Who Is Alex Bazzell? Get to Know Napheesa Collier's Husband

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How Napheesa Collier Built A League With Her Husband Alex Bazzell

WNBA star Napheesa Collier's made plenty of strides on the court as the Minnesota Lynx's power forward ... and a large part of her success story involves her husband, Alex Bazzell.

The basketball player and her spouse have been together for several years, and their personal connection's carried over to their professional lives as well.

We're going to check out how the athlete and her partner started a family together ... and how they're working on creating a lasting legacy within the sports world.

Bazzell and Collier's love story goes way, way back, because he met the athlete during her senior year of high school, according to People.

The sports industry figure and the athlete evidently stayed in touch afterward, because he acted as her trainer when she was a student athlete at the University of Connecticut.

The pair began dating when she was a junior in college, and Bazzell popped the big question in October 2019.

You know that old rhyme, first comes love, then comes marriage? That doesn't really apply in this case ... because the couple welcomed their daughter Mila in May 2022 before they tied the knot that October.

Remember how we said Bazzell trained Collier when she was in college? Turns out, she's not the only person he's trained over the years -- do the names Carmelo Anthony or Kyrie Irving ring any bells?

The sports executive was associated with Kobe Bryant, as well as his daughter Gianna -- who he trained -- and he told People the Los Angeles Lakers star was "the biggest mentor I've had."

Bazzell said the late athlete showed him how to remove the "pressure" for his daughter to follow in the footsteps of her parents and pursue an athletic career.

Oh, and he's spent a little bit of time on the court as well, as he briefly played professional basketball in Germany, according to his LinkedIn.

On top of their personal connection, Bazzell and Collier are professionally involved, as they've both worked on the development of the Unrivaled women's basketball league.

Collier co-founded the league alongside fellow WNBA star Breanna Stewart, and Unrivaled serves as a venue for professional female basketball players to play the sport in the offseason.

Bazzell, who serves as the league's president, provided a statement to CNBC Sport, saying the league would "fill a gap in the calendar" for numerous athletes, and described Unrivaled as "extending the runway of professional basketball."

The league offers its players both equity and high salary opportunities, and Collier said its financial setup would help create "generational wealth" for female athletes.