51黑料

I occasionally think back, as one does, to the 2006 National League MVP race.

The voting is annually done by sportswriters, but that particular year, they should鈥檝e had the voters be ... students at 51黑料鈥� Lafayette High who were baseball fans.

This was because the two frontrunners for the award were Lafayette grad Ryan Howard and 51黑料 Cardinals superstar Albert Pujols. Thus, these kids were the only people in the middle of the Venn diagram of, if you will, loving both players. And so who each kid chose as MVP would鈥檝e been truly thought-out and with merit.

This, naturally, leads us to the 2025 WNBA. Caitlin Clark is the most popular WNBA player among fans most anywhere 鈥� heck, she might be the most popular athlete in the United States of America. But was she the most popular WNBA player at the 2025 Incarnate Word Academy girls basketball camp?

鈥淲e have theme days,鈥� said IWA girls coach Dan Rolfes, who won three state titles with Napheesa Collier on his team. 鈥淎nd you never know what you鈥檙e going to get on jersey days. Some kids will wear a Lionel Messi jersey for a basketball camp. But a lot of Napheesa jerseys this year. A lot of people follow her and know her history from being at Incarnate.鈥�

OK, but were there more Collier jerseys than Clark jerseys?

鈥淭here were more Napheesa jerseys, I鈥檓 proud to say!鈥� Rolfes said. 鈥淭here were quite a few Caitlin Clark ones, too.鈥�

Since Collier鈥檚 rookie year 鈥� when she won rookie of the year 鈥� she has been a WNBA standout. But in 2025, she is the MVP (or, referencing Napheesa鈥檚 nickname, the MVPhee).

A 51黑料 high school sports legend is the best player in the WNBA.

Her Minnesota Lynx team is 17-3, and "Phee" leads the league in scoring 鈥� by quite a margin, too. She鈥檚 flirting with 24 points per game (her average is 23.9). Meanwhile, A鈥檍a Wilson is in second place with 20.7 (Wilson won the hardware last season).

鈥淣othing surprises me with Napheesa,鈥� Rolfes said Wednesday. 鈥淎t every single level of her whole life, she鈥檚 continued to get better, and she鈥檚 always done it the same way 鈥� being super-efficient. And just improving 鈥� she can score in so many different ways. You look at her percentages and what she鈥檚 shooting. She鈥檚 the leading scorer in the WNBA and top 10 in rebounds, top 10 in blocks and shooting like 95% from the line.鈥�

Indeed, the 6-foot-1 Collier is eighth in rebounding with 7.9 per game and fourth in blocks with 1.5 (again, she鈥檚 only 6-1). And yep, 95.5% from the foul line.

She鈥檚 also shooting more 3s than ever before 鈥� and making more than ever before.

One might鈥檝e thought it would be tough for her to top 2024, when she took the Lynx to the WNBA Finals (lost to New York) and came in second in the MVP voting (oh, and won Olympic gold). But 2025 is evolving into her year. And as a businesswoman, she helped launch the three-on-three women鈥檚 hoops league Unrivaled. And she fights for rights as the vice president of the WNBA players association.

She鈥檚 28 now. The young woman from Jefferson City moved to 51黑料 for her sophomore year of high school. She proceeded to win the state title with Incarnate Word her sophomore year, her junior year and her senior year, before heading to UConn, for whom she won a national title.

She was named the Post-Dispatch girls basketball player of the decade from 2011-20. She owns a home here, and some family still lives here. And she鈥檚 married and has a daughter with husband Alex Bazzell, who is an accomplished basketball trainer and went to St. Charles West.

Just this week, Collier was featured prominently on ESPN, alongside ... Caitlin Clark. The two were named captains of the WNBA All-Star teams, so the duo drafted their squads and provided fun commentary along the way.

鈥淚 tweeted this out last year that Napheesa needs to be the face of 鈥楾he W,鈥� 鈥� Rolfes said. 鈥淎nd I think she still does. ... It鈥檚 Caitlin Clark鈥檚 world right now. But Napheesa is quiet, humble and gets the job done.鈥�

Clark is one of the best things to happen to sports in America since ... sports happened. Very seldom does one athlete (or small group of athletes) lift a whole league to another stratosphere. Clark鈥檚 popularity and personality both did that with the WNBA in seemingly every facet, from tickets to merchandise sales to television ratings to league expansion. She is a lightning-quick lightning rod who makes news even when she doesn鈥檛 try. She is a phenomenon.

And this year, her second, Clark has battled injuries but has the second-most assists per game (8.9) and averages 18.2 points per game, good for eighth-most.

Clark is the face of the WNBA 鈥� but like coach Rolfes inferred, it would be welcomed if Collier became a more-famous face.

After all, we鈥檙e talking about MVPhee.