Nate Tibbetts was the only playoff coach who hadn’t lodged a single gripe about the referees.“We haven’t talked about the officiating all playoffs. We just play and we’re worried about us.” He had said. However, Tibbetts finally had to let his frustration out during Game 3, but instead of doing it publicly, he first went to his rival coach, Becky Hammon, according to this analyst. 

“There were calls in both directions, and neither of the coaches was particularly happy with the referees during this game.” Sabreena Merchant said on the latest episode of the No Offseason: The Women’s Basketball Show. As if to demonstrate this, Ben Pickman pointed out a peculiar incident in the third quarter.  

“There was a moment where Nate Tibbetts, I think it was a foul that sent Satou (Sabally) to the line on Chelsea Gray. Nate Tibbetts appeared to lean over to Becky Hammon at midcourt. Like calling her over at midcourt. And he put his hand over his mouth and seemingly making a comment about the inconsistencies.” Pickman said. However, he kept some reservations saying, “We will have to get a hundred percent confirmation there, but using some context clues, that is what it seemed like.”

Very possible as the two coaches have a working relationship. The Aces coach even revealed that he had helped Tibbetts out when he first took the Phoenix Mercury job. “I consider him, you know, a good friend in the business, and you know, when he first took the job off, we would talk frequently, you know.  And I just wanted to help him out. I wanted to have him have such a great experience going over to the W, and I think he’s really enjoyed it.” She said.

It seems Becky Hammon is Tibbetts’ guide, too, in his first coaching job in the WNBA, and isn’t unfamiliar with anti-referee outbursts. Following her footsteps, Tibbetts was pretty unhappy with the officiating throughout the game and ended up with a technical. He carried that after the game, referencing the lack of a whistle on Thomas despite heavy paint play. “I’ve felt like AT has gotten downhill and gotten to the paint quite a few times and not got rewarded, but um unfortunately, that’s this is what it is, right? And so you just got to keep battling. You know, you’d love to have consistency, but you know, it’s not always the case.” He said. 

In the first quarter, Alyssa Thomas was in a tussle with two Aces players who seemed to foul her, but the referees called a jump ball. Alyssa Thomas even went up to the referees to complain. To start the second quarter, the Aces had a clear 24-second violation after Young airballed the final second shot, and Wilson grabbed the offensive rebound after the clock was down to 0. 

However, the shot clock was restarted, and the free possession ended up being a three-pointer. It’s not like Becky Hammon did not suffer from the officiating in this game. Some debatable calls went against the Aces, too. However, the ones against Tibbetts stuck out more in this game. While the officiating drew plenty of shared frustration, Tibbetts now faces a far bigger challenge. He has to keep Mercury’s season alive against an Aces team on the brink of another title

Nate Tibbetts Bids for a WNBA Miracle

Nate Tibbetts knows the series is almost out of reach. A 0-3 scoreline with Satou Sabally likely missing Game 4 through her concussion looks ominous.  “I don’t know how many teams have come down from 0-3. Not many, right? So, I’m not going to sugarcoat that. It’s we got a tough road ahead, but we’ve got to take it one game at a time.” He said after the game. Michael Voepel of ESPN answered Tibbetts’ question on social media, but it would have only discouraged Mercury fans.

“Coach Nate Tibbetts of @PhoenixMercury said he doesn’t know how many teams have come back from down 3-0 in Finals. Answer: This is the first year for best-of-seven Finals in @WNBA. In the NBA Finals, 15 teams went up 3-0, all won the championship, 9 in sweeps.” Voepel wrote. 

Two out of 3 games so far have been decided with 3 or fewer points. So, Mercury has almost always been in the game. Even in Game 3, they rallied in the fourth quarter to make matters close despite Sabally missing half of it. Kahleah Copper led the charge with 11 fourth-quarter points. Wilson had to hit a difficult last-second winner to get past them. So, this team has given Tibbetts enough reason to believe. 

“This group has been a group that has continued to compete at a high level. You know, we’re going to expect that we’re in front of our fans., You know, we’ve got a certain level of pride that we’re going to continue to keep fighting.” He further said. Alyssa Thomas and Co. need to erase the past from their heads. The team is more than capable of going toe to toe against the Aces.