Capping their sixth WNBA Finals campaign, the New York Liberty earned their first-ever championship in Sunday’s 67-62 winner-take-all overtime thriller.
As the last original WNBA franchise still playing to book a title, the Libs — who won the league’s inaugural game in 1997 — lifted the WNBA’s 28th trophy in front of a record-breaking sellout home crowd in Brooklyn.
"It means everything to me," said New York star Breanna Stewart, who grew up in Syracuse and attended Liberty games as a kid. "I wanted to come here and I wanted to be the first."
"I can't wait to continue to celebrate with the city," Stewart said after the game. "It's going to be bonkers."
The path to the WNBA Championship
Fueled by last year’s disappointing championship loss to the Las Vegas Aces, New York led the league in the regular season with an impressive franchise-tying record of 32-8.
After sweeping the Atlanta Dream in the first round, New York redemptively ousted the Aces in four semifinals games. The Liberty's Finals foe was the only team to defeat them multiple times this year — 2024 Commissioners Cup winners Minnesota.
In what was arguably the most competitive series to date, the 2024 Finals were marked by record-setting come-from-behind wins, game-winning shots seemingly scripted in Hollywood, and, after offensive power in the first four tilts, a defensive masterclass in the deciding Game 5.
Liberty stars show out in Championship win
Behind her team-leading 17-point, six-rebound Game 5 performance, Jonquel Jones earned the Finals MVP crown.
"I could never dream of this," said Jones after the game. "You know how many times I've been denied, it was delayed. I am so happy to do it here."
Co-signed by the Barclays Center crowd chanting her name, the championship-clinching game’s unofficial sixth player was Nyara Sabally. In her biggest showing ever in a Liberty uniform, Sabally’s spark off the bench added 13 clutch points and seven rebounds to New York’s total.
Minnesota’s defense did a lot to stifle the Liberty, holding New York to a 10-point first quarter — their most dismal opening all year. The Lynx also kept New York shooters to just two-for-23 from behind the arc.
A large part of suppressing the Libs came from Minnesota’s success in keeping New York’s Game 3 heroes Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu decidedly quiet on Sunday, smothering their respective efforts to 4-for-15 and 1-for-19 from the field.
Despite their offensive struggles, both contributed elsewhere. Ionescu added eight assists and seven rebounds to her five points and Stewart showed out on defense with 15 rebounds alongside her 13 points.
New York’s gritty 7-2 overtime run ultimately put the game out of Minnesota's reach. Lynx star Napheesa Collier, who posted an historic playoff run, fouled out in the game’s final seconds.
Lynx coach Reeve slams officiating in Finals loss
After the loss, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve had words for the officials that kept the Lynx from clinching in regulation play.
In a game that saw New York outshoot the Lynx 25-8 from the free throw line, the Lynx unsuccessfully challenged a controversial shooting foul called on Alanna Smith at the end of regulation. That ruling gave New York's Stewart the pair of free throws that sent the game into overtime.
"I know all the headlines will be 'Reeve cries foul,'" she told reporters. "Bring it on. Bring it on. Because this s--- was stolen from us."
"If we would have turned that clip in, they would have told us that it was marginal contact, no foul. Guaranteed. Guaranteed," Reeve remarked.
Notably, complaints about officiating and lopsided foul calls have been raised throughout the Finals. And not just from Reeve, who also spoke on the disparity after Game 3.
New York head coach Sandy Brondello made the same plea after Friday’s Game 4 saw foul calls favor Minnesota, saying "I know Cheryl talked about it last time, but we got no calls today... All we want is fair, OK. So if we are getting hit, that’s a foul."
Ultimately, while acknowledging Minnesota's disappointment, Reeve's appeal focused on the need for fair calls to ensure fair play. "This is for a championship," Reeve said. "For both teams, let [the players] decide it."
"This s--- ain’t that hard,” she added. “Officiating, it’s not that hard."
In a battle between the top two regular-season finishers, the Minnesota Lynx will travel to Brooklyn to play the New York Liberty in the first game of the best-of-five 2024 WNBA Finals on Thursday.
Former UConn teammates and 2024 Olympic gold medalists Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier headline the matchup. Stewart's top-seeded Liberty will look to earn their first-ever WNBA title in their sixth Finals appearance.
