Alexa Philippou, ESPN
NEW YORK — Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve stated the 2024 WNBA title was “stolen” from her crew attributable to what she known as “extremely disappointing” officiating in Sunday’s 67-62 additional time loss to the New York Liberty within the deciding Recreation 5 of the Finals.
Reeve took umbrage specifically with a foul name on Lynx heart Alanna Smith with 5.2 seconds left in regulation. After lacking a pair of foul pictures just a few performs earlier, 2023 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart went to the free throw line and made each pictures to tie the sport, successfully sending it into additional time.
“All of the headlines might be, ‘Reeve cries foul.’ Deliver it on.” Reeve stated. “Deliver it on. As a result of this s— was stolen from us. Deliver it on.”
The Lynx challenged the decision, but it surely was upheld. Reeve stated after the sport {that a} third occasion needs to be concerned in reviewing challenges.
“On the different finish once they challenged it, if we’d have turned that clip in, they might have informed us that this was marginal contact, no foul. Assured. Assured,” Reeve stated. “So, once you evaluate, there needs to be the identical parameters that you just’re reviewing with, however the three individuals on the sport want a fourth occasion to allow them to know. As a result of that determined the sport.”
Reeve initially introduced up her points with the officiating initially of Minnesota’s postgame information convention when requested about her offense’s lack of manufacturing within the second half.
“I noticed a really bodily and aggressive New York crew,” Reeve stated. “We all know this from being part of the video games for thus lengthy that generally you get away with these things once you’re bodily and aggressive, and so they actually did. It is a disgrace that officiating had such a hand in a sequence like this.”
The Liberty shot 23 free throws to the Lynx’s 6. There have been 19 foul calls on Minnesota and 12 on New York.
“These guys shot 30% [from the floor]. Shot 30%,” Reeve stated of the Liberty. “The distinction was within the foul line.”
Minnesota famous person Napheesa Collier, who completed with 22 factors, didn’t make it to the free throw line in Recreation 5. Coming into Sunday’s contest, Collier — who went 11-for-23 from the ground in Recreation 5 — by no means had 20 area objective makes an attempt with no single free throw try in her profession.
“I used to be getting held a bit of bit. It was a bit of laborious to make pictures,” stated Collier, who fouled out with 13.0 seconds left in additional time.
Reeve elaborated on her considerations.
“It simply would not really feel proper that you just lose a sequence with that degree of discrepancy,” she stated. “We do not have a crew that whines and complains and all that stuff. Typically, it most likely hurts us. Possibly being a bit of extra, I do not know, one thing. However you have got a star participant like Phee that simply — I do not get it. I do not get how she could be held and go to the basket and get hit, after which a marginal, at greatest, at greatest, sends their greatest participant to the free throw line. I imply, that is powerful. It is powerful to swallow.”
Requested to reply to Reeve’s feedback, Liberty coach Sandy Brondello stated of the referees, “I assumed they had been fairly honest.
“The final recreation, that is the place you get give and take. Recreation No. 1, we must always have gained that recreation. I’ve a lot respect for Cheryl, and I’ve a lot respect for that Minnesota Lynx crew, as a result of, man, that was ugly. However we discovered a option to win. I am actually pleased with our crew, how resilient we had been, how we caught collectively and the way we proceed to belief one another. That was our phrase at present: Simply belief the method. We discovered a option to win.”
Each coaches beforehand critiqued the officiating within the sequence, with Reeve calling out how Collier was officiated in a different way than Stewart after Recreation 3 and Brondello declaring the foul name disparity following Recreation 4 when the Liberty shot 9 free throws to the Lynx’s 20.
“Officiating, it isn’t that tough,” Reeve stated. “When somebody is being held, be constant. When you do not wish to name it a maintain at one finish, do not name it on the different. Be constant. Each crew asks for that. Sandy requested for that final recreation. Three of the video games on this sequence, we’re speaking about the identical rattling factor.”
Video games 1, 3 and 4 additionally had been extremely shut till the tip, every determined by two or three factors. This Finals was the primary with a number of video games that went to additional time, and Sunday marked the primary time a winner-take-all Finals Recreation 5 went to OT.
Reflecting on the season, Reeve credited her crew for “[doing] the issues the fitting approach. [We] constructed the crew throughout the guidelines.
“We gave hope to these groups that are not keen to avoid the cap or fly illegally or all of the stuff that is occurred over the past 5 years.”
New York was beforehand fined $500,000 for illicitly chartering flights within the 2021 season. The Las Vegas Aces had their 2025 first-round draft decide rescinded for violating league guidelines concerning impermissible participant advantages. The franchise is being investigated by the league for sponsorship offers its gamers struck with the Las Vegas Conference and Guests Authority.
Reeve — a four-time champion with the Lynx in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 — stated the consequence “sucks” and in contrast it to the Lynx’s 2016 Finals run that she stated “was misplaced on officiating,” referring to a missed shot clock violation with 1:12 left in Recreation 5.
“That is for a championship for each groups,” Reeve stated. “Allow them to determine it. What contact is authorized needs to be the identical for each groups. This is not that tough. So it is disappointing. I imply, congratulations to the Liberty on their first championship… It took them 28 years. Congrats to them. We had been that near our fifth. Simply did not occur.”
