{"id":1293,"date":"2026-07-22T05:46:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T05:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/?p=1293"},"modified":"2026-07-22T05:46:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T05:46:06","slug":"the-queen-returns-napheesa-collier-set-to-make-season-debut-for-first-place-minnesota-lynx-on-wednesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/?p=1293","title":{"rendered":"‘The Queen returns’: Napheesa Collier set to make season debut for first-place Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The rich just keep getting richer — at least when it comes to Minnesota WNBA teams. Napheesa Collier<\/a> is officially listed as “probable” for Wednesday’s game against the Seattle Storm<\/a>, the team announced on Tuesday. This much-awaited moment would officially be her first game of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

Collier sustained injuries on both ankles last season, one during the regular season and one during the playoff series against the Phoenix Mercury<\/a>. She underwent surgery on both during the offseason and therefore has not been on the court yet this season.<\/p>\n

Collier was one of the top candidates for MVP last season while playing the best basketball of her career. During the 2025 season, she averaged a career-best 22.9 points per game while shooting 53.1% from the field and 40.3% from beyond the arc. She also had 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. These efforts earned her a first-team All-WNBA selection, as well as first-team All-Defense.<\/p>\n

Although she joked last week about “fighting” with doctors every day to get back on the court, Collier said she has learned to embrace the process of recovery.<\/p>\n

“I would say just embrace. One, I think everything happens for a reason,” she said on Saturday<\/a>. “And so whatever it is, this is the journey of my life. I can’t control that I was injured, but I can control my mindset now,” Collier said. “If I’m crushing my rehab and doing everything I can to get back, if I’m being a good teammate, supporting my team while I’m out, making the most of it.<\/p>\n

“There’s going to be things in life that happen that you can’t control, but you can control your reaction to things and your outlook on it. So I would say just shift inwards instead of outwards to the things that happen.”<\/p>\n

This is a particularly interesting game for Collier to make her return since it will be the last one before the All-Star break happening from July 23-27. There is also the fact that when the two teams met on Monday, the Lynx<\/a> barely survived with a 105-102 victory against a very persistent Seattle roster. Wednesday’s matchup is set for 3 p.m. ET and will be available on WNBA League Pass.<\/p>\n

How have the Lynx fared without Collier?<\/h2>\n

Surprisingly well. The Lynx are at the top of the league standings with a 21-6 overall record even without Collier playing a single game yet. They enter Wednesday’s game on a six-game winning streak.<\/p>\n

A huge part of this success has been the addition of Olivia Miles<\/a>, who has so far been the most impressive rookie of the class of 2026.<\/a><\/span>\u00a0Miles is averaging 19.6 points per game on 50.1% shooting, along with 4.8 rebounds, 6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Coach Cheryl Reeve has talked about how Miles finally gave the roster a true point guard. The former TCU and Notre Dame star can certainly score, but her elite passing and playmaking abilities should pair nicely with Collier’s skills.<\/p>\n

Minnesota has won four WNBA championships, with their most recent one happening in 2017. Collier did not join the Lynx until 2019, so the Lynx are still looking for their first title in the Collier era. They got close in 2024 when they made it all the way to the Finals, but they fell short against the New York Liberty<\/a>. Last season they went into the postseason as the No. 1 seed, but fell in the semifinals to the Mercury. Collier was injured in the Lynx’s penultimate game of the season after a collision with the Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas <\/a><\/span>and was sidelined for the deciding Game 4 and the entire season of Unrivaled, the winter 3-on-3 league that Collier co-founded with Breanna Stewart<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Collier — a former UConn star and the 2019 Rookie of the Year —\u00a0 is still waiting for her first WNBA title, and ironically it could happen the year in which she is recovering from significant injuries. Earlier this month, the Lynx were one of the teams chosen as a favorite to win the 2026 WNBA championship.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n