Collier and the new-look Lynx are bringing a former dynasty back to the biggest stage, in the team's first finals appearance since their 2017 championship.
The road to the 2024 WNBA Finals
After topping the league in the regular season with a 32-8 record, New York put the No. 8-seed Atlanta Dream's season to bed in the first playoff round. To reach the 2024 Finals, the Liberty avenged their 2023 championship series, ousting Las Vegas and ending the two-time defending champs' three-peat chase in four semifinal games.
As for the Lynx, Minnesota claimed second in the regular season standings, just two wins shy of matching New York's record. They sent the Phoenix Mercury packing by sweeping the first round, but needed all five semifinal games to outlast the Connecticut Sun and book their seventh trip to Finals.
Liberty's title mission meets Lynx's underdogs
The Liberty and Lynx aren't just the league's top teams. They led the East and West Conferences, respectively, and boast the WNBA's top offense (New York) and second-best defense (Minnesota).
That said, the 2024 WNBA Finals will pit a superstar-laden Liberty squad against a Minnesota team that few thought would even make the postseason when play began this year.
Alongside two-time MVP Stewart, New York's squad includes 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones, sharpshooter Sabrina Ionescu, and a frighteningly deep bench.
On the other hand, only five players, including 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Collier, returned from Minnesota's 2023 team. Lynx boss Cheryl Reeve, the 2024 Coach of the Year, added key athletes to Minnesota's originally slim roster, including three — Courtney Williams, Bridget Carleton, and Alanna Smith — who were cut from various other WNBA teams in 2021 or 2022. All have made significant contributions as the Lynx proved early season expectations wrong.
"We didn't scare anybody," Reeve said after winning Tuesday's Game 5. "I'm not sure that anybody at any point in the season was like, 'Yeah, they have a real shot at winning a championship' other than the people that are in our corner. And I think we're continuing to have to make believers."
An historic WNBA Finals on deck
Entering the Finals, sports books heavily favor the Liberty, but the Lynx actually hold a 3-1 record against New York in 2024. That edge includes Minnesota's 94-89 victory over the Liberty in June 25th's Commissioners Cup final.
No matter who walks away with the 2024 championship, WNBA history will be made. Either the Liberty will claim their first title, or Minnesota will become the first franchise to win five championships. The Lynx are currently tied at four titles with the Seattle Storm and the folded Houston Comets.
How to watch the Lynx vs. the Liberty in Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals
The Lynx and Liberty will tip off at Brooklyn's Barclays Center at 8 PM ET on Thursday, with live broadcast and streaming coverage on ESPN.
Just before the 2024 WNBA semifinals tipped off on Sunday, Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier won the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) award while head coach Cheryl Reeve earned both Coach (COY) and Executive of the Year (EOY).
Collier snags WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award
In perhaps the season's most-debated WNBA award race, Collier emerged with 36 of the 67 votes to take the 2024 DPOY title. As just the second Minnesota player to ever win it, joining Lynx legend Sylvia Fowles, who took him the title twice while playing with the club.
Collier led the league's second-best defensive team this season by holding her opponents to just 36.2% in field goal shooting, better than any other player in the WNBA this year. On top of that, she posted career highs in steals, rebounds, and blocks.
"I think it's just having that overall aggression on both sides of the ball," Collier said in response to her win. "We always are saying defense leads the offense because it lets you get in transition and it lets you push the pace. It lets you get the other team on their heels, so we take a lot of pride in our defense and it's something that obviously I've worked hard to improve because I know it's what's best for the team."
Las Vegas's 2024 WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson — who won DPOY in 2022 and 2023 — finished second with 26 votes, while Seattle's Ezi Magbegor came in third with three votes.
The WNBA also released its 2024 All-Defensive Teams on Sunday, with Collier, Wilson, and Magbegor joining Connecticut's DiJonai Carrington and New York's Breanna Stewart on the first team.
Lynx boss Reeve honored with 2024 WNBA Coach and Executive awards
Having led Minnesota to the best post-Olympic break record in the league — and after guiding Team USA to an eighth-straight gold medal — Reeve caps her 2024 WNBA season with a record-breaking fourth Coach of the Year award.
Claiming 62 of the 67 available COY votes, Reeve ran away with the 2024 title. The league-leading Liberty's boss, Sandy Brondello, garnered four votes, with Fever coach Christie Sides earning a the final nod for taking Indiana to their first playoffs since 2016.
