Napheesa Collier Selected No. 6 Overall by Minnesota Lynx in WNBA Draft

With the sixth pick in the WNBA Draft, the Minnesota Lynx selected UConn forward Napheesa Collier, two picks after the Chicago Sky selected Katie Lou Samuelson fourth overall.

“We talk about Napheesa being a little bit of everything, a Swiss Army knife,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said via Twitter. “My experience with her at USA Basketball gave me a really good look into who she is and what she’s capable of.”

Last season, the Lynx finished seventh in the league but will be without star Maya Moore in 2019, who is sitting out the season for personal reasons. Collier is the sixth former UConn player to be drafted by Minnesota.

The former Husky is coming off a four-year career in Storrs where she was named AAC Player of the Year Twice while also earning All-American honors three years in a row as well as the Katrina McClain Award for the nation’s best power forward. As a team, UConn won a national championship and reached the Final Four all four years of Collier’s career.

Collier finished her career third on the Huskies’ all-time scoring list with 2,391 points behind only Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart. As a senior, Collier put together the best rebounding season in program history, snatching 411 boards — 39 more than the previous record set by Tina Charles.

Collier is the 38th former Husky to be selected in the WNBA Draft and the 19th taken in the top 10. Collier and Samuelson are the 12th set of UConn teammates to be taken in the same draft.