WNBA Defensive Player of the Year: Lynx's Napheesa Collier earns honor for first time, per report

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier will be named 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, according to Shams Charania . His report coincides with a social media post from the WNBPA that appeared to inadvertently leak the upcoming award winners.

Collier, who finished second in this season's MVP voting behind A'ja Wilson , was the anchor for one of the league's best defenses this season. The Lynx finished second in defensive rating (94.8), first in opponent field goal percentage (41.0) and fourth in opponent turnover rate (19.7).

On an individual level, Collier averaged 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per game, which ranked second and seventh in the league, respectively, and had 3.7 defensive win shares, which was also good for second. When she was on the floor for the Lynx, they had a 92.2 defensive rating, and when she sat it balooned to 99.1.

Though players such as No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark are beginning to change the game, the WNBA remains a frontcourt dominated league. As such, when Collier was tasked with guarding the other team's best player each night, she was often dealing with fellow MVP candidates and All-WNBA caliber stars such as Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Alyssa Thomas .

"Defensively, being able to take on that challenge against the great post players in our league -- whatever we ask her to do, she rises to the challenge," Lynx guard Kayla McBride said earlier this season . "I think this year she is just playing with a little bit more tenacity and that expectation that she has of herself."

Thanks in large part to their defense, the Lynx won a franchise-record 30 games this season and earned the No. 2 seed in the playoffs with a stunning post-Olympics surge in which they went 13-2.

After sweeping the Phoenix Mercury in the first round of the playoffs behind a stunning series from Collier, who tied the WNBA playoff scoring record with 42 points in Game 2, the Lynx are on to the semifinals, where they'll face the Connecticut Sun .

Game 1 of that series is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.