Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier will have surgery on both ankles and is expected to be sidelined four to six months.
That means the WNBA star will miss the upcoming Unrivaled season, the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league announced Thursday.
Collier had been rehabbing ankle injuries suffered during the WNBA season but said last month that she was working back to full strength so she could be available for Unrivaled’s second season, which begins Monday.
The 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year suffered a sprained right ankle during an August game against the Las Vegas Aces and missed several weeks.
She then hurt her left ankle in Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals against the Phoenix Mercury.
Unrivaled, which Collier co-founded with fellow WNBA star Breanna Stewart, said a ‘joint team of medical staff’ determined that surgery on both ankles would be needed for Collier, named the 3-on-3 league’s MVP last season.
Napheesa Collier will have surgery on both ankles and is expected to be out four to six months
Temi Fagbenle will take Collier’s spot on the Lunar Owls for the 2026 season.
In her role on the WNBA players’ executive council, Collier has been involved the recent bitter collective bargaining agreement negotiations between the players’ union and the league.
The WNBPA and league have been at loggerheads for the past few months, extending the deadline to reach a deal a couple of times with the latest one set to expire January 9.
On December 18, WNBA players authorized their union’s executive council to call a strike if necessary. The move gives union negotiators another tool to use in talks.
A strike could delay the WNBA expansion draft and the beginning of free agency that usually starts in late January. The season itself isn’t expected to begin until late April or early May.
Players and owners have been meeting regularly to negotiate. Increased salaries and revenue sharing are two big areas that the sides aren’t close on.
Collier was rehabbing ankle injuries during the season but said last month she was working back to full strength
The league offered a max salary that would have guaranteed a $1million base, with projected revenue sharing pushing total earnings for max players to more than $1.2m in 2026.
Collier said in a Zoom last month that players are also fighting for child care and retirement benefits. She acknowledged that revenue sharing remains the main issue, which is why other topics haven’t been talked about as much.
‘I don’t think there’s fatigue,’ Collier said. ‘Obviously, there’s frustration in that both sides are trying to get what they want, but we still have that fire within us that we’re willing to do what it takes.
‘We’re going to do whatever it takes to get what we think we deserve.’