On top of her sideline success, Reeve's front office prowess also snagged the head coach 2024 Executive of the Year honors. She joins recently ousted LA Sparks manager Curt Miller as the only individuals to win both awards in the same season.
Much of Reeve's 2024 managerial success has been attributed to key signings and trades earlier this year. Reeve added shot-maker Courtney Williams and sharpshooter Alanna Smith during the offseason's WNBA free agency window, and traded for clutch bench player Myisha Hines-Allen just last month.
All three have been integral to Minnesota's 2024 success.
Reeve, however, denies any grand master plan in concocting that success, explaining simply, "You work hard. You do the things that you think are the best path for your team. Sometimes you get lucky and you get lightning in a bottle, as they say. And that's what this team is."
With Aces star A'ja Wilson snagging her third MVP honors last weekend, the 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) award has now taken centerstage. Both Wilson and Lynx standout Napheesa Collier are frontrunners, sparking heated debates.
Aces coach Hammon speaks out on A'ja Wilson
Last Thursday, Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon called out ESPN journalists who revealed their 2024 WNBA votes. Notably, Hammon went to bat for players not on her roster, like New York's Sabrina Ionescu, but particularly took voters to task for giving their DPOY nod to Collier.
"They got the MVP stuff right," she told the press. "The Defensive Player of the Year? If you have to, as a journalist or a reporter, go down a rabbit hole to find somebody else to be in the conversation, you already have the answer."
Lynx coach Reeve fires back in support of Napheesa Collier
As the previously scheduled guest on Monday’s episode of Good Game with Sarah Spain, Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve was asked if a DPOY vote for Collier “is a vote deserving of anger.”
In response, Reeve — the 2024 Coach of the Year favorite — explained that while she had not seen Hammon's press conference, "most people that I talk to think [Collier's] a unanimous decision."
"You look at the top three or four defensive teams — in A'ja's case, can you be the Defensive Player of the Year when your defense isn’t in that?" Reeve continued. "She's had an incredible year, but she can have MVP and Napheesa Collier is Defensive Player of the Year."
Who deserves to win WNBA Defensive Player of the Year?
Reigning back-to-back DPOY Wilson, whose 451 rebounds set the WNBA's new single-season rebound mark this year, has certainly made her case for a threepeat. She led the league in blocks per game, plus recorded a career-high steal rate this season.
Collier, who slightly trails Wilson in rebound and block rate this season, shines in steals, with a per-game average good for second in the league. But it's the Lynx forward's ability to defend multiple positions, plus her role in positioning Minnesota as the WNBA's second-best defense per possession — a measure that sees the Aces claim fifth in the league — that reportedly is giving her the edge with DPOY voters.
Ultimately, the choice between the two stars seems to be about individual prowess versus team contribution. It's a decision Reeve summed up as simply, “it depends on what you value when you vote.”
Nate Tibbetts is set to become the highest-paid coach in WNBA history with the Phoenix Mercury, which prompted one WNBA star to call out the pay discrepancies between players and coaches.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad coaches are getting paid,” Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier wrote on social media. “But it’s kinda crazy they’re making 4 times more than the highest paid players.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad coaches are getting paid, but it’s kinda crazy they’re making 4 times more than the highest paid players 🥴
— napheesa collier (@PHEEsespieces) October 17, 2023
For the 2023 season, Indiana Fever guard Erica Wheeler was the highest-paid player in the league, with a salary of $242,154. In 2024, a trio of players are set to lead the league with salaries of $241,984: Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale, Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd and Chicago Sky guard Kahleah Copper.
Collier had a salary of $202,154 for the 2023 season. The average salary for WNBA players in the 2022 season stood at $102,751.
Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon, who was the highest-paid coach in the WNBA before Tibbetts, reportedly earns $1 million per season. While the exact terms of the deal have not been reported, he is set to outearn Hammon, ESPN reported Monday.
Collier is not the first player who has called out salary issues in the WNBA. Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum pointed out the pay gap with the NBA after the 2022 season, saying: “We’re not asking to get paid what the men get paid. We’re asking to get paid the same percentage of revenue shared.”
The honeymoon is over for Aerial Powers and the Minnesota Lynx.
