Napheesa Collier had a tremendous 2024 season for the Minnesota Lynx, winning Defensive Player of the Year and finishing second in MVP voting as she led her team back to the WNBA Finals. Unfortunately she couldn't finish the job once there, falling to the New York Liberty in five games.
The ending of Game 5 was rather controversial and included some calls from the referees that the Lynx felt were questionable at best. Collier highlighted those calls in an Instagram post she put up after the loss, leading to accusations that Collier wasn't handling the defeat as well as she could.
Talking to Taylor Rooks this week, Collier spoke about the Finals and made a funny, yet honest, admission— she's still not over it and she is definitely a sore loser.
"I'll just never forget it," Collier said. "It was my first really hard loss in my career and especially when you feel like it was, like, unfair, whatever it was. I feel like it's something hard to get over and I'm honestly not going to apologize for that.
"I'm a competitor. I want to win. I shouldn't get over that. I should use it as fuel, which is exactly what I'm doing. I'm working really hard... Next time I'm there, I want to win."
When Rooks asked what kind of backlash Collier receives for admitting she's not over the loss, she acknowledged she's not good at losing.
"People just calling me a sore loser. I'm like, 'I am a sore loser. It sucks! I agree with you. I am very sore about losing.'"
Napheesa Collier on 2024 WNBA Finals loss:
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 30, 2025
"I feel like [that loss] is something hard to get over and I'm honestly not going to apologize for that... calling me a sore loser... I AM a sore loser."
(via Taylor Rooks X) pic.twitter.com/9FRe274x42
It's definitely the attitude Minnesota would prefer Collier to have. Professional athletes need this sort of thing to drive their competitiveness and desire for greatness. It sounds like Collier, already a great player, is dead-set on getting better just so she doesn't feel what it's like to lose again.
A frightening prospect for the rest of the W.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Napheesa Collier Makes Funny, Honest Admission About Losing 2024 WNBA Finals .
