Lynx Star Napheesa Collier Talks 'Exciting' WNBA Finals and Staying 'in the Moment' (Exclusive)

The two-time Olympic gold medalist and current WNBA Defensive Player of the Year is looking to bring the Minnesota Lynx its first championship since 2017

It’s already been a year to remember for Napheesa Collier after winning her second Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris and being named the WNBA’s Defensive Player of the Year last month.

But the 28-year-old Minnesota Lynx star and her teammates are just two wins away from adding a WNBA championship to that list of accomplishments.

Collier caught up with PEOPLE this week, shortly after arriving back in Minneapolis ahead of Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Wednesday night against the New York Liberty.

“It’s been really exciting,” Collier says of the series, which is tied at 1-1 after the Lynx stole Game 1 in a thrilling overtime win on the road in New York City last Thursday before dropping Game 2 on Sunday night. “We’re just super locked in and ready to get back out there and play again.”

Capping off 2024 with a WNBA Championship would make an already memorable year the most prolific of her career, but personal accolades aren’t driving Collier to the rim.

“It’s been a really crazy year but you really just take it one day at a time,” Collier says. “I’m a really in the moment kind of person.”

Related: WNBA Expands Finals Format to 7 Games for Next Season: Commissioner Says It's the 'Ideal Time' to Change

The four-time WNBA All-Star took a break from her off day to talk with PEOPLE about her new partnership with Opill, the over-the-counter birth control company. The company announced Tueday morning that Collier will travel to several college campuses to talk with students about the options they have when it comes to reproductive healthcare, and to share information about Opill, which is the first over-the-counter contraception pill to become available in the United States.

Collier, who gave birth to her daughter Mila in May 2022, says thinking about her daughter’s future and wanting her to have more healthcare options when she’s older had inspired the WNBA star to get involved with the company.

“It’s really important that she has these options available,” Collier says. “And it’s so important to create dialog around it. It's sometimes something that's really awkward to talk about with people, which I don't think it should be. We should really be getting rid of that stigma. It's something I want to do with my daughter, to make it so she can talk to me and we can talk about these things where it's not awkward or confusing for her.”

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But those discussions are years away for Collier, who says that these days, Mila “still gets sad” when she leaves the house for games.

“I don’t think she really understands what I do yet and what’s happening, but she knows when it’s gametime,” Collier laughs. “She sees me getting ready and I put on my uniform, and she’s like, ‘Oh, are you going to play basketball?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to go play.’ And then she gets sad because I’m leaving.”

Related: Caitlin Clark Gets Emotional as She Learns She's the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year

When she leaves home for the next three games, the WNBA Championship will be on the line. But whether or not the Lynx win it all — and become the WNBA franchise with the most championships ever in the process — coming back home and walking through the front door will always be the same with Mila waiting on the other side.

“She's absolutely the best part about my day,” Collier smiles. “It’s really grounding, just knowing that no matter what the outcome is or what happens in a game, she just sees me as mom. It doesn't matter to her. At the end of the day, I just see her with a big smile on her face. It doesn't matter if we won the game or lost. She has the same level of excitement to see me every time. It really just puts everything into perspective."

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