One season after becoming a mainstay in the starting lineup, the 29-year-old forward is averaging just 9.6 minutes per game. When one social media user wondered about her absence from a recent game, Powers responded that she looked forward to her fans coming to see her play next season “with another organization.”
Powers signed with the Lynx in 2021. While injuries marred her first season in Minnesota, she started 31 games in 2022 and led the team in scoring with 14.42 points per game.
In 2023, though, her role has been limited. After missing four weeks with a sprained ankle, she has played just seven of 12 games since her return on July 20. She scored 12 points in 16 minutes on Aug. 20, but then did not play at all in Minnesota’s Aug. 22 win against the Dallas Wings.
She will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Per Her Hoops Stats, she is earning $201,984 in 2023.
“That’s a lot of money to pay someone who you’re not playing,” WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes said on the latest episode of her “Queens of the Court” podcast.
Swoopes tried to make sense of Powers’ limited minutes for the Lynx.
“I just feel like there’s a lot going on there, which is weird, because they could use her,” she said. “When I look at that, I’m like, Aerial Powers on one wing, Diamond Miller on another wing, with Napheesa Collier — make it make sense, because I don’t understand it.”
Thank you so much. I look forward to them coming to see me play next year with another organization 😊 https://t.co/ofIbzxwVDC
— LIQUID | Aerial Powers (@aerial_powers23) August 20, 2023
Powers discussed her situation further on a recent Twitch live stream, saying of her free agency: “Everybody knows I ain’t staying here.”
She also said “a few teams” pursued her ahead of the Aug. 7 trade deadline, but “everybody” has to agree in order for a trade to go through. As it stands, she remains with the Lynx, who are jostling for a playoff spot.
So Aerial Powers was actually live on Twitch while sending her earlier tweet pic.twitter.com/oCJss50Pc2
— Tyler DeLuca (@TylerDeLuca) August 20, 2023
A close contest between the Minnesota Lynx and Dallas Wings ended in chaos on Tuesday, as the Lynx’s 91-86 win was overshadowed by ejections, heated exchanges and condemning social media posts.
Wings forward Satou Sabally twisted her ankle with 25 seconds left after landing on Bridget Carleton’s foot following a shot attempt. It was ruled a flagrant foul, as Carleton didn’t give Sabally space to land, and Carleton was ejected from the contest for her second flagrant of the game.
As Sabally sat on the ground nursing her ankle, several Lynx fans behind the bench cheered for the injury, which Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve condemned after the game.
One fan was ejected, and Reeve apologized to Wings coach Latricia Trammell as it happened.
“There’s no place for that,” Reeve later told reporters. “I was disappointed. I apologized. Our fans are passionate. You just can’t cross the line of celebrating someone’s injury. We wouldn’t want that. We apologize that that happened to Satou.”
Sabally responded in the moment by blowing a kiss to the crowd after knocking down a free throw. When fans continued to yell, she cupped her hand around her ear in a “I can’t hear you” motion.
A Lynx fan got ejected after yelling at Satou Sabally who got hurt from landing on Bridget Carleton's foot. And then Sabally blew a kiss to the crowd after making her free throws, which led to another Lynx fan getting ejected:pic.twitter.com/gJCtbHmBDP
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) August 23, 2023
At least one other person was escorted out of the arena by security before the game ended.
After the game, Sabally took to social media to address the situation.
“Disgusting fan base in Minny. The Schadenfreude to see someone get hurt can’t be a WNBA culture. Terrible words from the sidelines all game long,” she wrote.
The fan behavior started long before the last 25 seconds of the game, according to Dallas guard Crystal Dangerfield, who played for Minnesota in 2020.
“I’m shocked,” she said. “We have fans saying outrageous things to players. Wishing bad on someone about an injury is out of pocket. It started at the beginning of the game, and it needs to be taken care of. And it’s not just here (in Minnesota). It happens other places as well.”
The controversy overshadowed what was an important win for the Lynx. They improved to 16-17, tying them with the Atlanta Dream for the fifth-best record in the league. The victory also avenges a 40-point loss to Dallas back in July, and marks Minnesota’s first win over the Wings in three meetings this season.
The teams play again on Thursday, this time in Dallas.
Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.
The Minnesota Lynx have signed coach Cheryl Reeve to a five-year contract extension, the team announced Thursday.
