Sometimes, you have to sit back and mentally rewind the clock to see just how far youve come and all that youve accomplished. Three years ago, Napheesa Collier covered WSLAM Vol. 2 with the coverline Superwoman. Just two weeks postpartum, Collier was on set with her newborn daughter, Mila, showing her strength as a hooper and as a mother.
Im like a new mother, just trying to figure out life, Collier says, thinking back to her mindset on that day. I feel way more sure in myself and like motherhood [now], she says. Im back to playing, so that feels really good. Being around my teammates again. I just feel way more grounded in my life. That time was so uncertain. Everything was brand new.
Today, on set with Collierbetter known in these parts as Queen Pheeyou can see a change. Shes now a two-time Olympic Gold medalist, a WNBA finalist, the co-founder of Unrivaled, the unmistakable leader of her team and now a captain for the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game. As we went to press, Collier was averaging a League-leading 24.5 ppg along with 8.4 rpg and 3.8 apg for the League-leading Lynx.
Three years have flown by, but one thing remains the same: Collier is still a superwoman.
SLAM: You were the first Western Conference Player of the Month this season. What has changed for you from last year to this year?
NAPHEESA COLLIER: You know, last year felt like it was a happy accident. Every year you try your best, of course, but we happened to have the best team chemistry-wise and then we also happened to be really good basketball players. And to have both of those thingsit sounds small, but its really rare when you love all of your teammates and you guys are good at basketball at the same time. So we kind of fell into that last year. And so now we know what it can be. I think just making sure that we dont lose that opportunity. This year, thats what it feels likewe want to make the best of it and make the most of this year.
SLAM: Youve played under Coach Cheryl Reeve your whole professional career. What is it about her coaching style that has pushed you to grow?
NC: I think Cheryl does a really great job of putting people in places to be successful. She brings out the best in you as a player, and she knows where youre going to fit well into the team and how to get that out of you. So shes really taught me, like, how to take advantage of the things youre really good at, and obviously work at the things you need to. She kind of makes you look at the game a little bit more technically, and I think that makes you a better player.
SLAM: There are so many great former Lynx players. Which veterans have had the biggest impact on you?
NC: Thats so hard because we have two [Rebekkah Brunson and Lindsay Whalen] on the coaching staff. But I mean, Mama Syl [Sylvia Fowles] is definitely one of my favorites. I played with her for four years. Shes just, like, the best person you ever want to meet. So I have to say shes definitely one of my favorites.
SLAM: Can you give us a story during the time you played together?
NC: Syl was the first person that welcomed me when I came to the Lynx, the very first day of training camp, whichshes, like, a Hall of Fame player, MVP, Defensive Player of the Year. Shes like, Whats up baby? If you ever need anything, you come to me, and she just, like, got me in a huge bear hug. I was squished on her. And thats just who she is. So that was awesome to have her as my vet coming into the League, and now still she texts me after every game day. You know, Good job, or Good luck, or whatever it is. Shes awesome.
SLAM: Youre in this period of your career where youre not yet a vet
NC: Thank you for saying that.
SLAM: Over the last few years, youve seen the League grow, but youve also grown yourself as a player. How has that transition been?
NC: Yeah, I think its just more responsibility for the younger people on your team. I talked earlier about how Syl made me feel as a rookie, so inviting. And now its my job to do that for the younger people. You see what that responsibility is. This is my seventh season. I still feel young on the inside, but now I have to realize that its my job to take care of the younger ones. So having that transition was a little bit harder a couple years ago when it started.
SLAM: Looking back, can you think of a moment in your career that felt small at the time but ended up changing everything?
NC: Getting drafted to Minnesota, because you have no control over where you get drafted. And you always think, Wherever I go, youre gonna make the best of it. But Im so lucky to have gotten drafted here, and its changed the trajectory of my entire career. So it might have seemed small at the timelike, obviously not small in the sense that youre getting drafted and its so exciting, but you have no control and youre gonna go wherever you go. You have to go there. But Im so lucky that it happened that way. And when I got drafted here, that definitely changed my life.
SLAM: If we were to take all the titles and accolades away, how would you describe yourself at your core?
