Napheesa Collier made a calculated move with her exit interview speech.

Welcome back to The Morning Win. Napheesa Collier had something to get off her chest.

The Minnesota Lynx star went scorched earth on WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert Tuesday, calling out league leadership for a lack of accountability. In a four-minute prepared statement during her exit interview, Collier said WNBA players "go to battle everyday to protect a shield that doesn't value us. The league believes it succeeds despite its players, not because of them."

Yeah. She didn't hold back. There was a whole lot more where that came from.

My initial reaction to the statement was to question the timing. I didn't love that Collier chose to do it on the same day the Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever were set to battle for a trip to the WNBA Finals. I thought it threatened to overshadow what turned out to be a fantastic semifinal playoff game that went to OT. Even as I agreed with what Collier was saying, the potential of her statement coming from a selfish place also crossed my mind, knowing how the Minnesota Lynx lost their semifinal series, with Collier injured on the same type of physical play she was now complaining about -- her coach going on a postgame rant about officiating that got her suspended for the elimination Game 4. Was this just more of that? Would we be getting this statement if the Lynx were champions?

Upon further examination, though, I landed on yes. I believe Collier when she said this isn't about winning or losing. She's vice president of the players association. We were getting this statement regardless, and it was a brilliant chess move for more reason than one.

The first and most obvious reason it worked is exactly because of the timing. Collier did it during an exit interview following a contentious series where there would be a presence of curious media folks ready to amplify her message. And doing it while games were still being played gave her statement a longer shelf life, as pre- and postgame shows and other WNBA-related content were sure to discuss the very issues she addressed.

In addition to the timing, the statement was brilliant in how it united seemingly opposing forces (pre- and post-Caitlin Clark WNBA fans) by painting Engelbert as a common foe. Belittling maybe her brightest young star, as Collier alleged, was never going to go over well. Engelbert, who didn't exactly deny the allegations in her response, became the villain in everyone's story. And the support Collier got from her colleagues, including players still competing in the playoffs, let me know her sentiments likely reflected the larger player pool.

As a potential lockout looms, with players still in CBA negotiations with the league, this moment may have helped shift public perception that WNBA leadership is at fault for anything that happens from here, not the players. It's not a coincidence SBJ reported the same day that Engelbert was likely to exit as commissioner sometime after those negotiations due to pressure inside NBA and WNBA circles. Collier's statement will only make it more likely Engelbert doesn't survive. For everything she pointed out, the commissioner's exit will make the W a better place.

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This article originally appeared on For The Win: Napheesa Collier’s scathing WNBA statement was a brilliant chess move

Reporting by Prince J. Grimes, For The Win / For The Win

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