Napheesa Collier Is Fighting For More Than A WNBA Championship

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier is having a really good year despite a buzzer-beating defeat in Wednesday’s game three of the WNBA playoffs. She won her second Olympic gold medal, a EuroLeague championship, and became a four-time WNBA All-Star. Not to mention, TNT Sports recently picked up the TV rights to the Unrivaled Basketball League, the off-season 3-on-3 league she co-founded with New York Liberty forward — and Finals rival — Breanna Stewart in May.

It’s not just the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year who’s having a great 2024; the entire league is. The first two playoff games averaged more than 1 million viewers per game across multiple networks, up 131% over the previous year, and overall game attendance is up 48%. However, the momentum hasn’t been without some controversy. Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, respectively, continue to garner decisive headlines. But for Collier, who’s been in the W for five years, the league’s growth is what truly matters.

She’s done her fair share to contribute to it, too, and even the 2022 birth of her daughter didn’t slow her game. Instead, it spurred Collier to think more about reproductive health. The former Rookie of the Year (2019) recently announced her partnership with Opill®, the first FDA-approved, over-the-counter hormonal birth control pill.

In a post-Roe world and with a presidential election looming, reproductive health and access remain top concerns with women in the United States. In a national poll from the 2022 midterms, nearly 3 in 4 women said protecting access to contraception was one of their top priorities for elected officials.

Earlier this week, Bustle sat down with Collier to discuss motherhood, access to contraception, and the W’s incredible growth.

How does what Opill is doing align with your personal values?

It's so important to create a dialogue around this topic and inform people about their reproductive health and contraception options. I want people who want to be on birth control to know they have options, including Opill. I just so believe in what they're doing.

As a mother with a young child, how does reproductive health care and access help women like you, who are deep into their careers and juggling two very demanding responsibilities?

I want her to grow up not thinking that this is an awkward conversation, knowing that it’s really natural and something we should talk about. I want her to know about her options.

How has being a mother changed how you play your game and show up to work?

It’s a lot of juggling, and a lot of time management. Your time used to be your own. You used to be able to come and go and stay out and do whatever you wanted. And I want to be around my daughter, so I want to be as efficient as I can at my job so I can get back to being with her. I need to get practice in, but I’m not dilly-dallying, you know?

You’re planning a college tour with Opill at the end of the season. Why are you targeting universities?

It’s a really good age [for this conversation]. You’re on your own for the first time, and you need to be aware of your options. You don't have to see a health care provider; you can go to the store and get this. It's really affordable [Opill retails for $19.99 for a 30-day supply], which is a big thing when you're in college.

The college tour is slated to take place after this season is over, but at the moment, your team is right in the middle of a heated playoff tournament. How did the team make it this far? What was the season like for you guys?

We're firing on all cylinders. It's really rare to like the people that you work with so much, just from top to bottom. We hang out so much, even outside of the gym, which is pretty rare for professional sports. It translates onto the court really well, too. We have the talent to back it up, where we're fighting for each other, and anyone can go out and score double digits any night. So it's been a really fun season.

In the last year, there’s been a shift in WNBA viewership and fans. How has that felt for you as a player who's dedicated a lot of her life to this sport?

It's great. That has always been the goal, to grow the sport and to get more people invested in women's sports. So to see that happening, it's just been so fun, and to be a part of it in real time, while things are changing, to be able to see, even from when I first came into the league, how different it is, the fandom around it, the rivalries that are happening, the discourse in it, it's been amazing. I hope this is only the beginning.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.