Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier was named the 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, an honor that reflects her impressive contributions this season to one of the league's best defensive teams. Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, who was also named the 2024 WNBA Coach of the Year, praised Collier's determination, leadership and how Collier responded to the challenge of anchoring the team's defense.

“Phee has just really been determined,” Reeve said, as reported by Maggie Vanoni of CT Insider. “What Phee wants to do is compete for a championship. And I said, ‘In order for us to do that, our defense has got to get better, and your best player has got to be the one at the forefront of that.' So for Phee to respond in such a way that allowed her to reach one of the highest accolades that can be bestowed upon a player, in my opinion, the Defensive Player of the Year — I mean, proud is just an understatement.”

Collier’s stellar performance during the 2024 season secured her the DPOY title, beating out Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson, who finished second in the voting. Collier received 36 out of 67 votes, according to the WNBA, marking her first Defensive Player of the Year title and becoming the second Lynx player to earn the honor, following Sylvia Fowles in 2016 and 2021. Wilson was named the WNBA’s 2024 regular season MVP; Collier finished second in MVP voting behind Wilson.

Collier’s impact on both ends of the court was crucial for the Lynx. She finished second in the league in steals, averaging 1.91 per game, third in rebounds with 9.7 per game and seventh in blocks with 1.41 per game. Her defense helped Minnesota achieve the second-best defensive rating in the WNBA and led the league in limiting opponents to a 41.0% field goal percentage.

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In addition to her DPOY honor, Collier was named to the WNBA All-Defensive First Team for the first time in her career, alongside stars like Connecticut Sun’s DiJonai Carrington, New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm’s Ezi Magbegor and Wilson. This season, Collier also became the sixth player in Lynx history to reach 1,000 career rebounds and posted a career-high 18 double-doubles.

The Lynx play the Sun in the first round of the WNBA playoff semifinals Sunday night.