Reeve, 56, also has been elevated from general manager to president of basketball operations. She has served as head coach of the Lynx for 13 seasons and as general manager for the last five seasons.
“Minnesota has been a great home to me and my family and I simply love being a part of the Twin Cities community,” Reeve said in a statement. “The Lynx fanbase is the best in all of the WNBA and I look forward to building on the successes we have had as an organization.”
Add President of Basketball Operations to the resume.
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) November 3, 2022
The legacy continues. pic.twitter.com/PxYsXpc3JE
The three-time WNBA coach of the year has led the Lynx to four titles in 13 seasons. The first came in her second season in Minnesota in 2011, and the most recent came in 2017.
Her 41 playoff wins stand as the most of any coach in WNBA history. She also has the highest playoff winning percentage among WNBA coaches (.661), with a 41-21 record in the postseason.
While the Lynx missed the playoffs in 2022 for the first time since 2010, the 11-year run of playoff berths in between made Reeve the only coach to accomplish that feat with one franchise.
“Cheryl’s devotion to growing the game and our league is extraordinary, and we have some exciting seasons ahead of us,” Lynx owner Glen Taylor said.
Reeve started her career in 1988 as an assistant coach for La Salle, her alma mater. After two years she became an assistant coach at George Washington, then five years later she became the head coach at Indiana State.
In 2001, she made the jump to the WNBA as an assistant coach for the Charlotte Sting, and she spent nine years as an assistant with the Sting, Cleveland Rockers and Detroit Shock before arriving in Minnesota in 2010.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Everything in life comes to an end, eventually.
Perhaps no one knows that better than a mortician.
And a mortician also knows that we can’t always control when or how that ending occurs.
Sylvia Fowles, WNBA legend and funeral director, chose when her career ended. She decided that this was her perfect moment to exit the game, something she’s never wavered on. But how it ended — that was imperfect.
Her final contest included misses that caused her to scream in frustration, early fouls that sent her to the bench, and a comeback that came up short and eliminated the Lynx from playoff contention.
But an anticlimactic end doesn’t take away from the beauty of her career.
In a perfect world, someone as impactful as Fowles has been to the WNBA would go out with a playoff run, maybe even a title. The Lynx, however, had their worst season since 2010, going 14-22 and bringing the franchise’s league-leading 11-game playoff streak to an end.
The season was rocky, but Fowles was stoic, putting up consistent numbers — she averaged 14.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game — while maintaining a consistent attitude to match.
“Syl is awfully special,” coach Cheryl Reeve said following the season-ending 90-83 loss at Connecticut on Sunday. “I might have been really resentful through most of the season if I was Sylvia Fowles. I might have been really pissy. Syl has a hell of a lot more love in her body than most of us.”
The 15-year WNBA veteran poured that love into her teammates, coaches, fans, and even opposing players this season. She spent countless hours knitting personalized hats for her Lynx teammates, selecting plants for her coaches and putting together gift baskets for the trainers and staff.
Prior to her final game against the Sun, she stole moments out of warm-ups to give her goodbyes to opposing players.
GOODNIGHT ✌️ pic.twitter.com/IO1Spz5Fj3
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) August 15, 2022
Jonquel Jones approached Fowles, and the two engaged in conversation, full of smiles and laughs. When they embraced, one hug wasn’t good enough, and Jones pulled her back in for a second.
Then, Fowles made her way to Bria Hartley, who after injuring her ACL earlier this season was sporting crutches and a hefty brace. Fowles put her hands on the injured knee, rubbing it gently as if to invoke healing powers.
Fowles’ final game provided a glimpse of the person she’s been throughout her career, an identity Reeve knows well. Since Fowles joined the Lynx seven years ago, she and Reeve have won two WNBA championships together in 2015 and 2017.
When the coach subbed her star player out at the end of the game, the two embraced on the sidelines. It lasted for 10 seconds, heavy with emotion, as though they were both trying to capture eight seasons of memories in one hug.
“There will never be another Sylvia Fowles,” Reeve said, wiping tears from her eyes. “And it’s not just the 4,000-plus rebounds, which is awfully impressive. But it’s the way she did it. It’s the love she has for people, for the organization, and the love for me. Life is going to suck without her, big time. She’ll still be in my life, no doubt about it, but we won’t get to share in the battles, or the side eye that she gives me, or the suck the teeth that she gives me. I’m going to miss that.”
