The Minnesota Lynx opened the WNBA Playoffs on Sunday against the Phoenix Mercury, with star forward Napheesa Collier reaching a bit of team playoff history. With 38 points in the Lynx’s 102-95 Game 1 win against the Mercury, Napheesa Collier tied Maya Moore as the only players in team playoff history with multiple 30+ point games as per ESPN.

Collier’s 38 points against the Mercury was a career-high. Prior to the game, it was revealed that Collier finished second in the WNBA MVP voting behind only Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson.

This is Collier’s fifth playoff appearance of her career. The only time she did not make the postseason was back in 2022 when the Lynx finished 14-22. They ended up with the No. 2 overall pick in the WNBA draft and used that pick to select Diamond Miller.

The Lynx are an organization with a rich championship history, but have not reached the WNBA Finals since 2017 when they won their last title. But this season, the Lynx have been one of the top teams in the league and have remade themselves into a legitimate championship contender.

Napheesa Collier’s brilliance led the Lynx this season

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) brings the ball up the court against the New York Liberty in the second quarter of the Commissioner’s Cup Championship game at UBS Arena.
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A big part of the Lynx resurgence this year has been the MVP-caliber play of Collier. The No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft by the Lynx, Collier has without a doubt become the best player of that draft class.

A four-time WNBA All-Star, it’s fitting that Napheesa Collier gets to lead the franchise once led by the player she looked up to in Maya Moore. Moore and Collier grew up in the same town of Jefferson City, Missouri. They both played for UConn in college and they both donned a Lynx jersey.

Moore is widely regarded as the franchise’s greatest player having helped lead the Lynx to four WNBA championships. She had her jersey retired by the team earlier this season. And it’s safe to say that the future of the Lynx is in good hands with Collier now leading the way.

Collier appeared in 34 games for the Lynx this season at a little over 34 minutes per game. She averaged 20.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocked shots with splits of 49.2 percent shooting from the field, 31 percent shooting from the three-point line and 80.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

With the Lynx’s win against the Mercury on Sunday, they take a 1-0 series lead with Game 2 scheduled for Wednesday. They can advance to the second round with a win, unless the Mercury force a deciding Game 3.