Value and Impact of Napheesa Collier

[CamrnCrz1974]

While the WNBA has not yet fully recognized the level Napheesa Collier has reached (in terms of All-WNBA First Team and WNBA All-Defensive First Team nods/accolades), the win shares statistic certainly does.

Collier is fourth among all WNBA players in the value stat from 2019-21, and almost half of that value was accumulated on the defensive front.

 

[EricLA]

Thanks for the link but couldn't see the first 10 or so entries without being a subscriber...

 

[CocoHusky]

Napheesa Collier has always been a version of the cheat code not just in basketball but in life. Always graceful, elegant, extremely productive & understated in everything that she does. The beautiful thing about her UCONN tenure and the ironic thing about this entire thread was how slowly UCONN opponents and some basketball fans were to catch on that Napheesa is the main reason you were getting beat. Just like you would have to look carefully at these stats that @CamrnCrz1974 is presenting to realize Napheesa value in the WNBA you would also have to consult the UCONN media guide to realize that Napheesa scored more points than Tina Charles and grabbed more rebounds than Stewie did in her UCONN career. Napheesa recently became a new mother- no doubt that she will master that as well.

 

[blkkirk]

From the first time I watched her play I new she was going to be a really good player. If I had to choose my favorite most complete player that would be her. Great value and impact on me and the basketball world.

 

[cferraro04]

I always saw her as the heir apparent to the type of player that Maya Moore was... I feel the basketball world was deprived of seeing these two wonderful athletes on the floor together playing for the same team. It would have been pure poetry.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Even now Phee's great skill is underappreciated because there is little to no flail to her game and for many flail equates to superb effort. Rubbish. She moves seemingly effortlessly with cat like efficiency. Of all those in the WNBA I like watching her the best.

 

[UConnHometown]

Even now Phee's great skill is underappreciated because there is little to no flail to her game and for many flail equates to superb effort. Rubbish. She moves seemingly effortlessly with cat like efficiency. Of all those in the WNBA I like watching her the best.

Flail or flair*?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Flail or flair

flail ... she doesn't

 

[maccca3232]

Here is a table sorted by Win Shares per game during 2019-2021 seasons which I believe gives a more accurate ranking, with stats complied from Basketball Reference which is publicly available.

Napheesa is in 7th after a clear Top 6 emerged.

 

[snlMINAJ]

i would also say her value and impact is clearly seen in the terrible play of the lynx this season.

 

[JoePgh]

Here is a table sorted by Win Shares per game during 2019-2021 seasons which I believe gives a more accurate ranking, with stats complied from Basketball Reference which is publicly available.

Napheesa is in 7th after a clear Top 6 emerged.

View attachment 76996

Can you provide a layperson's definition of "win shares"? Does it work so that win shares are only given if the player's team wins the game? If so, it would favor players who play on winning teams more than those who play on lesser teams, if only because they have more team wins to claim a share of?

To the extent that this calculated stat is valuable (and I assume it is), it is notable that Sue Bird is 18th on the list even this late in her career. Nonetheless, the stat seems to favor front-court players over guards: the highest ranking guards on the list are Skylar at 9th and Sloot at 11th -- I guess that makes them the two "best" guards in the WNBA in some sense.

It is also somewhat surprising that Candace Parker (at 21st) is so far down the list, and that Liz Cambage is only in the middle of the list.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Can you provide a layperson's definition of "win shares"? Does it work so that win shares are only given if the player's team wins the game? If so, it would favor players who play on winning teams more than those who play on lesser teams, if only because they have more team wins to claim a share of?

@JoePgh , here you go. I hope this helps.

WIN SHARES (WS)
Win shares (WS) is a player statistic that attempts to demonstrate how much overall success a player brings to their team.

According to Basketball-Reference, win shares is a metric that estimates the number of wins a player produces for his team throughout the season. It is calculated using player, team and league-wide statistics and the sum of player win shares on a given team will be roughly equal to that team’s win total for the season.

OFFENSIVE WIN SHARES (OWS)
Offensive Win Shares are credited to players based on Dean Oliver's points produced and offensive possessions. The process for crediting OWS is:

• Calculate points produced for each player.
• Calculate offensive possessions for each player.
• Calculate marginal offense for each player. Marginal offense is equal to (points produced) - 0.92 * (league points per possession) * (offensive possessions).
• Calculate marginal points per win. Marginal points per win reduces to 0.32 * (league points per game) * ((team pace) / (league pace)).
• Credit Offensive Win Shares to the players.

DEFENSIVE WIN SHARES (DWS)
Defensive Win Shares (DWS) is a player statistic that attributes credit to players based on their ability to prevent opposing teams from scoring. A player’s DWS is calculated by estimating the number of points allowed per 100 defensive possessions.