All the Stories Stolen From Us
Thoughts on how the Underpaid WNBA Referees Stole a Title from the Minnesota Lynx
With six seconds left in the deciding game of the 2024 WNBA Finals, the Minnesota Lynx led by two points. The New York Liberty, though, had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead. The Liberty decided to give the ball to Breanna Stewart. What happened next is apparently open to some interpretation.
If we believe our eyes –as the following picture makes clear – Alanna Smith blocked Stewart’s shot without touching her. Seriously… we need t-shirts that say: “Alanna Smith Got All Ball!”
Basketball players like LeBron James also agreed that there was no foul on this play. The referees, though, disagreed. Coach Cheryl Reeve then challenged this call. The same referees who disagreed, though, decided to double down on their call and send Stewart to the free throw line. Stewart then hit two free throws. After Kayla McBride missed a three-pointer at the buzzer (sending the game to overtime), the Liberty then proceeded to be declared the best team in the WNBA in 2024 because they happened to play better for five minutes.
Coach Reeve summarized this entire story perfectly: “This Shit Was Stolen From Us” (which also belongs on a t-shirt!).
Fans often say things like “we won” and “we lost”. Obviously, that is not true. The title was stolen from the Lynx. It wasn’t literally stolen from fans of the Lynx (really… it wasn’t!).
That being said, fans were deprived of important storylines. Certainly, Lynx fans would have enjoyed seeing the Lynx win the title. But that is not the only story that vanished when the referees decided not to believe their eyes.
Here are four important storylines we all missed out on:
The Minnesota Lynx would have won their fifth WNBA title. No other WNBA franchise has won that many titles.
Obviously, Cheryl Reeve would be the first WNBA coach with five titles.
Cheryl Reeve would have also been the first coach to win a professional title in the WNBA (or NBA!) and an Olympic Gold Medal in the same season.
And the New York Liberty would have failed to win a title. Again. (okay.. this is a bit petty!)
And then there is the big story that Coach Reeve noted in her press conference:
"We gave hope to those teams that aren't willing to circumvent the cap, or fly illegally, or all the stuff that's happened the last 5 years. It gives hope for those other teams that you can build a team just like ours. You don't have to have a super team.
One does not need to be an advanced stats guru to understand the construction of the New York Liberty. The team is a collection of former MVPs, All-Stars, and Number One Picks. Every single member of the Liberty starting line-up is at least one of those things. The Liberty — a team of superstars — were considered a preseason favorite to win the 2024 title, and no one was surprised when this happened (even if they should be surprised how it happened).
In contrast, Lynx only have one obvious superstar. Today it is obvious Napheesa Collier is one of the best players in the WNBA. But back in 2019, five players were selected in the WNBA draft before Collier (Jackie Young, AD Durr, Tierra McCowan, Katie Lou Samuelson, and Arike Ogunbowale). So back in 2019, people didn’t think Collier was clearly a future WNBA star.
Of course, Collier is an All-Star and MVP candidate today. Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams are also All-Stars. Of course, prior to this year, McBride hasn’t been an All-Star since 2019. And Williams was only considered an All-Star in 2021.
Williams also has something in common with the other two starters. Williams, Bridget Carleton, and Alanna Smith have all been cut by another WNBA team. Yes, the Lynx STARTED three players that other teams had previously discarded.
Before the 2024 season, this team of cast-offs was ranked 9th in the WNBA (by one major publication I won’t name!). This team then proceeded to face the Liberty nine times in 2024. Across those nine contests, this team of castoffs beat the super team from New York five times (yes, it would likely have been six had the referees simply believe their eyes!).
The team Cheryl Reeve built was just as good – if not better – than the WNBA’s super team. And I doubt there are many pundits who cover the WNBA who can offer a coherent explanation for how Cheryl Reeve and Clare Duwelius (the team’s general manager) built this roster. Yes, you can see this team plays excellent defense. And you can see other stats where the Lynx ranked among the top leaders in the league. But how did the Lynx know these players would produce those outcomes? And why did the other WNBA teams – who had access to many of the same players – not know the same thing?
Had the Lynx won the WNBA title, this is the story people might have been writing this week. I am not convinced the pundits could have gotten it right. Unfortunately we will never know. Once again, the WNBA referees decided not to let us see those stories.
One could argue that the WNBA really didn’t want the Lynx to win the title. After all, Commissioner Englebert showed up to the deciding game in a dress that appears to depict the New York City skyline. And the WNBA also tweeted – and then deleted – the following statement after the game: The trophy is right where it belongs…
All of this suggests the WNBA not only wanted the Liberty to win. The league also worked to make that happen. I tend to have a less conspiratorial explanation.
My guess is that the referees assumed when Breanna Stewart took that shot that she would be fouled. After they saw this didn’t happen, though, they had a problem. They had to know that if they told more than 18,000 fans in Brooklyn that there was no foul that they were also effectively telling those people the Liberty had lost. Yes, there would have to be a jump ball. And sure, the Liberty could have won that jump ball and also made a shot. But none of that was very likely. If the referees admitted their mistake, the referees were likely going to watch the Liberty lose.
I think the referees didn’t want that particular outcome. Not reversing the call simply meant that
Stewart had a chance to tie,
The Lynx then had a chance to win in regulation,
and if the game finished tied… both teams had a chance to win in overtime.
Reversing the call, though, meant the game was effectively over and the Lynx won the title.
Yes, the call was wrong. But the referees who made the call didn’t have much incentive to admit that was true. After all, the Lynx still had a chance to win the title a second time.
I think we should also note that the WNBA doesn’t pay its players very well. It also doesn’t pay its coaches very well. So, I think it is reasonable to infer these referees aren’t paid enough to make 18,000 fans in Brooklyn angry!
So, I am not sure the referees were consciously biased against the Lynx.
I should note, though, that my take on all this is somewhat biased.
Cheryl Reeve did say very nice things about Slaying the Trolls.
Coach Reeve has also graciously visited my sports economics class at SUU several times (via zoom). In addition, I have been a guest on the podcast she had with Jim Souhan more than once. I have written an article arguing that the NBA should at least interview Coach Reeve for a job. Coach Reeve has also written an article defending a column I wrote at Forbes.
And Cheryl and I have always gotten together a few times when she and the Lynx have played the Aces (here is us last summer):
So… I am inclined to agree with Cheryl Reeve. And Cheryl Reeve is inclined to think the referees were wrong.
So, we are biased.
Being biased, though, doesn’t mean we are wrong. After all, we are not the only people who know Alanna Smith really got all ball!