It’s easy to get caught up in Fowles the person, but Sunday was also a reminder of the center’s unparalleled basketball legacy.
In her final game, she became the only player in WNBA history to record 4,000 regular-season rebounds. She also ended her career as the leading rebounder for both of the organizations she played for — the Lynx and the Sky. Fowles is a two-time WNBA champion, securing Finals MVP honors on both occasions, an eight-time All-Star, and the WNBA’s career leader in field goal percentage (59.7). At LSU, she became the program’s all-time leading rebounder (1,570), and also topped the record list for blocked shots (321) and free throws made (494).
And on Sunday, Fowles recorded her 193rd double-double, despite a disjointed game in which she sat on the bench for extended periods due to foul trouble.
While Fowles has become known for her gentle spirit and generosity, she expressed frustration following her final performance, showing the competitive fire that propelled her to greatness.
thanks for the memories, 34. 💙 pic.twitter.com/1GWdvz3bU8
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) August 14, 2022
Despite leading the league in double-doubles this season and finishing her final game with 12 rebounds, 10 points, two steals and a block, Fowles still thought she should have done more. She still wanted to be better for her team.
“I was a little annoyed with myself because I had a s—ty three quarters,” she said. “I felt like I did my teammates a disservice.”
That single sentence is a cocktail of emotions. The love, the competitiveness, the sadness, the legacy all wrapped into one.
“I think that is something I will do later,” Fowles said of processing those feelings. “Most of my emotion right now is just to be grateful.”
And though Fowles has kept out of the spotlight for most of her career, the 36-year-old was glad she stepped into it this season.
“I appreciate the love that I got from the fans this year,” she said. “Put things into a different perspective for me. I never got that over my first 14 years of playing, so to see that all come together in my last year, I’m very grateful for that as well.”
But no matter how much love Sylvia Fowles received from the league and its fans, it still doesn’t compare to the amount of love she’s given over the years.
Like Reeve said, “Syl has a hell of a lot more love in her body than most of us.”
Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.
Mike Thibault is apologizing for his actions prior to the Washington Mystics’ game against Minnesota on Sunday, in which Thibault said that he was “tired of hearing” about travel issues within the league.
“It happens to every team. And I get it. Every team would like to come in feeling fully refreshed,” he said. “But they got here last night. They didn’t play yesterday. I know it’s a long day. But everybody goes through that.
“I’d like to feel sorry for them but I’m sorry I don’t.”
Thibault also made a crying motion with his hands while answering the question. On Sunday, he tweeted out his apologies.
“My apologies to @LynxCoachReeve and @minnesotalynx for my reaction to the question asked of me at my pre-game press conference today,” Thibault wrote on Twitter. “It’s not who I am and I should have just answered the question without the extra dramatics.”
Prior to the game, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve had called out the league’s travel schedule. The team played back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday before flight issues on Saturday delayed their arrival in Washington D.C. until midnight. The team was scheduled to tip off against the Mystics at 3 p.m. They later lost 70-57.
Reeve said on Saturday she contacted the league when the team’s issue began, but there was no response initially. When the league finally responded, it was to suggest flight alternatives. By that time, the team had already figured it out.
“I’ve been in this league a long time, and if you do this long enough, you’re going to be in these situations,” Reeve said. “I think when it comes down to the challenges that occur, it’s all about leadership and your ability to collectively work through that situation. Probably the greater disappointment was the lack of response. From our standpoint, there was no communication with the Minnesota Lynx. It was an epic fail.
“It was leaked to me later on there was communication with Washington. I alerted the league that we potentially had a problem brewing because I didn’t want them to find out on social media. I don’t think it’s acceptable that I don’t get a response. I can’t control how other people treat us … I thought we deserved more respect than that. We’re not happy that there was no consideration given to us.”
On Sunday, Reeve addressed Thibault’s response and apology.
“All good, Coach,” she wrote. “We have years of respect behind us — this situation won’t change that.”
A number of the league’s biggest stars have called out travel policies this season, as both COVID-19 and flight delays have plagued teams. All are calling for changes to the WNBA’s commercial flight policy.
The league has said it will charter flights for the WNBA Finals.