Lynx’s Collier Wins WNBA DPOY, Reeve Top Coach

It has been quite the summer/fall for Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve and her best player Napheesa Collier. The dynamic duo won a gold medal together in Paris in the Olympics over the French National Team, and now they are receiving more hardware, prior to their series against the Las Vegas Aces, the league announced on Sunday.

Reeve was bestowed the Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year awards after guiding the Lynx to a franchise-record 30-win regular season and a sweep of Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury in the first round of the playoffs.

With the honor, Reeve, 58 years-of-age, became the first person to win Coach of the Year an unbelievable four times. She previously captured the award in 2011, 2016 and 2020. This is her second time earning the Executive of the Year title after her 2019 win, and outs her in an elite class as only the second person to win the coach and executive awards in the same season. Curt Miller, who was recently let go by the Los Angeles Sparks, is the only other individual to haul in in both prizes in 2017 with the Connecticut Sun

In her 15th season controlling the sidelines as the head coach of the Lynx, Reeve received 62 of 67 votes from a national media panel. Sandy Brondello of the New York Liberty got four votes, and Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides brought up the rear and was named on one ballot.

As for Collier, this is her first Defensive Player of the Year award. She accumulated 36 of 67 votes, with A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces coming in second with 26. Collier, 28, is in her sixth WNBA season and started all 34 of her games played. She ranked second in the league in steals per game (1.91), third in rebounds (9.7), fourth in defensive rebounds (7.5) and seventh in blocked shots (1.41). Over the duration of the regular season, Collier’s individual defense was stifling, holding opponents to a miniscule 39.6% shooting. She is also only the fifth player in league history to win Defensive Player of the Year while getting it done on a pristine level, averaging 20 or more points a game on offense.

The four-time All-Star cleaned up the glass, collecting 10 defensive rebounds or more in seven games and eight steals in one night against the Sparks on June 14.

“All I’m focusing on is making it to the next round and playing our next game,” Collier said Wednesday after tying a WNBA postseason record with 42 points in a win over the Mercury. “I think that stuff just comes from really great teammates. We had so many assists. I think all of my baskets were assisted. My teammates did a great job of finding me and just taking advantage of what the defense was giving us.”

The Lynx concluded the regular season second in the league with fewest points allowed (75.6).

Minnesota, who is looking to win their fifth title, will next take on the Connecticut Sun in the semi-final round of the WNBA playoffs on Sunday night at 8:30 ET.