The basketball world was up in arms on Sunday night when Minnesota Lynx forward Myisha Hines-Alle fouled New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart with five seconds left in the WNBA Finals while leading 60-58.
The Lynx challenged the controversial call to no avail. Stewart sank two free throws to send the game into overtime. The Liberty would clinch their first WNBA championship.
Liberty fans were split on the foul call at Thursday’s ticker tape parade held in lower Manhattan celebrating the team’s championship. “No comment,” joked a few when asked.
One fan who was in attendance for Game 5 seemed to accept the call was possibly wrong but wanted to credit Stewart for making the most of it.
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“Basketball is a game of good calls, bad calls, happenstance,” she said. “It’s what you make of it in the moment and Breanna Stewart made the ****** best of it.”
Stewart’s two free throws came as redemption: the two-time WNBA MVP previously missed a pair with the Liberty down two with 30 seconds remaining.
New York Liberty presenter Ros Gold-Onwude was effusive in her praise of Stewart when announcing her as a WNBA Champion at City Hall on Thursday. However, she didn’t ask the player known as “Stewie” about the controversial foul call or her free throw misses.
Breanna Stewart sinks the game-tying free throw in Game 5 of the 2024 WNBA Finals (
Image:
Getty Images)
Stewart couldn’t help but bring up the former. “Ros, I’m surprised you don’t want to talk about my free throws,” she said to a thunderous round of applause. There was no discussion of the foul.
While Stewart and the Liberty might have been all fun and games, the rest of the basketball community was not. Lynx coach Cherly Reeve did not hold back when talking about the officiating after the series.
“Sometimes you get away with stuff when you’re physical and aggressive, & they certainly did,” she said. “It’s a shame that officiating had such a hand in a series like this,”
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Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James took to X to comment. “I’m sorry but that wasn’t a foul! Let the damn players dictate the outcome of a close battled tested game,” he tweeted.
He wasn’t the only NBA player to get in on the act. Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard added: “Refs called this game like they knew the assignment in the 2nd half boy. Great game.”
Stewart has a big enough body of work to earn the benefit of the doubt in many instances. The now three-time WNBA Champion has cracked six All-WNBA First-teams and was a member of the league’s 25th Anniversary team released in 2021.
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