Minnesota forward Napheesa Collier is favored to win MVP honors and lead her Lynx to the WNBA title, according to the results of the league’s annual survey of general managers released Thursday.
Collier was runner-up for the award last season, when she earned Defensive Player of the Year honors and made the All-WNBA and All-Defensive first teams while leading the Lynx to a franchise-record 30 wins and a trip to the Finals.
Collier received 67 percent of the votes in the survey, with reigning MVP A’Ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces drawing 25 percent and Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark third with 8 percent.
The Lynx, who fell to the New York Liberty in the 2024 WNBA Finals, got 60 percent of the votes to win it all in 2025. New York received 20 percent, followed by Las Vegas and Indiana with 10 percent apiece.
Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve also was voted the best head coach with 83 percent of the GMs’ support. The Aces’ Becky Hammon received the other 17 percent.
The regular season opens with three games on Friday night, including Collier and the Lynx visiting the Dallas Wings and No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers — the GMs’ pick for Rookie of the Year.
Bueckers, coming off a national championship at UConn, received 73 percent of the votes from GMs. However, when asked which rookie would be the top player in the league in five years, 60 percent selected No. 2 pick Dominique Malonga of the Seattle Storm.
Clark, who energized the league during her Rookie of the Year campaign in 2024, received 50 percent of the votes when GMs were asked which player they would most want to build a team around. Clark also tied the Aces’ Chelsea Gray for first place as the best point guard and also finished first as the best shooting guard.
Clark’s team made the best overall moves in the offseason, according to the GMs. The Fever received 64 percent of the votes, with Dallas second at 18 percent.
–Field Level Media
