PHOENIX — Physicality has been a topic of conversation throughout the 2025 WNBA playoffs. The discussion boiled over on Friday following a chaotic ending to the Phoenix Mercury’s 84-76 win over the Minnesota Lynx.
In the waning seconds of the semifinal contest, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve was ejected and Lynx forward Napheesa Collier injured. Minnesota, the No. 1 seed in the WNBA playoff bracket, is on the brink of elimination and may be without its best player.
“The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoff worth is f—ing malpractice,” Reeve said in an expletive-filled rant after the game.
With 23.8 seconds left in Game 3 — which featured seven lead changes in the fourth quarter alone — Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas cleanly swiped the ball from Collier and scored a layup to put the Mercury up, 84-76. No foul was called on Thomas following incidental contact with Collier, who went down clutching her left ankle after appearing to twist it. Reeve revealed in her postgame remarks that Collier “probably has a fracture” as a result of the play.
An irate Reeve stormed the court and referee before the ball could be inbounded, resulting in her second technical foul of the game. Despite being ejected, Reeve continued to charge the officials and had to be restrained by her staff and Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman before eventually heading down the tunnel toward the locker room as a sold-out crowd at PHX Arena cheered. Lynx associate head coach Eric Thibault was also called for a technical foul.
Collier, who finished with 17 points and five fouls in the loss, was held scoreless in the fourth quarter and had no free throw attempts for the second time all season. Collier didn’t return to the game after injuring her ankle. (Collier previously missed seven regular season games with a right ankle injury.)
“One of the best players in the league shot zero free throws. Zero,’ Reeve continued. ‘And she had five fouls. Zero free throws. She got her shoulder pulled out and finished the game with her leg being taken out. And probably has a fracture.’
Reeve called for a “change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating’ and she’s not the first head coach to speak out against contact that’s been allowed this postseason. Following the the Las Vegas Aces’ Game 2 win over the Indiana Fever on Tuesday, Aces head coach Becky Hammon said “the physicality is out of control” in the league.
‘Most of my assistants come from the NBA and they are like, ‘This would not fly in the NBA,” Hammon said. ‘This level of physicality would not fly in the NBA. There would be fights. We just have very well-mannered women.’
Reeve echoed those sentiments, emphasizing how ‘dangerous’ the physicality has gotten.
‘You’re hearing it from the other series,’ Reeve said. ‘You’re hearing other coaches, you’re hearing Becky (Hammon) talk about when you let the physicality happen, people get hurt, there’s fights and this is the look that our league wants for some reason.’
“I can take an L with the best of them. I don’t think we should have to play through that … F—ing awful.’
Reeve picked up her first technical foul with 5:26 remaining in the second quarter after a foul wasn’t called on Thomas, who was physical in the paint with Collier. As the Lynx’s possession ended with a shot clock turnover, Reeve charged the referee on the floor, yelled in frustration and even imitated the hip motion of Thomas.
Although Phoenix was called for more fouls on in Game 3 on Friday (15-14), the Lynx finished the night with 11 free throw attempts, compared to 22 for the Mercury.
When asked about the officiating, Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said, ‘We haven’t talked about the officiating all playoffs. We just play. We’re worried about us.’
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