UNCASVILLE, Conn. — A chippy playoff series between the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx just got even more interesting. The Athletic reported that after the Sun defeated the Lynx in Game 1 of the WNBA semi-finals, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve confronted Sun players near their locker room:
The Sun-Lynx series has featured trash talk, celebrations and now COACH BEEF
Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve reportedly “ran up” on Sun players near the locker room after Game 1, The Athletic reported on Friday night.
Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images
Noa Dalzell is a senior writer covering the WNBA and all of women’s basketball for Breakaway, SB Nation’s women’s sports vertical, as well as the Celtics for CelticsBlog.
Reeve’s altercation with Sun players occurred as they walked to the opponent’s locker room in Minneapolis, with the 2024 Coach and Executive of the Year taking issue with how Connecticut celebrated its series-opening victory, the sources said.
She “ran up” on Sun players, as one source briefed on the incident described, and arena security needed to get involved to defuse the scene.
No players or coaches have publicly commented on the altercation, but The Athletic reported that the league is aware of the incident.
Cheryl Reeve and Lynx players Courtney Williams and Napheesa Collier were asked about the reporter after the Lynx’s 90-81 Game 3 win.
“It’s like the players always say, there’s really competitive people — really competitive people in the playoffs,” Reeve said.
“I didn’t even see their celebrations, to be honest with you,” Williams said. “We focused on us. Whatever they did, it’s what they did.”
Sun head coach Stephanie White also opted not to elaborate further about the incident when asked about it postgame.
“I wasn’t there, but that was a week ago. I don’t really have any comment on that,” White said.
Reeve is one of the most decorated coaches in the WNBA — she’s coached the Lynx to 4 WNBA championships, and was named WNBA Coach of the Year in 2024. She also coached the U.S. women’s basketball team to a gold medal in the Paris Olympics.
It’s been a chippy series between the Sun and the Lynx so far — with Game 2 being the highlight of that — though outside of this report, it’s all been limited to the court.
Courtney Williams and Marina Mabrey — former teammates — were jawing at one another during Game 2, though Williams said at shootaround that it was all in good fun.
“That’s my dawg now,” Williams said of Mabrey at Friday’s shootaround, noting that she regularly trash talks, even in practice.
“Like, I don’t really get mad when I trash talk,” Williams said. “Some people trash talking — they be mad, out there playing mad. I trash talk, I’m still smiling and happy, so there’s different levels. Some people take themselves out of games when they start trash talking.”
The Lynx responded to the Game 1 loss with wins in Games 2 and 3 to take a 2-1 series lead — and Reeve praised her team’s physicality and aggression after Game 2, so she may have gotten the response she wanted.
This developing story will be updated as more details become available.
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