Aces superstar A'ja Wilson was named WNBA MVP for the fourth time in her career Sunday. She led the league in scoring and blocks, but voters still had an incredibly tough decision to make between her, Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier and even triple-double machine Alyssa Thomas.
In the case of Collier specifically, she led the league-best Lynx to a 34-10 record and became just the second WNBA player to record a 50-40-90 season (50 percent shooting from the field, 40 percent shooting from three and 90 percent shooting from the free-throw line). She was the first to do so while averaging north of 20 points per game.
She averaged 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, compared to Wilson's 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Wilson finished with 51 first-place votes in the MVP race compared to 18 for Collier. Even though this wasn't the year where Collier got her first MVP, she doesn't seem too worried as the Lynx have the ultimate goal in their sights. Minnesota began its WNBA semifinals series against the Mercury on Sunday with an 82-69 win in which Collier scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
"The team is way bigger than me," she said Sunday of the MVP results via SB Nation's Noa Dalzell. "Whatever my personal goals are, I'm here for the team, and right now, we're focused on a championship. So, it was easy not to think about that."
The Lynx fell just short of a WNBA title last year after they lost in overtime to the Liberty in a championship-deciding Game 5. They dominated their regular-season schedule this year and Collier seems more fixated on her first title than her first MVP. With the win Sunday, the Lynx move just two wins away from a return to the WNBA Finals to play for a championship once again.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Napheesa Collier Remains Focused on One Thing After Finishing Second in MVP Voting.
