Being called a bust used to really bother Charli Collier.

“I used to get, like, butthurt about it,” Collier said.

Five years ago, Collier was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 WNBA draft. She became a member of an ultra-elite group filled with some of the grandest figures in league history, such as A’ja Wilson, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Candace Parker.

Perhaps more than any other American professional sports league, being selected with the top pick in the WNBA draft often means a player’s floor, at minimum, is being a future All-Star. Seven of the 14 retired No. 1 picks are Hall of Famers. The majority of the currently active No. 1 picks will likely join them. A similar expectation will be bestowed on whoever is selected with the top pick in the 2026 WNBA draft on Monday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Two seasons after she was drafted by the Dallas Wings, Collier found herself out of the league after the Wings waived her before the expiration of her rookie contract. She became a target of social media critics, who bashed her underperformance against the colossal demands dictated by her draft position.

“I’ve heard it all. At first, I’m like, ‘Dang, these people are throwing around these words and they don’t know what I’m going through,’ ” Collier said. “It’s a mental toll. They’ve never been in that position. They’ve never been a No. 1 pick. They’ve never played the sport.

“You know, a lot of people would not make it this far. Being the No. 1 pick and not in the league is so hard. I still watch the games on TV. I keep going. I’ve kept going.”

Three years since she last played in the WNBA, and after several years spent overseas improving her game, Collier, 26, is vying for another opportunity to play in the league, hoping once more to be viewed as having the potential for greatness her draft pedigree implied.

“One thing I would tell people is just keep watching the story. It’s good at the end of this tunnel, I know that for sure,” Collier said. “They might call it a comeback story. I think it’s just part of the story. … This is my story.” 

Collier can still recall the nerves and excitement that coursed through her on her draft night. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Collier heard her name called while sitting at a makeshift draft table set up in her Texas home with a picture of her late father positioned at the table’s center.

“My family was able to be there, like, all of them — my family, my friends, my high school coaches,” she said. “It was kind of like, ‘Charli, you’re on your way.’ … Even when things didn’t go my way, I still look back on that day. I’m blessed to have experienced that.”

Collier was touted as a high-ceiling frontcourt prospect with a WNBA-ready frame at 6-foot-5. While she wasn’t necessarily deemed a player who could immediately change the fortunes of a franchise, evaluators believed she could grow into an impact piece.

“I said it in my speech when I got drafted,” she said. “You know, it’s my moment. I deserve it. I deserve to be here. And I still believe that to this day.”

When Collier declared for the draft, she did so while also forgoing her final year of eligibility to play college basketball at Texas. While she could have played her senior season for the Longhorns and continued her development at the college level, her likelihood of leading the following year’s draft class was lower; the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft was Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard, and the 2021 draft class, considered weaker, was Collier’s best shot at being taken with the top spot.

In hindsight, Collier doesn’t regret her decision. Despite how the beginning of her WNBA career transpired, she still holds tremendous pride in being a No. 1 pick.

“I think whether I decided to stay or decided to declare, I didn’t know my future. At the end of the day, it was like, ‘Well, let’s see what [the WNBA] can be like,’” Collier said.

Collier describes the beginning of her WNBA career as humbling. 

In her rookie season, she played in 28 games, starting 18, and averaged 3.4 points and 3.6 rebounds while playing 12.3 minutes per game. In her second season, Collier either saw limited minutes on the floor or was kept out of the rotation entirely. She played in just 17 games, averaging 4.6 minutes in those contests.

By 2023, Collier was fighting for a roster spot in a crowded frontcourt during the Wings’ preseason training camp. Dallas ultimately waived Collier, citing injuries the team sustained at the wing position that meant there was no room for the former Longhorn.

ESPN basketball analyst Rebecca Lobo said Collier’s displacement from the league was a combination of an incomplete skill set for the modern post player and, overall, her organizational fit.

“[WNBA] post players are ones who can face up and are versatile, can shoot 3s, can put the ball on the floor, have great lateral quickness and can switch out and defend on the perimeter. That wasn’t necessarily her skill set,” Lobo said. “Anytime you talk about post players and big players … you have to have the right fit. You have to go to the place that knows how to use a big with your skill set. … Back-to-the-basket big players have to have a system that works for them.”

