MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The WNBA announced today that Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier has been named to the All-Defensive Second Team for 2023. This is the second such honor for Collier, who was named the All-Defensive Team in 2020. She becomes the fifth Lynx player to garner multiple All-Defensive honors, including Sylvia Fowles (5x; MR: 2022), Rebekkah Brunson (5x; MR: 2018) and Maya Moore (2x; MR: 2017).
Collier wrapped up her fourth season in the WNBA by appearing in 37 games (all starts) while leading the Lynx in points, rebounds, steals and blocks. She averaged a career-high 21.5 points on 48.5% shooting, 8.5 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks in 33.5 minutes per game. Collier’s 313 total rebounds this season rank third all-time in Lynx history for the most rebounds in a single season and ranked eighth overall in the WNBA this season. Her 61 steals ranked sixth while her 43 blocks ranked 13th in the WNBA this season.
Collier played in a career-high 45:00 minutes of action for the Lynx on June 29 at Seattle, ending the game with a team-high 31 points on 11-of-21 from field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line, eight rebounds, five assists and a game-high and career-high six blocks. She became only the second player in WNBA history to have 30+ points/5+ rebounds/5+ assists/5+ blocks in a game.
On August 24, Collier led Minnesota over Dallas, tally a game-high 25 points on 8-of-17 from the field and 9-of-11 from the line, her 11th 25+ point game of the season (17th career). She added seven rebounds, two assists, a career-high-tying four steals and three blocks. She became only the third player in league history to have consecutive games of 25+ points/7+ rebounds/3+ steals after also amassing this stat line in the game prior against Dallas on Aug. 22.
She continued to post a career-high 17 rebounds on Sept. 1 against the Atlanta Dream while also finishing with 27 points, three assists and four blocks in her first career 25+ point/15+ rebound game. That evening, she became the second-fastest WNBA player to amass 2,000+ points, 900+ rebounds, 300+ assists and 200+ steals, having hit this milestone in 123 games.