Napheesa Collier’s leadership has fostered an ‘environment of growth’ in Minnesota

The Lynx did not go on to win a WNBA championship in 2019, as they hope to do this year, but it’s a season that should stand as an important mile-marker in Lynx lore. At one point, it was most commonly described as the first season without Maya Moore. Today it’s more often thought of as the first season with Napheesa Collier.

Collier did win the league’s Rookie of the Year award in 2019 for her performance on the court. However, Lynx head coach and President of Basketball Operations Cheryl Reeve was more impressed by Collier’s presence in the locker room, where she showed leadership qualities and poise beyond her years.  

“In her rookie season, early in the season we had a challenging game,” Reeve recalled when asked about Collier’s leadership skills at Minnesota’s 2023 media day. “We got in the locker room and somebody was sideways in a way that she found unacceptable, and it was she who spoke up, so she recognizes when it needs to happen. Everyone has their own personalities, she’s not the type who is going to pin somebody against a locker, but she’s gonna use her voice … I’ve just told her parents over and over that they’ve just done an incredible job with her because her ability to be consistent as a person is really valuable.”

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2023 marked another significant milestone in Minnesota: after Sylvia Fowles‘ retirement, it was the Lynx’s first season without a single member of its championship core on the roster. It also marked Collier’s return to full strength after she missed nearly all of the 2022 season to recover from giving birth to her daughter, Mila. It was also the year Reeve elevated Collier to team captain and built a roster that revolved around her.

“It’s definitely big shoes to fill,” Collier told The Next in January of 2023 for our piece, ‘It’s the Napheesa Collier era in Minnesota now.’ “It’s going to push me to be a better person, a better leader for the team. It is outside my comfort zone, being a really vocal leader, but it’s something that I want to have as part of my skill set. I see it as growth rather than changing your personality. I want to grow as a person. I want to grow as a leader so I’m excited to try to continue to do that.” 

Reeve described Collier then as someone who was ‘awfully nice,’ but also was ‘a very thoughtful and diligent leader.’ Ahead of her first year as captain, Collier approached Reeve about a meeting weekly to make sure there was never a stone going unturned. 

Now, three games into Collier’s third season as the undisputed leader of a team with championship aspirations, her ultimate goal has yet to be achieved. Another four months and 41 regular season games stand between the Lynx and the vengeful playoff run they’ve visualized since October, but the essence of Collier’s leadership since she began in this role can be seen in every little detail of the 2025 Lynx. 

“I feel like my leadership style before was really lead by example,” Collier said when asked how she’s grown as a leader during the 2025 preseason. “Now I feel like we’re talking through things. You’re trying to find where people like the ball, you’re saying where you like the ball, just being more vocal in what you think can help instead of kind of being a bystander and trying to learn from the people who are older than you.”

“We also have just a really good group. I feel like everyone feels confident in speaking up, so it allows for an environment of growth. I think that’s why we click so well too. This is an open area where everyone can talk and everyone is receptive to what’s being said,” she added.

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Everyone on the Lynx appears to be on the same page when they talk publicly. The word ‘championship’ is never tossed around lightly and is the clearly-stated goal by everyone in the locker room. There’s one, small difference between Collier and her teammates when it comes to speaking on the caliber of play of the Lynx captain to the media. When Collier talks, the possibility of awards and accolades are all brushed aside, and it’s all about winning a championship. When her teammates talk, it’s still all about winning a championship with a side of who they think the best basketball player in the world happens to be. 

“I mean she’s locked in, she’s on a mission this year,” Courtney Williams said, sitting beside Collier and Reeve at the podium after Minnesota’s home-opening win against the Dallas Wings. “She knows it’s her year to go get that MVP so we need her to do this every night. I mean, we’re successful when she comes out and plays like the MVP of this league, so she knows what she’s got to do.”

Collier gave her point guard a smile from across the podium, the type of look the two often share on the court to make a magical play happen that doesn’t require words. The type of look from a player who could win a hundred MVPs and still not come out and declare themselves to be the MVP, at least not publicly.

In that manner, and in many others, Napheesa Collier has been a consistent leader in Minnesota from day one. The Lynx have taken meaningful steps towards their ultimate goal in each of the previous two seasons Collier has been captain. After last season, one more step is all that’s needed to reach the summit. 

“She’s just so comfortable,” Reeve said when asked about the growth Collier has shown as a captain to this point. “She’s comfortable in her skin, comfortable with the work she’s put in. She’s always improving. She never thinks that she’s arrived. Sometimes, especially early on, you have to mentor and sort of teach the captainship. You know, Seimone [Augustus], Syl [Sylvia Fowles], myself, now it’s just coming out. She’s not being prompted … She’s in there and she knows what needs to happen. Obviously, she’s experienced a lot. It comes easy for her and I think the team appreciates her leadership style. She’s easy to be around, but when she needs to say something she says it, and obviously she knows what she’s talking about and there’s a healthy amount of respect there.”