UConn great Napheesa Collier named WNBA MVP finalist alongside A'ja Wilson, Alyssa Thomas

Emily Adams, Hartford Courant on Sep 19, 2025

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HARTFORD, Conn. — Former UConn women’s basketball star Napheesa Collier was named a finalist for the WNBA MVP award Thursday, finishing in the top five of voting for the third year in a row.

Collier was joined as a finalist by Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson, Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray and Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell. Gray and Mitchell are both first-time finalists, while Wilson and Thomas have both finished in the top three of MVP voting for the last four consecutive seasons.

Collier was the MVP runner-up in 2024 behind Wilson, who won the league’s highest honor for the third time in five years. Wilson is once again the betting favorite to secure her fourth MVP in 2025, but the race is tight between her, Collier and Thomas.

Collier finished the 2025 regular season in historic fashion, becoming the second player ever to average 50% shooting from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 90% at the free-throw line. She joined seven-time All-Star Elena Delle Donne, who accomplished the feat in her 2019 MVP season with the Washington Mystics. Collier led the Minnesota Lynx to a 34-10 record and the top seed in the WNBA playoffs, averaging a career-high 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals and a career-high 1.5 blocks. She is the only player besides Wilson to rank top five in points, steals and blocks this year.

The Lynx advanced to the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs on Wednesday night, completing a sweep of the Golden State Valkyries in their first-round series. Collier, who missed 11 games late in the season due to an ankle injury, hasn’t missed a beat since returning and averaged 22 points, 6.5 rebounds, three assists and a steal in 32.5 minutes per game during the Valkyries series.

At least one UConn alumni has finished in the top three of MVP voting every season since 2019. If Collier wins, she would be the fifth former Husky to secure the honor, joining Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart. Stewart, who won the award twice in 2018 and 2023, did not finish in the top five of voting this season for the first time since she missed the 2019 season with an Achilles tear and just the third time in her nine-year career.