The Minnesota Lynx’s season ended Sunday night in Phoenix with more frustration than fight. Without head coach Cheryl Reeve, who was serving a one-game suspension, and without star forward Napheesa Collier, sidelined by an ankle injury, Minnesota fell 86–81 to the Mercury in Game 4 of the WNBA semifinals.
The loss ended the Lynx’s playoff run and punctuated a week marred by controversy over officiating. But why was Coach Reeve suspended?
What Triggered Cheryl Reeve’s Suspension?
Game 3 had already slipped away from Minnesota when the scary moment arrived for coach Reeve and Collier. With less than 30 seconds to play, Collier drove into the lane. Phoenix forward Alyssa Thomas poked the ball loose, sprinted the other way, and scored.
But in the process, Collier crumpled to the floor after colliding with Thomas. Despite that, the officials let the play continue without calling a foul.
That made Reeve. She stormed onto the floor, shouting at the referees for missing what she believed was a clear foul. Her anger boiled over, earning her a swift ejection. Even then, she wasn’t finished. On her way out, she exchanged words with fans, and once she reached the press room, she unloaded on the league’s officiating standards.
“If this is what our league wants, OK,” she said. “But I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating. It’s bad for the game.”
She went even further: “The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoff worthy, is [expletive] malpractice.”
Later, the WNBA handed down its decision: Reeve would be suspended one game for “aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing” an official, for delaying her exit after being tossed, for making inappropriate comments to fans, and for her fiery postgame remarks.
Why Does Reeve Suspension Matter for Lynx?
Coach Reeve’s punishment will only cover one game, but that game became the end of the Lynx’s hope for the 2025 championship. Before game 4, Phoenix led the series 2–1, and with a win on Sunday, September 28 they secured their spot in the WNBA Finals.
Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports reported that there’s no fracture. However, Collier was ruled out of Game 4, with the Lynx calling it an ankle injury.
That said, the impact of the suspension cannot be overstated. Reeve is a four-time champion and the backbone of Minnesota’s postseason identity. To lose her in an elimination game, alongside an MVP runner-up in Collier, made the task nearly impossible for the Lynx.
Reeve’s suspension also taps into a bigger storyline. Complaints about officiating have echoed throughout this WNBA season. Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon compared the league’s physical play to NFL football, arguing that:
“you can bump and grab a wide receiver for five yards in the NFL, but in the W you can do it for the whole half court.” Fever coach Stephanie White joked before Game 3 that answering officiating questions might “take her money.” Players like Sophie Cunningham have been fined. Chicago’s coach has even been ejected from the game as well.
In other words, Reeve isn’t alone in her frustration – just the loudest and most punished example yet. The NBA’s referee union even weighed in on Collier’s play, insisting it was “correctly judged” as incidental contact. That explanation only deepened the divide between coaches, who see inconsistency, and officials, who defend their decisions.
For the Lynx, the fallout was immediate, as it marked the end of a season undone not only by one injury or one outburst, but by a larger question that the league has yet to resolve. The season-long debate over physicality and whistle-swallowing is now the headline story of its playoffs.
