For Nia Coffey, everything has come full circle. Born in the Twin Cities, the tenth year forward starred at nearby Hopkins High School before making the journey to Northwestern for her collegiate career. A historic collegiate career followed, which included four consecutive All-Big Ten selections. Drafted fifth overall in the 2017 WNBA Draft, one would think that she was destined for stardom.
Things didn’t come so quickly, though.
Coffey started just 11 games in her first two seasons with San Antonio and Las Vegas as the organization was making the relocation to Sin City. She then made stops in Atlanta and Phoenix before ultimately being waived by the Mercury in 2021. She was immediately picked up by the Sparks and then embarked on a four year tenure in Atlanta. This off-season, Coffey opted to come home and it has resulted in a career year for the league best Lynx.
That play carried over in the Lynx’ 107-74 win against Portland in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup.
“Nia set the tone. We gave her the game ball for the way that she set the tone defensively, rebounding, hitting open threes, making simple plays, seven deflections,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said of Coffey’s ridiculous 15-point (three 3-pointers), 5-rebound, 4-assist, 3-steal, 3- block performance. “She’s the seventh player in franchise history with a 5×3 in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. She was really good.”
Coffey’s Overall Impact
The seventh player in franchise history with a “5X3” game, the impact that Coffey brings to the hardwood extends far beyond the box score. She offers defensive versatility with her ability to switch and contain virtually any position. Aside from the 3 steals and 3 blocks that she was credited for vs. Portland, she had seven deflections. Her combination of length, agility, and defensive IQ as a veteran has made her an early season front runner for WNBA All-Defensive team.
Despite having her best all-around performance of the year, Coffey quickly reminded everyone that this was about the team, not her.
“It feels good, but what felt better was how we were playing as a team. Everyone was a threat,” she humbly said in the post-game press conference. “We were getting stops defensively, scoring offensively, in transition, and in the half court. We were just in a really good flow.”
The league-best Lynx were indeed in a really good flow after a narrow loss to the Aces over the weekend in Commissioner’s Cup play. While reaching the ‘chip is still a possibility, there are a lot of dominoes that must fall in order for that to happen. Much of that, however, starts with Coffey’s versatility on both ends of the floor, as her Lynx boss echoed.
“I think what I appreciate about her, probably because I don’t get it from the rest of the starters, is she really listens and she really looks at you, dead in your eye and receives the information and goes out there and does exactly what you’re asking her to do,” Reeve said with a laugh. “Her level of competitiveness, willingness to play vertically, shot blocking, rebounding…it just sets the tone for us.”
nah, lol.
pic.twitter.com/IWsVXLWsJg
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) June 16, 2026
Coffey’s Dream Situation
The hometown kid’s ability to play multiple positions, space the floor with her ability to shoot the three (shooting 43.9% from three on four attempts per game) and Coffey’s versatility on both ends make her a coach’s dream.
It’s also a dream situation for Coffey herself.
The son of former Timberwolves forward Richard Coffey and sister of current Suns’ guard Amir Coffey has been a fixture in the community as well. She met with fans last week at a Hy-Vee grocery store and the infectious energy that she brings radiates both on and off the floor.
All in all, it doesn’t seem like a better decision could have been made with her free agency decision to come home.
“I know this is kind of weird to stay, but I always loved how the Lynx played…but it was kind of weird because I was always on another team,” Coffey admitted of her admiration of the Lynx. “I’m glad that it was a possibility for me to be on this team. I love the coaching staff and our players. I’m glad that it worked out.”
She wrapped with strong words for her Hall of Fame coach’s basketball mind, telling the dozen or so media in attendance “She’s [Reeve] a great coach and I’ve always known that from afar, but getting to see that first hand is really cool. I’m still learning a lot. This is my tenth year and I’m still learning a lot from her. I’m happy I can be on the receiving end. “
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