NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2024– Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier has been named the 2024 Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, the WNBA announced today. This is the first WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award for Collier, who joins Sylvia Fowles as the two players to earn the honor with the Lynx.
Collier received 36 votes from a national panel of 67 sportswriters and broadcasters. Las Vegas Aces center-forward A’ja Wilson finished in second place (26 votes), and Seattle Storm forward-center Ezi Magbegor was third (three votes). Connecticut Sun guard-forward DiJonai Carrington and Minnesota guard Courtney Williams each received one vote.
In her sixth WNBA season, Collier started all 34 games in which she played and ranked second in the league in steals per game (1.91, tied for her career best). In addition, she placed fourth in defensive rebounds per game (7.5) and seventh in blocked shots per game (1.41), finishing with career-high figures in both categories.
Collier grabbed at least 10 defensive rebounds in a game seven times. She also recorded seven games with at least three steals and 15 games with at least two blocks. Her eight steals against the Los Angeles Sparks on June 14 were a single-game high in the WNBA this season and, combined with her six-steal effort vs. Seattle on May 17, made Collier the only player to have two games of at least six steals.
A two-time WNBA All-Defensive Second Team selection, the 6-1 Collier helped Minnesota rank second in the league in both defensive rating (94.8) and fewest points allowed (75.6).
Behind Collier, Minnesota (30-10) earned the No. 2 seed in the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google and has since advanced to the WNBA Semifinals. Minnesota will continue its pursuit of a record fifth WNBA championship when it hosts Connecticut in Game 1 of the WNBA Semifinals tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Overall, Collier ranked third in the WNBA in rebounding with a career-best 9.7 rebounds per game and fifth in scoring with 20.4 points per game, the second-best figure of her career. The four-time WNBA All-Star also shot 49.2 percent from the field, the second-best mark for her career, and averaged a career-high 3.4 assists per game.
Collier was a member of the USA Basketball Women’s National Team that participated in the 2024 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game against Team WNBA before winning its eighth straight Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
In honor of being named the 2024 Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Collier will receive $5,150 and a trophy designed to commemorate the achievement.
