Lynx extend core qualifying offer to Napheesa Collier amid injury appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Napheesa Collier has unfinished business with the Minnesota Lynx after falling short in the playoffs for the last three seasons despite her MVP-type campaigns.
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Last year, the Lynx were eliminated by the Phoenix Mercury in the semifinals. In 2024, they lost to the New York Liberty in the WNBA Finals in a memorable five-game series.
Even though Collier is still sidelined by an ankle injury, she will be one of the hottest targets in free agency. But of course, the Lynx wants to retain her services.
WNBA reporter Khristina Williams said Minnesota has already made a core qualifying offer to the 29-year-old Collier.
It is a fully guaranteed one-year contract worth the supermax salary given to any player with a “core player” tag. With the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement, Collier could get a much bigger pay.
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It would only be fitting, as Collier was among those at the forefront of the WNBA Players Association’s negotiations with the WNBA for a better labor deal.
She missed the second season of Unrivaled after undergoing ankle surgery in January. She was expected to be sidelined for up to six months.
Last season, Collier averaged career-highs of 22.9 points and 1.5 blocks, while also tallying 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.6 steals. She finished runner-up to A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces for the MVP trophy.
Collier received numerous accolades, including nods to the All-WNBA First Team, the All-Defensive First Team, and the All-Star Game, wherein she was named MVP.
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She also became only the second player in league history to register shooting splits of 50-40-90 after WNBA icon Elena Delle Donne in 2019.
Collier is among the handful of notable names in free agency, including Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Alyssa Thomas, Sabrina Ionescu, Jackie Young, Nneka Ogwumike, Allisha Gray, and Satou Sabally, to name a few.
