Following one of the biggest playoff upsets in WNBA history, the Minnesota Lynx head coach did not hold back on Napheesa Collier.

Despite being the first seed and the consensus best team in the WNBA coming into the playoffs, the Lynx were swept 2-0 in their first-round series against the New York Liberty.

It was an abysmal performance from the Lynx, who should have shown more fight against a team they were tipped to beat.

Cheryl Reeve suggests Olivia Miles and Natasha Howard were Lynx’s best players

Speaking to reporters following their upset loss to the New York Liberty, Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve seemingly took a dig at Napheesa Collier.

Despite her brilliant performances during the season, Reeve ignored her and dubbed Olivia Miles and Natasha Howard the team’s two best players during the season.

“Our two best players all season long were Olivia Miles and Natasha Howard. Unfortunately for us, Liv and Tasha were kind of rendered ineffective in these two games.”

Neither Miles nor Howard had standout performances, with Miles in particular playing poorly and scoring just five points while going 1-8 from the field.

As for Collier, she put up respectable numbers, scoring 14 points on 6-14 shooting, with seven rebounds and an assist as well. Even though she didn’t deliver a signature performance, she showed a level of reliability for the Lynx.

While both Miles and Howard were excellent during the season, Reeve may have been too dismissive of Collier as a star player.

Granted, Collier only played 16 games during the regular season after struggling with injuries for most of the 2026 season.

But to ignore the stellar performances she delivered over the last few years, especially during their run to the 2024 WNBA Finals, after one injury-riddled season is quite unfair.

When she was playing, Collier was excellent, averaging 16.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting 50% from the field and 44.4% from beyond the arc.

Olivia Miles was the Rookie of the Year and a strong MVP candidate in her own right, averaging 19.8 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 49.2% from the field and 38.8% from deep.

Collier is expected to weigh her options in free agency this summer, and many believe she may have played her final game with the Lynx.