After the Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson has been announced the MVP unanimously, it’s now time for the Defensive Player of the Year award. Apart from Wilson, who is one of the top choices to the DPOY, another contender in the Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier has emerged. While the Aces coach Becky Hammon chose Wilson over Collier, the latter’s mentor still has doubts that Wilson can bag the award.

The Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve was present on the Good Game with Sarah Spain on Monday when she spoke at length about Hammon’s take on Wilson’s deserving of the award. Though the 58-year-old gave due respect to the recently crowned MVP, she disagreed with Hammon’s perspective and instead advocated for Collier to clinch the trophy.

“I didn’t see the interview but I would be surprised if someone expressed anger because I think most people I talk to think it’s unanimous decision. No disrespect to A’ja. I mean I know what A’ja brings to the table. It depends on what you…on what you… value when you vote. Everybody’s different. I know for me what I value is top; defensive teams should be…I know all defensive teams should be riddled with the players from that team. You know…and so more than one players. So you look at the top 3 or 4 defensive teams,” Reeve stated.

The Minnesota Lynx are number two on the defensive ratings with 94.8%, and one of the key players to have carried the Reeve-coached team is Napheesa Collier. The veteran forward averages 20.4 points with 9.7 rebounds per game which has propelled Lynx to the playoffs. The Lynx as of now also occupy the second place in steals average with 8.6 per game. Apart from Collier, the other stars to have provided the impetus to the Lynx are Bridget Carleton, and Courtney Williams. Therefore, as per Reeve, Collier deserves the award since her team has collectively contributed to the defense with Phee being a standout among others.

“You know, I think in A’ja’s case you know can you be the defensive player of the year when your defense isn’t in there? That’s… that’s completely subjective and obviously, the angle that Becky’s coming from. I am a huge fan of A’ja Wilson’s she’s had an incredible year, but she’s gonna have MVP, and Napheesa Collier’s the defensive player of the year,” she concluded on Good Game with Sarah Spain.

The New Jersey-born nonetheless acknowledged Hammon’s choice and divulged that she understood where she was coming from. The 3× WNBA Coach of the Year further congratulated Wilson for clinching the MVP award unanimously on Sunday, becoming the first player after Cynthia Cooper to get such an honor with an unchallenged majority in 1997. Reeve also admitted that while Wilson deserved the MVP, Collier deserved the DPOY. And this might certainly hurt Hammon who thought Wilson was the only one deserving of the title.

Becky Hammon lashes out for A’ja Wilson

Wilson since the beginning of this year’s WNBA has played the roles of both the best offensive and defensive player for her team. The Aces center in one of her games against the Seattle Storm collected an astonishing 20 rebounds in July. While Phee had an entire team contributing to her numbers, Wilson has singlehandedly taken the Aces to the playoffs with her abilities. Therefore, according to Hammon, 2× WNBA Defensive Player of the Year deserves her third consecutive title since Collier’s name had to be pulled out of a rabbit hole as per her.

“I’m just gonna say this- A’ja Wilson got the MVP stuff right. The defensive player of the year if you have to as a journalist or reporter have to go down a rabbit hole to find somebody else to be in the conversation, you already have the answer to all your questions. And that’s I want to say on that,” Hammon had opined on Sunday.

Wilson as of now averages 11.9 rebounds with 2.6 blocks per game. She leads the league in rebounds, blocks, and points, becoming the first W star to be atop the three departments in a single season. All this just adds to her credibility but it will be interesting to see who ultimately deserves the award according to the voters.