Napheesa Collier discusses her career highlights, including leading the Minnesota Lynx to the WNBA finals and winning two Olympic gold medals
EXCLUSIVE: Olympian Napheesa Collier Talks WNBA: “We’re Doing Things That Have Never Been Done Before”
Published on Dec. 17, 2024
If you watched the U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team dominate in 2024, there’s no doubt you saw Napheesa Collier shining bright and leading the way to gold! This wasn’t her first golden moment—Collier also brought home gold during the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, solidifying her reputation as a champion on and off the court.
As a dynamic WNBA star for the Minnesota Lynx, Collier has been making waves since she was drafted in 2019. Her 2024 season has been nothing short of extraordinary: She was named WNBA Defensive Player of the Year after earning 36 votes from a panel of 60 media experts. She also snagged MVP honors during the Lynx’s thrilling win in the 2024 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship and made her fourth WNBA All-Star Game appearance.
But what’s really exciting is what’s coming next. The trailblazer has teamed up with fellow WNBA star Breanna Stewart to launch Unrivaled, a groundbreaking 3-on-3 women’s basketball league set to debut in January 2025. This league is set to revolutionize women’s sports, offering players the highest average salaries in women’s professional league history.
Reader’s Digest caught up with Collier to chat about her incredible journey, the challenges she’s overcome and her vision for the future of the WNBA. Sports fans, get ready to dive into all the exciting details about what’s next for Collier, the Lynx and women’s basketball in 2025!
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Reader’s Digest: Congratulations on such an incredible year! What would you say is the biggest challenge and highlight of helping the Minnesota Lynx reach the WNBA finals?
Napheesa Collier: The highlight was the team. This was my favorite team that I’ve ever been on. We were just so close. It felt like a college team. A lot of times, professionally, you have people from a lot of different age groups, generations and backgrounds. You’re coming in and out of the team, so you might not get as close as you do in college. But from the beginning, we just really clicked. We were hanging out all the time, and our chemistry really translated on the court.
The biggest challenge [was] just staying consistent throughout the year and fighting through injuries.
Reader’s Digest: As the saying goes, you’re true to this, not new to this. You’ve won two Olympic gold medals, playing in the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games. These are major accomplishments. How did the experience in Paris shape you as an athlete and how would you say it might differ from the 2020 games?
Napheesa Collier: There are a lot of differences because 2020 was COVID, so there were no fans. Being able to celebrate with my family was really special this time. I had my daughter there, so just seeing her in the stands was awesome. She won’t remember, but the pictures and the memories that the rest of us made were really fun.
It’s always just really cool to play with 11 other best athletes in the world, just seeing their daily schedules and how they prepare for games, and being able to play with them.
Reader’s Digest: Both the WNBA finals and the Olympic Games demand teamwork and leadership. How do you approach leading and supporting your teammates in high-pressure moments like those?
Napheesa Collier: I think you have to just know your teammates. Get to know them, what their learning styles are and what they respond to. In the past, I have tried to lead by example. But the past couple of years, especially through my Minnesota team, I’ve tried to grow in the verbal aspects of leadership. So again [it’s about] just using those tools where some people you can talk to them in front of the team, or some people like to be pulled aside. Some people you can be more stern with. [For] some people you have to learn their learning styles.
Reader’s Digest: You’re the founder of Unrivaled, a new 3-on-3 league for WNBA players, set to launch in January 2025. What inspired you to create the league and what impact do you hope it will have on the future of women’s basketball?
Napheesa Collier: We created the league for a couple of reasons. My co-founder Breanna Stewart, we’ve both been in the league for a number of years, and I think just through that, you see what works and what doesn’t—where the holes are. Traditionally, not these past couple of years, but before, players would have to go straight overseas to supplement their income. The toll that takes on your body is a lot. You’re playing full year-round, but you’re also missing holidays with your family. You’re missing being home.
Brand building is so important to athletes. That’s where we make most of our money off the court. So when you are overseas, essentially your branding goes dark. Through all that, we came up with Unrivaled. Through that, you have the best athletes playing against each other, so you’re still getting better. We are super heavy content-based, so we’re building our brands. Then the other part of that is that women’s sports is just exploding right now, and it feels like everyone is making money off of that, except for the people who are putting the product on the field or the court. We wanted to change that landscape as well. We’re really excited to have everyone in our league have equity. All the players do, and we offer the highest average team salary in women’s sports.
