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"They don't act like rookies": Napheesa Collier dishes out high praise for WNBA's rookie class amid Caitlin Clark's record-breaking season
Napheesa Collier was voted the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced Sunday. Collier and the Minnesota Lynx are in the middle of their second-round series against the Connecticut Sun. The Lynx finished their regular season with a second-best record in the league at 30-10.
There was a noticeable difference in this season's draft class, which includes players like Caitlin Clark who made a major impact with their performance. Collier had some high praise for her counterparts, via CBS:
"I don't think anybody has the level of confidence this draft class does. I think that's what's so amazing about them, actually, is they don't act like rookies. It feels like nothing gets them down. And I think that's amazing."
As per CBS, attendance was up by 48% across the league. This was something that Napheesa Collier noticed as well. She said:
“People, which is what we want. That's what we've been wanting. You know, people coming to our games, supporting us in that way. And it's so fun. It makes the game so, so fun.”
Collier’s comments on the rookie class were noteworthy, as Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese had record-breaking seasons.
The Fever guard set the records for most assists in a season, most assists in a game, most points by a rookie, and first triple-double by a rookie, among many others.
While Reese’s records weren’t as diverse as Clark's, the Sky forward is a master of rebounding. Reese set the single-season record for most double-doubles at 27 and also set the record for the longest streak (15 games).
Napheesa Collier calls WNBA “really interesting”
Napheesa Collier also touched on the comparisons drawn between the NBA and WNBA. While she didn’t grade one league better than the other, she pointed out the things that make WNBA special, via CBS:
"Obviously the men are really fun. They're very athletic. They can dunk and all those things. But if you're a true fan of basketball, I think that ours is really interesting. Because we play it the right way. We play it really smart. Our season is shorter also. So, you know, we go a lot harder I think in our games."
Collier and the Lynx started their second-round series against the Sun on Sunday. Despite Minnesota leading 62-57 at the end of the third quarter, a 16-8 final period for Connecticut saw Collier and the Lynx lose 73-70 at home. The DPOY had 19 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
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