Napheesa Collier Praises the ‘Spark’ From Team USA’s Newcomers

Napheesa Collier scored 10 of her 19 points in the opening quarter of Thursday's quarterfinal against Hungary and finished with a game-high total and seven rebounds. She was named player of the game, one of five Americans to reach double figures. Three days earlier she had 12 points and seven rebounds in the group-stage win over Czechia.

Collier is one of the few players on the United States roster who had played a senior major international tournament before this one. Six of the 12 are at their first, and they arrive as WNBA opponents rather than teammates. Olympics.com's Juliet Nottingham reported Collier's remarks from an availability the day before Saturday's semifinal against Spain.

Only Jackie Young reached double figures against Italy on Sept. 6. The United States shot 1-of-12 from 3-point range and won 55-52.

"I thought it was a great response from yesterday's game," Collier said after the Czechia win the following night. "We weren't happy yesterday, with either offense or defense. We came today with a mindset that we're going to play as hard as we can. We were going to be aggressive."

Collier's read on the 31 assists against Hungary was that the ball movement, rather than any one player, produced them.

"You play against these people for so long, but it's different when you're playing together," Collier explained. "We're just learning where people like to be, how they like the ball."

"That chemistry has built a lot; each practice we try to take advantage of it, and it's been pretty better each game, communicating as much as we can," Collier continued.

Hungary's 6-foot-4 frontcourt pair of Dorka Juhasz and Virag Takacs-Kiss combined for four points on 2-of-22 shooting.

"The newcomers bring a spark, for sure," Collier said. "Just the energy that they play with, especially on the defensive end. They are super active, with blocks, deflections, seals, things like that."

"But they come in just with their voices too," Collier added. "They have a lot of outspoken personalities. It brings a lot to the team, so it's great to have them."

Reka Lelik led Hungary with 12 points and Agnes Torok added 11 in the 108-56 quarterfinal. Hungary scored 16 points in the paint, a tournament low. Juhasz is Collier's teammate with the Minnesota Lynx and led Hungary with eight assists. Hungary had entered the game averaging 21.5 turnovers, the worst mark in the tournament.

Spain gave the Americans a harder night. The United States won 76-66 on Saturday at Berlin Arena after Spain pulled level at 58-58 through three quarters. Iyana Martin, the seventh overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, had 17 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals for Spain and did not score in the fourth. Martin, a 2026 first-round pick of the Portland Fire who did not play in the WNBA this season, entered the semifinal leading Spain at 16.5 points and 3.3 assists per game. Spain's roster also carries Seattle Storm rookie center Awa Fam and Toronto Tempo forward Maria Conde. Spain had reached the semifinals by beating Australia in the quarterfinals, its first appearance in the last four since taking bronze at home in 2018.

The Lynx finished 31-9 and enter the playoff bracket as the No. 1 overall seed. Eleven of the 12 players in Berlin return to teams that made the postseason field, and the roster spans eight franchises.

A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum withdrew from the roster in late August. Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon called out a double standard around Wilson's absence.

France, which won the other semifinal by 22 points, plays the United States on Sunday. The WNBA resumes Sept. 17.