Napheesa Collier faces a big decision about returning to the Lynx as WNBA free agency awaits

Napheesa Collier had a particularly late start to her eighth season with the Minnesota Lynx, following surgery on both ankles that delayed her 2026 debut until just before the All-Star break.After an abruptly disappointing finish for the Lynx in the WNBA playoffs, the smooth-shooting and defensively tough forward the team has tried to build a title contender around is uncertain to return.Collier will be one of the most prominent players in the league to enter free agency before the 2027 season, along with Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell and Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young. Collier signed a one-year contract with Minnesota following the new collective bargaining agreement that brought a surge of higher salaries to the sport's biggest stars."Whatever she decides, we're both going to be OK," head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve said after the Lynx were swept in two games by the New York Liberty in the first round of the playoffs.Collier was drafted with the