Napheesa Collier’s Control & Paige Bueckers’ Beginning

Napheesa Collier’s week keeps getting better.

First, Collier signing with Jordan Brand. Secondly, getting named the MVP favorite going into the 2025 year by general managers.

Collier then proceeded to drop a cool 34 piece special on the heads of the Dallas Wings. Collier did not ease into the season at all. Instead, she walked through the front door, sized up the room, and left no doubt about who it belongs to. Not only the room, but the league.

Minnesota’s 99–84 win over Dallas on Wednesday wasn’t just clean, it was commanding. The game was closed until a dominant third quarter where the Lynx went off, in particular Phee and Courtney Williams.

Minnesota exploded for 35 points in the third, turning a two-point halftime lead into a commanding win. Williams and Collier scored 33 of Minnesota’s 35 points.

Anchored by a four rebound, four assist, game, where Phee shot 12/21 from the floor, and hit 2/3 of her three-point attempts. To start the season Collier, played like someone who’s already halfway through her MVP campaign.

“We won because we made tough shots,” Collier said postgame. “It’s still not where we want it to be… Hopefully this was the kick in the butt we needed. You can still learn from wins.”

Collier’s teammate Courtney Williams also had a dominant performance. Williams hit three triples, dished nine assists, and never turned it over once in 28 minutes, all while shooting over 66% from the floor. Williams made life easier for everyone—including Phee.

“It’s her year to go get it. all she gotta do is keep doign what she’s doing. Our team success, we’re successful as long as Phee is. As long as she comes out and does Phee things, she should be getting what she deserves.

Even down two starters, including Kayla McBride and Alanna Smith, the Lynx felt like the a dominating team. “This game, the way those two played, we needed those guys to do that,” said head coach Cheryl Reeve.

UCOnn Superstar dominates

Everyone came to see a UConn superstar dominate, and they did.

It just was not the one everyone paid to see.

Paige Bueckers is not Napheesa Collier. She’s not supposed to be. Not yet.

This was supposed to be Bueckers’ big night, and for a few flashes, it was. Bueckers, the rookie point guard scored her first WNBA bucket early, with a sick crossover on Karlie Samuelson. The rookie point guard finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds, and even flashed a midrange pull-up that felt ripped from her UConn highlight reel.

 

“She’s special in how she’s able to handle things with such grace,” said head coach Chris Koclanes. “There’s a lot of attention on evolving our mental game, and just dealing with everything else—the outside expectations, the outside noise. Credit to Paige. She already lives that way.”

The Wings, as a whole, are still learning to live that way.

But this was Collier’s game — and Minnesota’s culture flex. Every Lynx starter finished with a +14 or better, while Dallas’ top five sat firmly in the red. Bueckers shot just 3-of-10, and her backcourt partner Arike Ogunbowale needed 12 shots to get 16 points.

“It’s a learning curve,” Bueckers said. “They hit us with a lot of pressure, and I’ve got to be better.”

Dallas debuted multiple rookies, and while Aziaha James and JJ Quinerly flashed in brief cameos, the Wings looked like a team still stitching their identity together. Myisha Hines-Allen scored 11 points, and DiJonai Carrington poured in 15, but the defense cracked wide open in the third quarter.

Minnesota shot 53% from the field. They scored 27 assists on 35 makes. That’s not ball movement — that’s choreography.

The game moved fast. The game will keep moving. But this, as Bueckers said, is the start of something — not the sum of it.

Next up Next

Minnesota continues their revenge tour 1–0. Dallas, meanwhile, has a long film session ahead — and a very short memory to build.

“You’ve got to have a foundation,” Bueckers said again. “And then continue to build off that.”

It’s clear Dallas is still laying theirs.

Just as clear that Minnesota already knows what they’re building on.