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The Minnesota Lynx have been here before.
Just last year, the Lynx were 20-4 at the All-Star break and the favorites to win their first WNBA title since 2017. Last August, All-Star and All-WNBA forward Napheesa Collier sprained her ankle and missed time, but the Lynx still finished at 34-10, the best record in the WNBA and entered the playoffs with championship aspirations.
Collier suffered a second, more severe ankle injury in Game 3 of Minnesota’s WNBA semifinal series against the Phoenix Mercury, which the Mercury wrapped up in four games. Collier underwent surgeries on her left and right ankles in the offseason.
So far this season, the Lynx are a WNBA-best 22-6 at the All-Star break, and they only just got Collier back on Wednesday, July 22. Minnesota defeated the Seattle Storm in Seattle, and Collier posted 24 points and 10 rebounds in her 2026 debut.
“I was just so excited,” Collier said during her postgame presser. “I felt like a kid in a candy store. I couldn’t wait to get on the court, to get with these guys, just a lot of excitement. Just happy to be here.”
“It’s just like a year of pent-up excitement, so I think there’s a little bit of settling in, but my teammates always have me,” Collier added. “They always have my back. They’re encouraging me throughout this whole process, today included.”
The Lynx are 22-6 at the All-Star break. They’ve been here before. But this time, theoretically, they’ll be even stronger down the stretch.
To learn more about Collier’s grueling recovery and past year overall, watch ESPN’s original docuseries “Life in the W,” premiering this Friday, July 24.
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