Napheesa Collier Receives WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award; Cheryl Reeve Recognized as Top Coach | Sports

The Minnesota Lynx collected a number of honors Sunday, as Napheesa Collier was named the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year and Cheryl Reeve, who led the U.S. girls's nationwide staff to a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, was named each the league's Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year.

The awards spotlight a fantastic run for the Lynx, the No. 2 seed in the WNBA playoffs who host the Connecticut Sun on Sunday (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) in Game 1 of their semifinal matchup.

Collier, who completed second to Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson in the MVP race, acquired 36 votes from a nationwide panel of 67 media members to win the award for the first time.

“I think it's just having that overall aggression on both sides of the ball,” Collier mentioned. “We always are saying defense leads the offense because it lets you get in transition and it lets you push the pace. It lets you get the other team on their heels, so we take a lot of pride in our defense and it's something that obviously I've worked hard to improve because I know it's what's best for the team.”

Wilson, the league's DPOY the previous two seasons, was second with 26 votes. The Seattle Storm's Ezi Magbegor was third with three votes, and the Sun's DiJonai Carrington and Lynx's Courtney Williams every acquired one vote.

Collier put collectively the best two-game stretch in WNBA playoffs historical past, scoring 80 factors mixed in a pair of wins over the Phoenix Mercury in the first spherical. The Lynx additionally led the WNBA by averaging 101.5 factors by way of two video games of the playoffs.

As nice as she has been offensively, Collier was the chief of a protection that completed second in defensive ranking and first in opponents' efficient area aim proportion. According to ESPN Research, Collier held opponents to 36.2% area aim capturing as the closest defender this season, the prime mark in the league.

Collier ranked second in the WNBA in steals (1.91 per recreation), third in rebounds (9.7 per recreation) and seventh in blocks (1.41 per recreation), posting career-high averages in all three classes. She joins former Lynx standout Sylvia Fowles, a four-time winner, as the solely franchise gamers to win the award.

“All I'm focusing on is making it to the next round and playing our next game,” Collier mentioned Wednesday after tying a WNBA postseason file with 42 factors 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.”

Aces coach Becky Hammon mentioned she thought Wilson deserved the award, and the staff wore No. 22 Wilson jerseys to Sunday's playoff recreation to point out assist.

“If you have to go down a rabbit hole of analytics to put somebody in the same conversation, I think you already have the answer to your question,” Hammon mentioned Sunday.

Wilson led the WNBA in blocks (2.6 per recreation), was second in rebounds (11.9) and was tied for fourth in steals (1.8). She additionally was first in defensive win shares (3.8) and second to Collier in defensive ranking.

Reeve, who set a file along with her fourth WNBA Coach of the Year honor, did not skip a beat after main the nationwide staff to a gold medal in Paris. She guided the Lynx to a 14-2 file after the Olympic break, the prime mark in the WNBA. But her personnel selections had been as pivotal as her teaching.

In February, she signed free brokers Williams and Alanna Smith, who each have been key gamers throughout this run. Williams completed sixth in assists this season, and Smith linked on 40% of her 3-point makes an attempt, creating matchup issues for opposing groups as a 6-foot-4 risk from the perimeter who additionally averaged 1.5 blocks.

In August, Reeve traded for Myisha Hines-Allen, who has change into a catalyst off the bench for the Lynx.

“I can't tell you that we said, ‘Okay, if we sign Alanna Smith and that if we signed Courtney Williams, and if we trade for Natisha Hiedeman, and if we wait until the trade deadline to trade for [Allen], that's all gonna fit perfectly.' That's just ridiculous. And it's not true,” Reeve mentioned Sunday.

“You work hard. You do the things that you think are the best path for your team. Sometimes you get lucky and you get lightning in a bottle, as they say. And that's what this team is.”

Reeve joins Curt Miller as the solely people to win the Coach of the Year and the Executive of the Year awards in the identical season. Reeve acquired 62 of 67 votes for the teaching award, whereas the New York Liberty's Sandy Brondello, whose staff is the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, acquired 4 votes. Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides, whose staff reached the playoffs for the first time since 2016, acquired one vote.

The WNBA additionally launched its All-Defensive staff, with Collier, Wilson, Magbegor, Carrington and the Liberty's Breanna Stewart being named to the first staff. Minnesota's Smith, Alyssa Thomas of Connecticut, Nneka Ogwumike of Seattle, Jonquel Jones of New York and Natasha Cloud of Phoenix had been named to the second staff.

ESPN's Michael Voepel contributed to this report.