Indiana Fever Coach Weighs in on Napheesa Collier, A’ja Wilson MVP Race

The Minnesota Lynx traveled to Indianapolis on Tuesday to face the Indiana Fever for their second-to-last game of the 2025 regular season. However, since the Lynx have already locked up the top seed heading into the playoffs, they decided to give superstar forward Napheesa Collier some rest.

Of course, however, the Lynx paid for it. The Fever dominated the visiting Lynx on Tuesday night, picking up an 83-72 win as they fight for playoff positioning. The Fever led by as much as 24 points against the league’s top team, and Minnesota was just never able to claw its way back.

The Lynx certainly felt like they were able to rest Collier for Tuesday’s game since they were going against such a shorthanded Fever team. The Fever were playing without Caitlin Clark, who was recently shut down for the remainder of the season, along with four other rotational players.

Collier’s rest night on Tuesday marked her 11th missed game of the year, and for a 44-game WNBA season, missing a fourth of the team’s games can be costly. Of course, the Lynx have gone 7-4 without her, so it is not too costly from a team standpoint, but it might have cost her the MVP award.

Collier has been the 2025 WNBA MVP frontrunner for the majority of the season, but she recently missed seven consecutive games with an ankle sprain. At the same time, A’ja Wilson has been leading the Las Vegas Aces to an incredible 14-game winning streak, including a statement win over Collier and the Lynx.

Before Tuesday’s game, Fever head coach Stephanie White was asked about who has had the more impressive season between Collier and Wilson.

“Oh, come on now,” White said. “You know, I think it’s really tough, because especially when you’ve had players who have missed a lot of time with injury, I think that makes it really tough. Napheesa missed some time with injury, then A’ja and the Aces have kind of surged during that time. I think they’ve both had incredible seasons.”

White also gives props to Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas and Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell as MVP candidates, but the race will ultimately come down to Collier and Wilson.

In the NBA, players have to play at least 65 games to be eligible for awards, which is about 79% of the season. Collier, assuming she plays in Minnesota’s season finale, will play in 33 of their 44 games, which is 75%. Of course, with a shorter WNBA season, those same rules rightfully do not apply, but it just puts it into perspective.

Collier has had a good enough season to still be in the MVP conversation, regardless, but it will be challenging to regain the lead over Wilson.