Were the Minnesota Lynx robbed in the WNBA Finals?
Cheryl Reeve, the head coach of the Minnesota Lynx, has made her opinions clear on the officiating in the WNBA Finals game six.
The Lynx were facing off against the New York Liberty in game five of the WNBA Finals, in what had become a championship-deciding matchup. Late in the fourth quarter, Lynx forward Alanna Smith was judged to have fouled Breanna Stewart.
The call sent Stewart to the foul line where she tied the game, sending it to overtime where the Liberty eventually pulled away to win 67-62.
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Cheryl Reeve challenged the call against her team, but it was upheld on review, a decision that Reeve vehemently disagreed with.
Reeve, speaking to reporters after the game, “I know all the headlines will be 'Reeve cries foul.' Bring it on. Because the s--- was stolen from us,” per Alexa Philippou of ESPN.
Reeve doubled down on her comments, saying, “We have got to change our challenge rules, and the officials doing the game should have a third party because that was not a foul. That call should have been reversed on that challenge.”
Reeve’s comments were strong, but she had the backing of other members of the basketball community, who suggested Alanna Smith hadn’t fouled Breanna Stewart.
LeBron James took to X (formerly Twitter) to write, “I’m sorry but that wasn’t a foul! Let the damn players dictate the outcome of a close battled tested game.”
NBA legend Damian Lillard took a similar stance, writing on X, “Refs called this game like they knew the assignment in the 2nd half boy. Great game .”
Rarely does one decision impact a basketball game as much as this one did, allowing the Liberty to come back and win their first WNBA title. Reeve’s comments could see her face scrutiny from the WNBA and possibly even some form of punishment.
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