Minnesota Lynx fans can finally exhale as additional imaging has revealed no major structural damage to star forward Napheesa Collier’s right ankle.
Collier underwent a battery of tests on her injured ankle on both Sunday and Monday, with the general consensus being that she avoided a major injury. Nevertheless, she will still be sidelined for at least the next two weeks before being reevaluated.
“After undergoing an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), Collier was evaluated by team physician Dr. Elena Jelsing at Mayo Clinic Square, where a right ankle sprain was confirmed,” a team statement read. “Collier will be re-evaluated in the coming weeks and further updates on her progress will be provided when available.”
Injuries are part of sports, and there’s often nothing players, coaches, or front offices can do about them. However in this case, fans have been vocal about their displeasure of head coach Cheryl Reeve’s decision to leave Collier in the game, which ultimately led to her injury.
The 28 year old landed awkwardly with less than a minute to go in the 3rd quarter of her team’s contest against the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, and immediately began favouring her right leg. The issue fans have taken umbrage with is that at the time of the injury, Minnesota was leading by 43 points.
“Obviously, you hate to see anybody go down, but especially your MVP,” teammate Kayla McBride said after the game. “We just wish the best for her. We just want her to be healthy.”
Currently leading the league in points (23.5ppg), and sitting in 4th place for blocks (1.6 per game), and steals (1.8 per game), Collier is an MVP candidate for a team that sports the best record in the WNBA at 24-5. Had she suffered a longer term injury, it would have been a catastrophic blow to a team with championship aspirations this season.
When asked after the game if the Lynx starters should have been pulled earlier, Reeve simply responded “no”. Evidently that sentiment wasn’t shared by Aces coach Becky Hammon who had already pulled her starters with 5:22 remaining in the 3rd quarter with her team down 33 points.
With the lead swelling to 43 points, and the opposing team playing strictly reserve players, it’s unclear what Reeve hoped to gain by keeping her star players in the contest.
“It’s the third quarter of a game on someone else’s floor. I don’t think the game is over. I don’t think like that. [Collier] had a sub there and she wasn’t going to play the fourth quarter. Sometimes these things happen,” Reeve told reporters postgame. “I get it. People are going to rail on me and that’s part of sitting in the seat that I’m sitting in. We did what we think was right. Sometimes these things happen and it’s unfortunate and hopefully she will be OK.”
The Lynx would go on to win the contest by 53 points, marking the 2nd largest margin of victory in WNBA history. McBride would finish with a team high 24 points for the Lynx, who will prepare to take on the Seattle Storm on Tuesday night in their first game without Collier.
Photo: Lorie Shaull. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.