WNBA Defensive Player of the Year: Lynx's Napheesa Collier edges Aces star A'ja Wilson for first honor

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier has been named 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced on Sunday. Collier joins Sylvia Fowles (2016, 2021) as the only Lynx players to earn the honor and was also named to the All-Defensive First Team. 

Collier 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 A'ja 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. 

As expected, the Defensive Player of the Year voting was a close race between Collier and Wilson, who won MVP honors last week. The only other player to receive more than one vote was Ezi Magbegor. 

The league also announced the All-Defensive Teams on Sunday, and to little surprise the First Team was highlighted by Collier and Wilson. Magbegor and Carrington were also named to the First Team, along with Stewart. Voting totals for the All-Defensive Teams were not released. 

All-Defensive First Team

All-Defensive Second Team