Napheesa Collier wins Tamika Catchings Award

Photo courtesy Chris Poss/The Next

Jan. 30, 2025 – Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx has won the PBWA’s Tamika Catchings Award, which honors the WNBA player who best combines excellence on the court with cooperation and dignity in dealing with the media and public.

While leading the Lynx to the WNBA Finals in 2024 – and simultaneously building to the debut of the Unrivaled league, which she co-founded – Collier has never let her endless work interfere with a consistent effort to work with the media, helping us tell not only her story, but the broader narratives of this moment in women’s basketball. Her willingness to speak on big-picture issues has provided the public a sense of where women’s basketball is going, while her consistency in doing so has helped elevate these stories for both existing fans and the countless newcomers to the league.

“It’s an honor to be recognized with the PBWA Tamika Catchings Award, especially as someone who admires Tamika’s legacy on and off the court,” Collier said. “Storytelling and media coverage is such an important part of growing the ecosystem around women’s basketball, and I’m grateful to play a small part in the rising tide for women’s sports as a whole.” 

Other nominees for the award included Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever, Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty, Azurá Stevens of the Los Angeles Sparks, Natasha Cloud of the Phoenix Mercury, Jonquel Jones of the New York Liberty and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough of the Washington Mystics. The nominations and final vote were conducted by members of the PBWA’s WNBA chapter, created in 2021 and chaired by Howard Megdal.

“I was very happy to hear of this deserving PBWA recognition for Phee,” said Cheryl Reeve, the Lynx’s head coach and president of basketball operations. “Her selfless demeanor extends to partnering with the media to actively participate in increasing the coverage of professional women’s basketball. She embodies all that is good as a star player and a face of the WNBA.”

“I’ve had the privilege of covering Napheesa Collier since her college days at UConn,” Megdal said. “She has never wavered from her respect and appreciation for the work we do telling stories of women’s basketball, and is well on her way to creating an unmatched legacy in the sport.”

The PBWA announced the creation of three awards in 2024 to honor WNBA figures who go above and beyond to work with the media. We are proud to present these awards, each named after trailblazers who helped light the way:

• The Val Ackerman Award goes to the best team (or in special circumstances, league) public-relations professional, and is named after the first president of the WNBA and current head of the Big East Conference, Val Ackerman, who possesses a keen understanding of the importance of media and has worked hard to empower us to do our best work. The 2024 honoree is Bryan Flannery of the New York Liberty.
• The Anne Donovan Award goes to the coach (or in special circumstances, executive) who is most available and helpful to the media, and is named after the late Anne Donovan, an icon of the sport as a player, head coach and executive. The 2024 honoree will be announced Friday, Jan. 31.
• The Tamika Catchings Award goes to the player who best fosters a spirit of cooperation with the media, and is named after the former Indiana Fever star, who never said no to a chance to promote the league.

The awards are modeled after similar honors that the PBWA bestows annually on the NBA side, to the player (Magic Johnson Award), coach (Rudy Tomjanovich Award) and PR staff (Brian McIntyre Award) who consistently go above and beyond to work with the media and the public.

“We are grateful to all who help us shine a light on the incredible stories happening every day in women’s basketball,” Megdal said. “Documenting this period of time is not only vital to the growth of the game today, but will provide a historical record about the current trailblazing figures that will form the foundation for telling that history for generations to come.”

Founded in 1973, the Professional Basketball Writers Association is a nonprofit membership organization for journalists who regularly cover the NBA and the WNBA for newspapers, magazines, wire services and online outlets. At present, the PBWA has approximately 230 members, representing more than 80 outlets.