Last week, Unrivaled announced that Napheesa Collier would be out 4-6 months after doctors determined she needed surgery on both ankles. The news was a big blow to Unrivaled, which lost its co-founder and reigning MVP. Its an even bigger blow for her Unrivaled team, Lunar Owls FC. Temi Fagbenle is a fine replacement for Collier, but she's not enough to singlehandedly prop up the defense. Unless Aaliyah Edwards is ready to make a huge leap ahead of her third WNBA season, I don't see how the Lunar Owls stay competitive.

The fallout for the Lynx is not nearly so clear. Collier and most of the starters are free agents, though Minnesota will certainly use the Core designation on Collier if it still exists in the next CBA. The Lynx have enough young talent, including the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming draft, that they should be championship contenders if they can get to the playoffs with Collier healthy and playing at close to her MVP runner-up level.

Once we have a new CBA and have seen free agency and the draft, we can evaluate Minnesota’s chances in 2026. For now, I think it is far more interesting to look at how this new affects Collier’s fantasy value as well as the value of her teammates.

Collier was second in fppg in each of the last two seasons and third in 2023. I think she had to be second on draft boards behind A’ja Wilson prior to this news, even if some people would take Caitlin Clark ahead of her. Even if Collier comes back at the low end of her timeline and it looks like she will be read for the start of the WNBA regular season, I don’t think you can have her second anymore. In addition to Wilson and Clark, I’m taking Alyssa Thomas and Breanna Stewart ahead of her. Probably Paige Bueckers, Rhyne Howard, and Sabrina Ionescu as well, but I think that’s it. In her last five WNBA seasons, Collier has finished below 32 fppg once and below 35.6 fppg twice. I think that is basically her floor this season. I’m not counting on her to return to the 39 fppg she has topped in each of the last three seasons, but she still has that ceiling, especially in the second half.

Collier has never played fewer than 32.3 mpg in a season, but I think she’ll have a hard time reaching that number this season. I worry that even if both ankles heal quickly, it might take her time to build up her stamina enough to play as many minutes as she has in the past. If it looks like she won’t be back until sometime in June, we’ll have to move Collier into the second or even third round of fantasy drafts, though at that point we will be taking her behind players who are clearly worse on a per-game basis.

As sad as it will be to not see Collier play for as much as half the year, I am intrigued to see what the rest of the Lynx can do with increased minutes and usage. Courtney Williams couldn’t carry the offense in the playoffs with Collier out, but she should be fine in that role in the regular season. I was surprised to see that Williams’s usage last season was the highest of her career outside of the Wubble in 2020. I think Williams’s draft stock will increase the longer Collier is out, but that may be a mistake. I’m not sure Williams can take on much more usage, and even if she does, it might come at the cost of her efficiency. Williams averaged 29.1 fppg last season, the second-highest mark of her career. I’m not going to count on her matching that total in her age-32 season.

With Collier out in Game 4 of the semifinals against Phoenix, Jessica Shepard stepped up with 14 points in 36 minutes on 6-11 shooting. Phoenix was largely able to contain her in the second half, but I see no reason to believe she won’t be effective in the regular season. Shepart averaged 28.1 fantasy points in 31.5 minutes per game in 12 starts last season, and I think she would come close to those numbers if she starts in place of Collier early in the season.

Perhaps the biggest effect of Collier’s injury will be on the No. 2 overall pick. There is a good chance Awa Fam will need to come along slowly but if Minnesota takes anyone else, they could walk right into heavy usage. Olivia Miles might be the best fit as the point guard the Lynx have struggled to find since Lindsay Whalen retired, but I think any of the top prospects would do well if they landed there.

I am most interested to see which of Minnesota’s young bigs step up if Collier has to miss time. This question becomes even more urgent if Shepard, Allanna Smith, and/or Bridget Carleton leave as unrestricted free agents. Maria Kliundikova was third on the Lynx with 36.6 fantasy points per 36 minutes, behind Napheesa Collier and tied with Courtney Williams. In her only regular-season start, Kliundikova scored 33 fantasy points in 36.9 minutes. We can’t expect that kind of fantasy production in a larger role, but as a fantasy player, I’ll be rooting for Kliundikova to win a starting role.

Dorka Juhasz wasn’t great in seven starts for the Lynx in 2024, but she just turned 26 last month, and she is averaging 13.9 points and 5.9 rebounds in 23.8 minutes per game for Galatasaray. If she doesn’t get taken in the expansion draft, she could be ready for a more prominent role.

She pretty much only played in garbage time as a rookie, but I was impressed by Anastasiia Olairi Kosu nonetheless. I like her athleticism and aggression, even if that didn't translate into a rotation spot as a rookie. She averaged 29.4 fantasy points per 36 minutes in the regular season, and she will turn 21 in April. Minnesota has had a lot of success developing young bigs of late, and I am excited to see what Olairi Kosu can do, especially if Napheesa Collier sticks around. I fully expect Collier to return to the peak of her powers at some point next season, but until then, her teammates should have plenty of opportunities to score fantasy points.