The WNBA-leading Minnesota Lynx are getting a major boost.
Forward Napheesa Collier is available to make her 2026 season debut on Wednesday against the Seattle Storm, head coach Cheryl Reeve told reporters.
Collier will be on a minutes restriction, and expectations for her should be "tempered," per Reeve.
“This is not a full tilt… we still have a couple more steps to go before we see the Phee we know her to be,” Reeve said.
Collier, 29, has missed the first 27 games of Minnesota's season as she's been recovering from off-season surgery on both of her ankles.
The former Defensive Player of the Year suffered one of those ankle injuries during the WNBA semifinals against the Phoenix Mercury last season, forcing her to miss a decisive Game 4 of that series.
Collier was MVP runner-up for a second consecutive season in 2025 after averaging 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 53.1/40.3/90.6 per cent from the field, three-point line and free-throw line, respectively.
The former sixth overall pick and Rookie of the Year in 2019 also finished fifth last season in Defensive Player of the Year voting en route to earning all-WNBA first-team and all-defence first-team selections. Collier has made four all-WNBA teams and four all-defensive teams through her first seven years in the league.
Collier will also be playing to earn a new contract. She's earning $1.4 million this season before she's set to enter unrestricted free agency.
Despite missing the Collier's services, the Lynx have managed to reign supreme in the WNBA at 21-6.
Entering Wednesday's matchup against the Storm in Seattle, the Lynx are riding a six-game win streak and sit tied for the league's best road record at 11-2. They also own the WNBA's top net rating (plus-10.2), over three points per 100 possessions higher than the second-ranked Golden State Valkyries (plus-6.8) heading into the all-star break, and are the first — and currently the only — team to eclipse the 20-win mark.
Leading that effort has been breakout Rookie of the Year favourite and first-time all-star Olivia Miles, who should make a dynamic guard-forward pairing with Collier.
Wednesday's game will be Minnesota's final appearance before the week-long pause in regular-season action. The Lynx, potentially with Collier, will return to action on July 28 for the first of back-to-back games against the Toronto Tempo in a home-and-home split.