Napheesa Collier will be sidelined for the upcoming Unrivaled season and possibly the start of the WNBA season as she is scheduled for surgery on both ankles, Unrivaled announced on Thursday. The procedure is anticipated to occur next week, according to a source familiar with the matter cited by The Athletic.
The league indicated that her recovery period is expected to last between four and six months, which may overlap with the Minnesota Lynx’s season.
Collier, an All-Star for the Lynx and a co-founder of Unrivaled, sustained injuries during the 2025 WNBA season. She sprained her right ankle during a decisive victory against the Las Vegas Aces on August 2nd and made a comeback on August 24th. She played through the rest of the regular season and most of the playoffs before tearing a ligament in her left ankle and experiencing a shin strain on the same leg near the end of Game 3 in the Lynx’s semifinal defeat to the Phoenix Mercury.
On December 17, Collier mentioned that her left ankle initially did not require surgery and she aimed to be ready for the Unrivaled season starting on January 5 through rehabilitation. However, after further tests during the preseason, her medical team, including staff from Unrivaled and the Lynx, decided multiple surgeries were necessary.
Although WNBA seasons typically start in mid-May, ongoing negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement could affect this schedule.
Before her first ankle injury, Collier was a frontrunner for the WNBA MVP award and still finished second in voting despite missing 11 games. The Lynx, who were the top seed, were ousted in the semifinals after Collier missed the season-ending Game 4.
Golden State Valkyries center Temi Fagbenle will take Collier’s place with the Lunar Owls. Fagbenle spent the early WNBA offseason playing in China’s WCBA. The Lunar Owls also feature notable players such as Skylar Diggins, Marina Mabry, Rebecca Allen, Rachel Banham, and Aaliyah Edwards.
Beyond her role on the court, Collier serves as the vice president of the National Women’s Basketball Players Association and is a member of its executive committee. The players’ union and the league have been exchanging proposals recently, with a new deadline set for January 9 following two extensions.
Unrivaled will expand from six to eight teams before the second season begins.
The league, which secured funding this fall from investors valuing it at $340 million, will include over a dozen first-time players such as Kelsey Plum (Los Angeles Sparks), Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings), Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever), Saniyah Rivers (Connecticut Sun), Veronica Barton (Golden State Valkyries), and Sonja Citron and Kiki Iliafen (Washington Mystics).
This report was originally published in The Athletic.
Fan Take: Napheesa Collier’s injury and upcoming surgeries are significant setbacks for one of the WNBA’s brightest stars, but her leadership off the court remains invaluable. This news underscores the resilience demanded of professional athletes and highlights ongoing growth and investment in women’s basketball, signaling an exciting evolution for the sport’s future.
