WNBA: Minnesota Lynx All-25 Team: Part IV — Collier Headlines the Fourth Group

In honor of the 25th anniversary of the inception of the Minnesota Lynx this summer, the organization is recognizing the top 25 players throughout franchise history during the month of March.

Each week of the month, Minnesota is highlighting five players as part of the All-25 Team, accompanied by a social media campaign pointing out their contributions to the Lynx franchise on the court and off.

To be qualified for the Lynx All-25 Team, the honor is strictly statistical and award-based, with the list being comprised of players who have scored more than 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, started over 50 games, were members of two or more WNBA Championship teams, represented Minnesota in the WNBA All-Star Game or were end-of-season WNBA award winners while playing for the Lynx.

Last week, in the announcement of the third five All-25 players, Betty Lennox, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Tamika Williams, Monica Wright and Teresa Edwards joined the first round and second round of players to bring the total to 15 Lynx.

This week, the Lynx announced the fourth set of players on the All-25 Team. Here’s a look at who made this week’s list.

Svetlana Abrosimova

The first player to make the fourth wave of All-25 Team members is forward Svetlana Abrosimova, who played for the Lynx from 2001-07 and spent a total of 10 seasons in the league. Abrosimova entered the WNBA in 2001 when she was selected by Minnesota with the seventh overall pick out of UConn.

Abrosimova made an immediate impact with the Lynx in 2001, recording a career-best year in 2001 as a rookie with marks of 13.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, two assists and 1.6 steals over 26 games. Over her seven seasons with Minnesota, Abrosimova averaged 10 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals in 204 contests.

Abrosimova’s time with the Lynx came to an end after the 2007 season when she signed with the Connecticut Sun as a free agent in 2008. Before retiring in 2012, Abrosimova rounded out her career playing one season in Connecticut and two in Seattle — winning a WNBA title in 2010 — while averaging career marks of 9.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals in 263 games.

Napheesa Collier

The next player on the list of top players in franchise history is the current face of the Lynx organization, forward Napheesa Collier. The 26-year-old star is entering her fifth season in the WNBA in 2023 after entering the pro game in 2019 as the sixth overall selection out of UConn.

Collier stepped into the WNBA game and hit the ground running right away with Minnesota, concluding her rookie season as the 2019 Rookie of the Year to go along with her first All-Star nod. After her first year, Collier followed that up by averaging 16.1 points, nine rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks over 22 games in 2020, adding 16.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.2…