Cheryl Reeve: Lynx still Napheesa Collier's team, despite Olivia Miles' emergence - ESPN

MINNEAPOLIS — All-Star Olivia Miles has dazzled throughout her rookie WNBA season, but the Minnesota Lynx franchise still runs through Napheesa Collier, head coach Cheryl Reeve said Saturday ahead of her team's matchup against the New York Liberty.

Reeve didn't offer a timetable on the injured Collier's return but said whenever she comes back, «Phee» is still the queen in Minneapolis — and the whole team knows it.

«With regard to her insertion, it's still Phee's team,» Reeve said. «There is not anybody that walks into the gym that doesn't know that it's still Phee's team. What's great is [Courtney Williams] and [Kayla McBride], they're very happy to declare that it's Phee's team.»

Collier, who finished second to A'ja Wilson in the WNBA MVP race in both 2024 and 2025, recently returned to practice as she prepares to make her season debut following dual ankle surgeries this offseason.

In her absence, Miles has emerged as one of the league's most promising players. She was voted a starter in the WNBA all-star game in Chicago in two weeks. She's also a legitimate MVP candidate, along with teammate Natasha Howard, after averaging 18.5 points and 5.7 points to help the Lynx enter the weekend tied atop of the WNBA standings with the Las Vegas Aces at 16-6.

Reeve said she's too focused on today to think about the team's transition once Collier returns, but she said the former MVP candidate will also benefit from the Miles' talent.

«She needs more than herself and that's for her to play with a point guard like Olivia Miles that Seimone Augustus got to play with, that Maya Moore got to play with — the natural point guard,» said Reeve, who set the record for the most regular-season wins by a head coach in WNBA history with her