NC: I feel like mother is a huge onemother and wife. I am so family centered. I take a lot of pride in those areas. Im a family person. At my core, I love just decompressing, being around my family. I would much rather have a night and play games with my family than be out anywhere else.
SLAM: What does a perfect off-day look like?
NC: A perfect off-day for meit depends on if its a weekend or a school day, or Mila, if its a school day, you know, shes at school for a little bit so I get some time to relax. Ill probablythis is going to sound boringbut get errands done. Getting that done for me is fun now, so I dont know, buying stuff for my house, or taking a nap is awesome, binging some shows, just doing, like, lazy stuff is the perfect day.
SLAM: What drives you now that maybe didnt drive you early on in your career?
NC: Definitely my family, my daughter. It just puts so many things into perspective. Like I said before, basketball has never been the most important thing in my life, but it was the biggest thing for a really long time. And so now there are just so many more things that are so much more important to me. And it really grounds you, it makes you see that its not so important. Like, were playing a game at the end of the day, and playing the game is really important, but my family is the number one always. So whether I have a good day or a bad day, Mila at the end of the day, shes like, Mama! [and] runs into your arms. It just makes everything better. So my why has definitely changed in that way.
SLAM: How do you manage the chaos of everything that the season brings?
NC: I dont feel like I take work home with me. Ive never been one that was obsessed with basketball. I really like to do other things in my life. And so definitely, I love napping. I have always loved napping. So napping is number one when I have time, but, also, like starting shows or watching movies, doing things away from basketball, really kind of fills my cup back up so I can give my all when I am playing.
SLAM: You won your second Olympic God medal last summer with Team USA. Does it feel like the Olympics were just yesterday or actually almost a year ago?
NC: Honestly, both. Because when I think about it, that its been almost a year, its crazyso much has happened in between then [and now]. Also, its so vivid in my mind that it feels like it could be yesterday. But then I think, after that we went to the WNBA Finals, we launched UnrivaledIve done all these things since then. So its kind of like that at the same time. It feels far away and like it just happened.
SLAM: The landscape of womens basketball has been constantly growing and evolving. When you think back to your rookie season, did you ever imagine this would be the reality?
NC: No, honestly. I mean, its crazy, because usually change happens so slowly, you cant really track it. Like, it happens little by little, and all of a sudden you look at where you are and its different. This change has happened so fast. You can track year by year how different it is. So its amazing to be a part of. I didnt know if this would happen [during] my career, so to see it happen so quickly, its so fun to be a part of.
SLAM: Your involvement in the growth has not gone unnoticed, with the creation of a new community in Unrivaled. As a player, trailblazer and leader within the league, how would you describe this time in womens basketball?
NC: I think its just like such a time of empowerment, honestly, like we hold the most cards weve ever held, the most power that weve ever held as women athletes. Just the way that people view womens sports, the accessibility to us is more than its ever been, the availability, the way that youre able to see us on TV more than ever. Like, we still want to make a lot of changes in that area, but its better than its ever been, and you can see the growth thats happening because of that. And so, yeah, I just feel like were in a time where you can see the cards, like, changing hands almost, or the power the players clearly have the most power. And its obviously, as a player, a really fun time to be a part of womens sports.
SLAM: Building the League one brick at a time, youve always stressed the importance of the W being a space to play and to invest. Now seeing the business side, what are some lessons youve picked up?
NC: I think you see what happens when you invest in womens sportslike, when you pay the players accordingly, when you give them a chance to be owners in a league. I think its incredible. Just the buy-in that you get from the players, how well its received by the fans. You also get a little bit where the League side comes from. Obviously as players, we want to ask for the most amount of money. And you see the business side where you have X expenses. What I do think is there are areas where we could push the boundaries some more.
SLAM: If someone 10 years from now says, Napheesa changed the League, what do you hope they mean?
NC: I hope by change the league they mean definitely through Unrivaled. I hope Unrivaled is thriving in that way, and because of that, its pushed the envelope in all of womens sports [and] were changing what it means to pay and treat womens athletes. So I hope that we are trailblazers in that waythat is the goal of what Unrivaled is.
Theres still a lot I want to accomplish as a player, too. So I hope I change the League in that way. I want to win championships, I want to win different things, so in both of those areas, I hope I leave a mark.
Portraits by Matthew Coughlin.
