Now it’s time to introduce the other co-founder, Napheesa Collier. Collier is a star forward for the Minnesota Lynx who was born on September 23, 1996, in Jefferson City, Missouri. The former number 6th overall selection in the 2019 WNBA Draft has taken the league by storm. She made an immediate impact in her rookie season by earning the WNBA Rookie of the Year award in 2019. During her rookie campaign she averaged 13 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists.
As she has gotten older she has continued to maximize her input and effect on the women’s game. For the current 2024 season, Collier is averaging a double double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Her passing continues to excel as she has become the centerpiece of the Lynx offense and franchise, as she’s now producing around 4 assists per game. Collier is known for being an extremely versatile forward with strong defensive skills and an innate ability to score in various ways from the field.
Just like her co-founder Breanna Stewart, she was also a dominant star at the University of Connecticut. Throughout her time at UConn, she earned numerous accolades, including being named an All-American, a 2-time AAC Player of the Year in 2017 and 2019, 2019 AAC Defensive Player of the Year and an NCAA Champion in 2016. In addition to her WNBA career, Collier got to add another gold medal to her collection of accolades as she and Team USA beat France in the 2024 Olympics.
As the partial founder of the Unrivaled women’s 3v3 basketball league, Collier’s focus was to help select players that would help accelerate and expand the publicity, sponsorship, revenue, and viewership of the women’s basketball brand as a whole. She said that “It’s really important to us,” Collier told The Associated Press. “Compensation is a huge part of Unrivaled as a league and a business. All the players in this first year will have equity in the league. For players to have a piece of the pie essentially to grow their generational wealth is something we’re really excited about.” Having a piece of the pie is essential for the marketing of not only the league but the players themselves which allows them to maximize off of their own names individually. She even spoke about their motivation to add young stars like Angel Reese to add even more eyes to the competition that comes along with their talent. In the Sports Illustrated interview she noted that “Angel is a business woman and knows the power of ownership. This is the one investment as basketball players we can control. Angel is part of this group that’s bringing in a ton of viewership, she should have long term upside in the growth of basketball!”
