Napheesa Collier told reporters Tuesday she avoided surgery this offseason after suffering a Grade 2 tear in her ankle and shin muscles during the 2025 WNBA playoffs but is still working to get back to 100 percent.
The Minnesota Lynx star said she is “just taking it one day at a time” with the goal of returning by the Jan. 5 opener of the Unrivaled season.
At the time of the injury in October, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported there was “a minimum six-week recovery period.”
Collier suffered the injury when she collided with Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas during Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals. With their star player sidelined, the Lynx were then eliminated from the best-of-five series in Game 4.
Even if they advanced, Collier would not have been available for the WNBA Finals.
That Collier is attempting to return for the start of the second season of Unrivaled comes as no surprise. After all, she co-founded the 3-on-3 league alongside former UConn teammate Breanna Stewart and helped bring it into the national spotlight.
Collier also won the league’s inaugural 1-on-1 tournament and led the Lunar Owls to the league’s best record at 13-1.
When healthy, she is one of the best WNBA players of her era with a resume that includes a Defensive Player of the Year, a Rookie of the Year, five All-Star Game selections, four All-WNBA selections and four All-Defensive nods.
She finished second in MVP voting in each of the last two seasons and averaged 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game last season for the Lynx.
Having her healthy and available is key for both the Lunar Owls in Unrivaled and Minnesota in the WNBA, so there will be plenty of attention on her recovery process with a new season approaching.