"Voters did what they did" - Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve turns salty on Napheesa Collier losing MVP to A’ja Wilson

This season, Napheesa Collier and A'ja Wilson both had a solid case to be named WNBA MVP. On Sunday, the results of the MVP vote were finally announced, and it was Wilson who came away with her fourth MVP win.

When asked to react to these results, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve appeared to brush off the question. Her response, however, had a hint of disappointment, especially because her star player Collier was the MVP frontrunner for quite some time.

"I don't," Reeve said when asked if she had a reaction to the MVP results. "Just like Defensive Player of the Year, voters did what they did. We're focused on Game 1."

Notably, Reeve made a reference to this season's Defensive Player of the Year award, which was awarded to co-winners Wilson and Alanna Smith. This was the first time in WNBA history that DPOY was awarded to two winners after the vote resulted in a tie.

As for the MVP award, Wilson received 51 first-place votes and 21 second-place votes. The Las Vegas Aces forward got a total of 657 points, whie Collier got 534 points. Other names on the MVP ballot were Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas (391 points), Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray (180 points), and Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell (93 points).

This season, Collier played 33 games and averaged 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game. However, she missed several games in August, which was right around the time that Wilson (23.4 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.6 spg, 2.3 bpg) was leading the Aces to a 16-game winning streak in the regular season.

Napheesa Collier gets introduced as "our MVPhee" prior to Game 1 vs. Mercury

Despite losing out on the MVP award, Collier appeared to be all pumped up at the start of Game 1 between the Lynx and the Phoenix Mercury. To show support to the Lynx star, the venue announcer added a special flair to Collier's introduction.

"And at forward, she's our M-V-Phee, 6'1", from the University of Connecticut, number 24, Napheesa Collier!" the announcer said.

The Lynx went on to defeat the Mercury 82-69 to draw first blood in their semifinal series. Collier finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, and two assists.

Edited by Simoun Victor Redoblado