at a $340 million valuation<\/a> this fall, will feature more than a dozen first-timers, including the Los Angeles Sparks\u2019 Kelsey Plum, Dallas Wings\u2019 Paige Bueckers, Indiana Fever\u2019s Kelsey Mitchell, Connecticut Sun\u2019s Saniya Rivers, Golden State Valkyries\u2019 Veronica Burton and Washington Mystics\u2019 Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen.<\/p>\n