Napheesa Collier sets the tone for all of Lynx’s success

The Lynx’s current brand of play is awfully appealing to those who simply love the game of basketball.

They pass, cut and space on offense, carrying out the age-old adage of sacrificing a good shot for a great one.

Defensively, they bust their tails to grind out every single possession.

The combination of the two sides of the ball make the Lynx, who open their WNBA best-of-5 semifinal series against Connecticut on Sunday at Target Center, one of the best teams in the league and a true championship contender.

Surely, Lynx coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve walks into the facility every morning with a smile on her face, knowing what’s about to play out in front of her. Creating such camaraderie and unselfishness anywhere — let alone within a professional sports team — is no easy feat.

But the task does get exponentially easier when your best player is Napheesa Collier.

The all-world forward was historically good in Minnesota’s two-game first-round playoff sweep of Phoenix. She dropped 38 points in Game 1, and followed it up with 42 in Game 2. The latter tied a WNBA playoff record. The combination of the two set a new league high for a multi-game scoring output in the postseason.

“She’s insane. Y’all been watching?” Lynx guard Courtney Williams asked. “She’s been going crazy. She’s been making history, man.”

The craziest thing about her performances are how ho-hum they appear to be in real time. Reeve is never thinking about the numbers during the game. She’s constantly occupied with what’s playing out in front of her and what should come next. But even the coach caught herself peeking up at the scoreboard in the first half of Game 2 against Phoenix and seeing Collier had already accrued 22 points.

Not too shabby. But it is one of those things you’ll only realize in the moment if it’s shoved in your face. Because it’s not as though Collier’s scoring bursts come via Steph Curry-like shot-making in which she’s pulling up from wild spots on the court or chucking up circus shots over multiple defenders.

No, her excellence is rooted in great positioning, timing and execution. Heading into each game, Reeve said Collier knows the matchup and how she’ll attack it.

“She’s like an amoeba that, if they’re going to let her be in the paint, then she’s going to find herself in the paint. she’s going to screen, she’s going to roll,” Reeve said. “If the paint is going to be more difficult, she understands how to play in movement and be on the perimeter. And then shoot the basketball. She’s shooting the three well. She just finds different ways to impact the game based on what’s dictated.”

The game could dictate that she relentlessly attacks the paint for 30 points. Perhaps she has to let it rip on five triples. Or maybe Collier has to make a few sacrificial cuts and keep the ball moving to the next teammate. Whatever the case may be, it’s fine with her. Even after scoring those record-tying 42 points, Collier insisted she was merely on the receiving end of great ball movement from her teammates.

“I’m just playing for my team. I’m trying to win a game. I’m trying to take advantage of what the defense is giving me,” she said. “It’s not even like I’m going out there with a point goal in my head. I’m just trying to win the game. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters to me. That stuff is really cool, but if you’re not winning, it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, all I’m focusing on is making it to the next round, winning our next game.”

The actions back up the words. Collier is willing to do whatever is required for the Lynx to succeed. In the playoffs, that can often mean playing every second of the 40-minute game, putting in maximum exertion throughout and serving as the best player on both ends of the court. And, when it’s all said and done, not caring if she gets any of the credit for her efforts.

But it’s clear she’s the head of the snake. Because the Lynx’s best player moves the ball and makes the right play as the epicenter of the offense, her teammates follow suit. A Collier-centric offensive approach was first featured in the bubble season, when a number of her teammates then had career years — likely stemming from Collier’s presence and decision-making — that would never again be replicated. Minnesota shifted back toward that direction a year ago and has held true to the approach this season, now armed with better personnel to maximize the 6-foot-1 forward’s impact.

On the other end, because Collier defends every possession with a rabid tenacity, everyone else falls in line.

Collier is both one of the two or three best players in the WNBA, and also not above any responsibility on the court. The Lynx are better for it.

Reeve noted Collier’s achievements, which get loftier with each passing day, are not a surprise. This was the stratosphere to which her collegiate success at UConn suggested she one day could ascend.

But, Reeve noted, Collier has “earned” all the flowers that have been tossed her way.

“Just the evolution of Phee, every time she plays,” Reeve said. “The humility, she understands the game, she listens.”

And, in turn, she grows and evolves, and makes sure those around her are doing the same.