As the clock ticked under 15 seconds in overtime of Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals and the score tied at 93-93, there was only one player the Minnesota Lynx were looking for: Napheesa Collier. Their superstar forward, the one household name in the collective, had carried them to this point. Of course she would come through again. Never mind that this was her first Finals game.
Collier posted up on the left block and screamed for the ball as Jonquel Jones rushed over to defend. Turning this way and that against the 6-foot-6, All-Defensive honoree, Collier seemed stuck. Lesser players would have panicked and kicked the ball out, or tried to bait the referees into a foul call. Not Collier.
She turned once more and faded over her right shoulder, creating just enough separation to pick the lock on Jones' trap. Her shot went up. It floated through the air for just over a second, the balance of the game hanging on its trajectory. Barclays Center went silent as it fell through the net.
Collier's game-winning shot in the Lynx's 95-93 Game 1 win on Thursday was the signature moment in a signature season for the MVP runner-up and Defensive Player of the Year.
The former No. 6 overall pick didn't enter the league with much hype. She's not flashy nor overly emotional on the court. She doesn't play in a big market or dominate conversation on social media. But she just might be the best player in the world.
"People always kind of go, 'she's good, but she's not quite A'ja Wilson or Breanna Stewart.' That's what everybody thinks, right?" Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said ahead of the Finals. "But she's coming. She's working hard to change that narrative. She doesn't really care what people think -- I do."
"Best player in the world." Stewart and Wilson have been feuding over the nebulous title for the past few years. They've won five of the last seven MVP awards, and both will stake a claim no matter what happens in the Finals. Wilson was the unanimous MVP this season, and rightly so, but the winner of that award is not guaranteed anything. No one knows that better than Wilson, who was not named MVP last season, but usurped Stewart with a stunning postseason run that included a championship and Finals MVP.
Collier just might do the same. Already this postseason, she's tied the playoff scoring record with 42 points in a Game 2 win over the Phoenix Mercury and become the first player ever to put up at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in three consecutive playoff games. Her 27.1 points per game through the first two rounds were the most by a player entering the Finals since Lynx legend Maya Moore in 2015.
She continued her brilliant run with 21 points on 10 of 16 from the field, eight rebounds, two assists, three steals and six blocks. There is no specific criteria for determining the best player in the world, but if you wanted to create a rubric you could base it off Collier's Game 1 outing.
She was on the court for 43 minutes and 13 seconds of the 45 total minutes. No one else played more. In fact, only Cynthia Cooper, in Game 2 of the 1998 Finals and Game 2 of the 2000 Finals, has ever played more minutes in a Finals game.
On offense, Collier scored easily and in a variety of ways. Her game-winner stands out, and for good reason, but she also had key buckets down the stretch of regulation, and another early in overtime. Though not the quickest nor tallest player around, her fundamentals are impeccable and she can always find a way to get to her spot. Stewart has made the All-Defensive First Team in three consecutive seasons, and Collier was going over, around and through her with ease.
On the other end, Collier showed why she was named Defensive Player of the Year with an all-time clinic. She is the first player ever to record at least three steals and six blocks in a Finals game, and her stunning rejection of Jones with less than 30 seconds to play, which may be forgotten amid all the chaos that came after it, was a game-saving moment.
When she wasn't coming up with a stock, she was making Stewart's life miserable. The Liberty star's 6 of 21 shooting performance was her second worst showing in a Finals game.
The Lynx have a lot of work left, but they are now the overwhelming favorite to lift the trophy after tying the largest comeback in Finals history. Teams that win Game 1 of the Finals have gone on to win it all 74% of the time, per ESPN Stats and Info.
If they raise the percentage on that stat with a few more performances in this vein from Collier, Reeve's lone voice will turn into a chorus.