Napheesa Collier injury update: Lynx star and WNBA MVP frontrunner out at least two weeks with ankle sprain

Minnesota Lynx star and MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier underwent an MRI Monday which confirmed a right ankle sprain. She will be re-evaluated in the coming weeks, the team announced. The injury is expected to keep her out at least two weeks, per ESPN. Collier was injured late in the third quarter of the Lynx’s 53-point win over the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday — the largest road win in league history. 

The league-leading Lynx will return to action on Tuesday against the Seattle Storm, and will be without Collier for at least four games based on a two-week timeline. 

With her team leading by 43, Collier was injured when she stepped on Alanna Smith’s foot while trailing a missed fastbreak layup. Collier’s ankle rolled severely and she immediately collapsed to the ground. The Lynx called a timeout to stop the game, and Collier tried to stand up with the assistance of Jessica Shepard and Aces star A’ja Wilson. However, the pain was too much and Collier sat back down once the Lynx’s athletic trainer arrived on the scene. Eventually, Collier was able to get to her feet and hobble off the court with the help of the trainer. She immediately went to the locker room and did not return. 

There were plenty of questions about why Collier was still in the game considering the time and score, but there’s nothing the Lynx can do about that now. 

“I don’t think about those things,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said when asked if she regretted leaving Collier in the game. “It’s the third quarter of a game on someone else’s floor, I don’t think the game is over. I don’t think like that. She had a sub there and she wasn’t gonna play in the fourth quarter. Sometimes these things happen. I get it, people are gonna rail on me, and that’s part of sitting in the seat that I’m sitting in. But we did what we think is right, and sometimes these things happen. It’s unfortunate and hopefully she’ll be OK.” 

Lynx at risk of losing the No. 1 seed?

After Saturday’s win, the Lynx improved to 24-5 and extended their lead over the New York Liberty in the race for the No. 1 overall seed to 5.5 games. With just 15 games remaining in the regular season, the Lynx should have enough of a cushion to earn homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, but they will be without Collier as they begin their most difficult stretch of the schedule. 

Over the next three-plus weeks, the Lynx have three Finals rematches with the reigning champion Liberty and will only play one game against a team not in the top six of the standings. If there’s a silver lining for the Lynx, it’s that they have some extended time off soon, and if Collier is able to come back after two weeks, she could miss as few as four games. 

It’s likely that Collier will be out for longer than two weeks, however, in order to ensure she’s as close to 100% as possible for the playoffs, which begin on Sept. 14. As much as the Lynx want to earn the No. 1 seed and homecourt advantage throughout the postseason, that won’t matter if Collier isn’t healthy. They’ll need her at her best if they want to avenge their loss in the Finals last season and win a record-setting fifth championship. 

What does Collier’s injury mean for awards races?

Zooming out, Collier’s injury throws a potential wrench in multiple award races. 

Most notably, Collier entered Saturday averaging a league-leading 23.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.7 blocks on 53.7% shooting and was the clear favorite to win MVP. Collier has such an edge in this race that, as long as she comes back in two to three weeks, she should comfortably hold on. Per DraftKings, Collier is still a -175 favorite to win MVP over Alyssa Thomas (+250) and Sabrina Ionescu (+1200). 

If her absence stretches beyond that timeline and she misses most of the remainder of the regular season, which ends on Sept. 11, things could get interesting. No MVP has ever missed more than five games or 15.7% of the season (both Jonquel Jones in 2021). Collier already missed three games earlier this season and is set to miss at least another four with this injury. The WNBA season is much longer now than ever before, so seven missed games would only be 15.9% of the season, right in line with Jones in 2021. 

The Defensive Player of the Year race is much more interesting. Collier, who won the honor for the first time last season, was a leading candidate, but not a runaway favorite like she was for MVP. If she only misses four games and returns at her previous level, Collier still has a chance to go back-to-back and become the ninth player to win DPOY multiple times. 

Due to Collier’s injury, though, the door is wide open for other players. Per DraftKings, blocks leader A’ja Wilson (+200) is now the favorite over Gabby Williams (+250), Alanna Smith (+300) and Ezi Magbegor (+500). Collier (+600) has dropped to the fifth-best odds. This will be a tightly contested race down the stretch, especially if Collier ends up missing more than two weeks.