Collier expected to get another chance when injuries opened team hardship spots, a common occurrence over the course of the WNBA season.

“She deserves to be in the league,” former Wings head coach Latricia Trammell said at the time. “And I hope someone picks her up, whether it be us bringing her back or another organization.”

That call, however, never came. 

Getting cut in 2023 was the turning point in Collier’s basketball career. In the immediate aftermath, she said she took the news personally, describing herself as becoming “bitter.” The league she aspired to play for, and a sport she had excelled in since picking up a ball at 5 years old, had become inaccessible.

She even reached a point where she strongly considered quitting basketball altogether, going so far as imploring her agent to connect her with sports media figures to explore a path as an analyst.

However, her inner circle encouraged her to not put the ball down. Those around Collier, who was just 23 at the time, didn’t want to see her cut her career short before reaching her potential as a player.

“When I really sat down and thought about it, it’s like, ‘No, you know, if something hard comes your way, that doesn’t mean stop – it actually means go harder,’ ” Collier said, adding that she chose to view her adversity instead as a stepping stone. “For me, it was like, ‘No, I’m going to show myself, prove to myself, that I can still be Charli.’

“At the end of the day, they didn’t pick me No. 1 for no reason.”

Collier’s situation as a former No. 1 pick who was waived so early in her career is an unprecedented one in WNBA history. Just in the past decade, she is sandwiched between All-WNBA talents and franchise superstars. There’s a novelty to Collier’s journey at the pro level, though, that she has become appreciative of, despite the hurdles that have come with it.

“As I got older, I was able to accept and realize that this is my journey. At the end of the day, I’ve never seen a story like it. That’s why I cherish it so much because, like, it’s mine,” Collier said. “There’s no blueprint for it. I can’t ask anybody, ‘How does the No. 1 pick have a comeback?’”

Since her last appearance on a WNBA roster, Collier has played in Israel, Poland, China and Australia. This year, she completed her first season in Turkey, where she played for Kayseri in the KBSL, one of the most competitive international leagues.

With Kayseri, Collier was asked to occupy more of a post presence, but she used the season to focus on expanding her range and refining her defense.

“This was one of my best seasons,” said Collier, who averaged 15.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists during the season.

While competing in China during the 2023-24 season, Collier faced WNBA veteran Tina Charles, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 WNBA draft. Following the game, they had a prolonged conversation, with Charles encouraging Collier to keep going.

“She sent me a nice message on Instagram telling me to keep my head up, you know, ‘You’ll be back,’” Collier said. “I will never forget that.”

Collier believes she is playing the best basketball of her career. And while she has improved her skills on the floor, her biggest improvement since the last time WNBA audiences saw her play has been mentally, she said. Most importantly for Collier, she believes she has a better understanding of herself as both a player and person.

Collier now knows what she’s capable of on the basketball court. She believes – she knows – that she is good enough to compete at the highest level.

“Going into the league at 20, it was different for me. It [was] an adjustment,” Collier said. “Now, I’m more of a calm confidence, more composed. I trust myself a lot more. I know what I’m going out there to do.”

While Collier is hoping for another shot in the WNBA, she said it’s not motivated by any need to prove others wrong. She said she owes it to herself to see what she’s capable of against the best.

“[There’s] so much more ceiling to me,” Collier said. “You know, one of my prayers at night is like, ‘God, show me how good it could get.’ That motivates me about getting back in the W.”

As the WNBA season approaches and franchises look to fill their training camp rosters, Collier and her team hope to hear the phone ring with opportunity. With Collier’s belief in herself and in her game revitalized, she said she’s ready to show WNBA audiences the new and improved player she has become.

“People have been watching. I know they have,” Collier said. “So it’s just a matter of, you know, who’s going to take that chance. So I’m excited and open to whoever is interested. I’ll be ready.

“I’ll be ready.”

The post Charli Collier was the No. 1 draft pick five years ago. Now, she’s hoping to return to the WNBA. appeared first on Andscape.