Napheesa Collier could miss beginning of WNBA season

Napheesa Collier’s 2025 WNBA season ended in heartbreak when she was injured and could not finish the Minnesota Lynx’s second-round playoff series. That was back in October, and Collier’s goal was to heal in time for the Unrivaled season, which starts on Jan. 5. Unfortunately, it was announced in the early hours of the new year that it will not be happening.

Per a statement from Unrivaled, Collier will be undergoing surgery on both of her ankles. It has been recommended to her to do so, and it is the best chance for her to feel her best in the long term. That means, though, that she will be out for 4-6 months to recover.

This prognosis means that she will be out for the entirety of Unrivaled’s second season. Last season, Collier led her Lunar Owls to a semi-finals berth, won the league’s MVP award, and also won the mid-season 1-on-1 tournament. She was undoubtedly the most dominant player in the league. As a co-founder, Collier was also responsible for many of the perks and amenities that Unrivaled was praised for, working to create a great experience for herself and her peers.

With a prognosis of 4-6 months, this also means that Collier could miss the beginning of the WNBA season. Training camp begins in April (unless that changes with the new CBA), and the season starts in May — Collier will need to be on the lower end of that recovery timeline to make it for the beginning of the Lynx’s season.

The only way Collier avoids missing significant time to start the season is if the season is the WNBA season gets pushed. Which, with the way CBA negotiations are going, seems like a possibility.

On Dec. 31, Alexa Phillipou reported that the players and the WNBA are still very far apart on negotiations. Not just on salary, but on several other key details as well.

With Jan. 9 now just over a week away, we are getting into territory where the sides may start to talk about a work stoppage as well. The WNBPA has already voted to authorize a strike, if it comes to that as well. Either way, going beyond the Jan. 9 deadline almost guarantees that the WNBA season will be pushed (if not rushed).

In that case, Napheesa might get a little bit of extra time to recover. Either way, missing the Unrivaled season is going to have a huge impact on the Lunar Owls and the entire league as well. The league just lost their MVP, and the 1-on-1 tournament seems to have opened up for new contenders as well.

For Collier, sights must be set ahead to first get a new CBA signed, then healing up for the WNBA season, and then staying healthy long enough to help Team USA at the Women’s World Cup in Germany this fall.