4x NBA DPOY pays tribute to Napheesa Collier after well-deserved WNBA DPOY win: "It's about winning"

By Orlando Silva

Modified Sep 29, 2024 22:30 GMT

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Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert celebrated his fellow Defensive Player of the Year award winner Napheesa Collier after the Minnesota Lynx forward won the race against Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson. The Minnesota franchises from the NBA and WNBA excelled defensively, with their defensive cornerstones securing the DPOY awards of each league.

A video shared by the Timberwolves shows the French big man sending a message to Collier, praising her hard work and all the factors that made her the winner of the prize.

“Hey, Napheesa. I just want to congratulate you on winning the Defensive Player of the Year," Gobert said. "From one to another. Credit to your hard work, your consistency, your toughness and all the things that you do to help your team win every night. And those things don’t overshrub on the stack sheet but it’s about winning.

"And I’ll be watching. Hope you guys go all the way. Go Lynx. Let’s go.”

If A'ja Wilson didn't exist, Napheesa Collier would have been arguably the best basketball player in the world. The Minnesota Lynx star didn't have a supporting cast like Wilson or Breanna Stewart, but still took her team to the No. 2 seed in the league.

Collier, who is in the middle of her prime at 28, averaged 20.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 49.2% from the field, 31.0% from deep and 80.4% from the free-throw line.

On the less glamorous side of the ball, she posted 7.5 defensive rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per outing. On top of that, she led the league in defensive win shares with .233.

Napheesa Collier had a year for the books, and her victory for the DPOY is the confirmation.

Napheesa Collier, Lynx face Sun in second round of 2024 playoffs

After a 30-10 regular season record, the Minnesota Lynx secured the second-best record in the WNBA, only behind the New York Liberty. After sweeping the Phoenix Mercury, they're now set to clash against the Connecticut Sun in the playoff semifinals.

The Lynx lost the regular season series 2-1, but the teams showed that they are close to each other. The largest victory margin was five points (83-82, 78-73 and 78-76), which should predict a close best-of-five series. Collier averages 40.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4 apg and 1.5 bpg to start the postseason, shooting 64.1% from the field, 62.5% from deep and 89.3% from the free-throw line.