Reader’s Digest: You talked about how you were happy to bring your child with you to the Olympic Games this year, and that is a beautiful experience. As a mother, how do you balance the demands of a professional basketball career with raising a family? Do you have any advice for other working moms in sports?
Napheesa Collier: I am really lucky with my family and my community that I have. I definitely couldn’t do it without them. My husband obviously is there. Then my dad has been with us the past two summers, taking care of Mila when my husband I both have to work.
Reader’s Digest: You are known as a fashionista. How would you describe your personal style, and how does fashion allow you to express yourself off the court?
Napheesa Collier: I think fashion just allows you to have fun—like express your personality. I have many different layers to my personality, so I feel like I have a lot of different styles. I like sporty, I like dressy. I like wearing heels. I like wearing sneakers. So I feel like my style is really fluid, just like what my mood is that day. I definitely don’t consider myself a fashionista, but I do think fashion is a beautiful way to express who you are and your personality.
Reader’s Digest: Who have been some of the biggest influences or role models in your life, both on and off the court?
Napheesa Collier: My family, for sure. They were my first influences in life and they continue to be the people that I go to for any questions that I have. I always joke that Mila is going to be asking me questions one day and I’m just going to ask the same questions to my mom so she gives me the answers to give her.
In the basketball world, I would say Kobe Bryant is a huge one. I followed him a lot when I was younger and then got to work with him when I was older. He was someone that I looked up to in the sports world a lot. [Former professional basketball player] Maya Moore was from my same hometown, went to the same college and then the same professional team. So it was really fun to kind of follow her career, especially someone from your hometown.
Reader’s Digest: What are some of your personal and professional goals for the upcoming year, both as an athlete and as an entrepreneur?
Napheesa Collier: As an entrepreneur and athlete, I’m really excited for Unrivaled. It’s been several years in the works, and I’m just really excited. I don’t think people really understand what it’s going to be. Everyone is very anxious and excited to see it, but they don’t really have half of it—like how cool it’s going to be, how in depth the player experience is going to be. I’m really excited to see that come to fruition, and then I’m also excited for the WNBA season as well. We made a great run last year, and we have all of our returning starters, plus waiting for the expansion draft, but most of our teams should be coming back.
Reader’s Digest: As you continue to break new ground in sports and advocacy, what legacy do you hope to leave behind, both for your daughter and for the next generation of female athletes?
Napheesa Collier: I hope to leave it better than I found it, especially through Unrivaled. We’re revolutionizing a lot of aspects of the game. We’re doing things that have never been done before. I hope that becomes the norm where players are allowed equity in their sports and they’re paid,. They should be paid so it feels like we’re trying to break a lot of barriers in that way. I’m hoping that it becomes normal in the space where it’s not a new thing.
Rapid response with Napheesa Collier
Reader’s Digest: Aisle seat or window?
Napheesa Collier: Window.
Reader’s Digest: Dogs or cats?
Napheesa Collier: Dogs.
Reader’s Digest: Mornings or nights?
Napheesa Collier: Mornings.
Reader’s Digest: Would you rather time-travel to the past or future?
Napheesa Collier: The past.
Reader’s Digest: If you weren’t an athlete, what would you be doing?
Napheesa Collier: Maybe volleyball.
Reader’s Digest: What advice would you give to your younger self if you could?
Napheesa Collier: Start shooting threes (three-point field goals) earlier.
Reader’s Digest: What’s the best mistake to ever happen to you?
Napheesa Collier: It’s not a mistake, but originally, I wasn’t going to go to UConn [University of Connecticut]. I wanted to go to a different school, so ending up there was really great for my career, and I loved my time there.
Reader’s Digest: What’s something that might be on your bucket list?
Napheesa Collier: I really want to travel to Egypt to see the pyramids.
Reader’s Digest: What’s one surprising thing that always makes you happy?
Napheesa Collier: This is so random but when they have groups of people singing, like around a piano, or someone’s playing like, it just makes me smile every time I pass them.
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At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. For this interview with Olympian and WNBA player Napheesa Collier, Reader’s Digest‘s Associate Editor Mariah Thomas tapped her experiences as a celebrity interviewer, lifestyle writer and editor of more than five years, to ask engaging and exclusive questions to share with readers. This video interview took place on Dec. 5, 2024. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
