Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier and Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas were named Players of the Week for Week 1 by the Women’s National Basketball Association on Tuesday.
Collier, the Western Conference player of the week, averaged 24.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 3.5 steals and 2.0 blocks per game over the two games of the home-and-home series against the Seattle Storm. She scored 20 points and 12 rebounds in the May 14 season opener at Seattle, the 17th 20+ point/10+ rebound double-double of her career.
Three days later she scored 29 points and became only the 12th player in WNBA history to register 25+ points, 5+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 5+ steals in a single game. She was the second Lynx player to do so, behind Odyssey Sims who accomplished this in 2019. This is the fifth time that she has been named player of the week.
The Eastern Conference player of the week, Thomas, averaged nearly a triple-double in her two contests, with per game averages of 13.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 9.5 assists.
She made the ninth regular season triple double of her career in the season opener against the Indiana Fever, with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists. In the second game of the week, versus the Washington Mystics, Thomas had 13 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block. This is Thomas’s 10th player of the week award.
It is going to be hard to say if either or both of these players repeat their performances next week, since the Lynx and Sun face each other tonight. Both teams are undefeated. Connecticut has a 3-0 record while Minnesota is 2-0 on the season. Tonight’s game is at Mohegan Sun Arena with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
