For the second time in franchise history, a Minnesota Lynx player has won the Defensive Player of the Year Award! After Sylvia Folwes won it four times in her career, Napheesa Collier is the latest to be honored by the WNBA. While the dominant numbers spoke for themselves, she has found an interesting similarity with Rookie of the Year, Caitlin Clark.

The WNBA’s official announcement revealed, “In honor of being named the 2024 Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Collier will receive $5,150 and a trophy designed to commemorate the achievement.” Meanwhile Caitlin Clark, the favorite for Rookie of the Year in the latter half of the season over Angel Reese, finally won the title a few days ago. Now what’s interesting to note is that both these players will receive the same amount of bonuses for different achievements – $5,150.

Receiving 36 votes from a panel of  67 sportswriters and broadcasters, it almost became a close competition for Napheesa Collier with the MVP A’ja Wilson, who received 26 votes. Also to be noted, Collier finished second to Wilson in the MVP race! But for many, the Lynx forward winning this award was a no-brainer, given her performance.

Grabbing at least 10 defensive rebounds in a game seven times, Collier also recorded seven games with at least three steals and 15 games with at least two blocks. Similarly, Clark’s achievements also stood out, as she not only brought more eyes to the W than ever before but also broke rookie records one after the other. The only rookie to have a triple-double, and doing it twice, the Fever guard took Indiana to soaring heights. And yet, the paltry amount she receives has brought a depressing statistic to light.

The Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever were some of the most watched games this season, given their star rookies’ rivalries. Per reports, the highest-priced tickets went up to $9,000, close to double the amount that these winners will receive. While those included in the All-WNBA Rookie Team will get an additional bonus of $1,500, it’s overall considered a lack of monetary incentive by many.

Now as the Lynx get ready for game 2 of the semifinals vs. the Connecticut Sun, they’ll be led by a confident Napheesa Collier. Even rival Alyssa Thomas couldn’t help but gush about the Lynx forward.

“She’s going to keep attacking you,” says Alyssa Thomas of Napheesa Collier

The Minnesota Lynx are looking to make history with a fifth Championship win. While the Sun defeated them in Game 1 of the semifinals, Napheesa Collier will prove to be a handful. Having ranked second in the league in both defensive rating (94.8) and fewest points allowed (75.6) this year, the 28-year-old’s performance has been such that even Sun players can’t help but be in awe.

“She’s going to keep attacking you,” Alyssa Thomas told reporters of defending Collier. “She moves around a lot… Team effort. Coming into this series, she was hot, really hot. And I think we did a great job tonight.” Having logged 19 points to lead Minnesota, Connecticut had their hands full in dealing with Collier.

While the semifinals will be a best-of-five scenario, the Lynx will be looking to win Game 2 tomorrow. With Coach of the Year Cheryl Reeve at the helm and a number of stars littering the team, fans are hoping for a good showing.