Napheesa Collier keeps making history, and buckets, for the Minnesota Lynx

That’s correct. 80 points on 25-of-39 shooting from the field and 25-of-28 from the line. 80 points while playing all but two minutes of the games, at a blistering pace of more than one point per minute.

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Collier’s performance could be described with any number of the English language’s fancy words for praise. But one word her showing wasn’t — at least to her head coach — was surprising.

“I’ve said this before, when she came out of college she was in the same space as Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart statistically,” Lynx head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve said after Game Two. “She was right there with those [two]. So her doing what she’s doing in the WNBA is not a surprise.”

Stewart’s name was evoked during the postgame press conference as it was Stewart’s single-game playoff scoring record that Collier matched with 42 brilliant points on Wednesday night. If Collier’s success has been no surprise, then neither has the way in which she’s handled such success. 

“Should have made my free throws,” were the first words out of Collier’s mouth at the podium when she learned she had matched the record set by fellow UConn legend Stewart.

Collier smiled her classic post-game smirk, which has become her trademark during this season of 33 wins and counting, before giving credit to the collective for the win. Another signature of the 2024 Lynx. 

“I mean I was just taking what the defense was giving me, what my teammates gave me,” Collier said. “Just the way we were moving the ball was so good. We were getting each other open, making them get in rotation, so I was just kind of the recipient of that … We have so many threats on the floor it’s really hard to rotate too many people to one player. When we get the defense moving that’s when we’re at our best so really just taking advantage of that.”

As has been the case all year, Minnesota’s quick and precise ball movement continued into the playoffs. Every starter had at least three assists in Game Two. Guard Courtney Williams had the most of the starting five with six assists, while guard Natisha Hiedeman dished out seven as part of her energy-igniting performance in 18 minutes off the bench.

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The Lynx converted 68-of-136 field goal attempts in two games against the Mercury (hitting 34 in each game). Across those 68 baskets, the Lynx assisted on 58 of them, and found no shortage of ways to get the ball to their ‘M-V-Phee’, who was dangerous in positions all over the floor. 

“She’s like an amoeba,” Reeve said of Collier after Game Two. “If they’re going to let her be in the paint then she’s going to find herself in the paint. She can screen, she can roll. She understands how to play in movement and be on the perimeter and shoot the basketball. She’s shooting the three well. She just finds different ways to impact the game based on what’s dictated.”

Collier’s 42 points in game two came from, in a word, everywhere. Under the basket, the wing, the nail, the corner and above the break. The result: the most lethal two-game offensive performance in WNBA playoff history.

“It’s not even like I’m going out there with a points goal in my head,” Collier said. “I’m just trying to win the game. At the end of the day that’s all that matters to me. That [other] stuff is really cool, but if you’re not winning it doesn’t matter. So all I’m focusing on is making it to the next round and playing our next game. That stuff comes from having really great teammates, we had so many assists. I think all of my baskets were assisted. My teammates did a really great job of finding me and just taking advantage of what the defense was giving us.”

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A familiar foe awaits Collier and the Lynx in the WNBA Semifinals; the only team in the league to post a better defensive rating than the Lynx in 2024 and the very team that sent the Lynx home from the 2023 WNBA Playoffs. The Connecticut Sun, who also swept their first-round match-up against the Indiana Fever. Winning won’t be an easy task by any stretch of the imagination and no doubt the Sun are poring over the tape of Collier’s two brilliant outings in Minneapolis. Yet, it’s hard to watch the tape of those two games and not think you’re seeing the dawn of another superstar in Lynx lore. 

“This is the evolution of Phee every time she plays,” Reeve said. “We’ve talked about humility. She understands the game, she listens. I told the team, ‘you know, Phee’s not going to get 38 tonight.’ When I subbed her out she said ‘coach you were right,’ she had 42. That’s incredible. Incredible run, that’s the most in a two-game span, 80 points. Just seeing Phee continue to do things for the first time in our league history, she’s earned that.”