The 2025 WNBA season was billed as a turning point for the league, but a wave of injuries to star players slowed the momentum. And just when it seemed the regular-season grind was behind them, the playoffs delivered another harsh reminder. This time, it was Napheesa Collier, helped to the locker room after a painful ankle injury.

The official diagnosis is still pending, but Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve admitted postgame that Collier “probably has a fracture.” After the collision between Collier and Alyssa Thomas, Reeve’s protests escalated until she was tossed from the game.  Frustration boiled over as Reeve also took aim at the officiating in the post-game conference, a recurring theme across the league this year.

“If this is what our league wants, ok. 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. The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those 3 people semifinal playoff worthy, is f—— malpractice,” Reeve said. In another turn of events, there was an unusual reaction from the NBA referees’ side. They released a slow-motion video and explained why there was no foul called.

“This is NOT a foul. Thomas legally gets to the ball and knocks the ball loose prior to any contact. The leg to leg contact is incidental once the ball is clearly loose. This was correctly judged in real time as a no call as were the subsequent technical fouls,” the official X account wrote.

As referees offered their version of events, the response from WNBA analysts was split. Some backed the explanation, while others felt it raised more questions than it answered.

Reactions to the NBA Referees’ post

Leading WNBA analyst for SB Nation, Noa Dalzell, found the whole incident interesting. “Interesting. I honestly did think that this was a foul, but the official NBA referee account says otherwise.” While she did not specifically say if she agreed with the explanation provided, she did mention what she initially thought of the foul.

Another WNBA analyst, Tyler DeLuca, raised a point that many were thinking after seeing the tweet. He said, “The explanation is the explanation you can agree or disagree. I’m intrigued by the official NBA Ref account making their first WNBA Playoff call explanation right after Cheryl calls the league out at a higher administrative level.” With the amount of respect Cheryl Reeve has, her comments and complaints do have an effect. This is clear by the NBA refs coming out and giving an explanation.

But for many, it seemed more like a way to do damage control. Still, as Tyler pointed out, it is interesting that as soon as Cheryl called them out at a higher level, she got a swift response.

The New York Post’s women’s sports reporter Madeline Kenney raised a point about the strangeness of the situation. She said, “Can’t remember the last time the official NBA ref account weighed in on WNBA matters….” Her reaction and the point that she raises are as valid as they come. Rarely does the NBA refs community address WNBA issues.

But while all the discussion about the strangeness of the situation was happening, the WNBA refs seemed to find an ally in WNBA and Chicago Sky reporter Karli Bell. She replied to the post, “While this injury is bad and you don’t wish this on anyone, it wasn’t a foul. Clean strip by AT (Alyssa Thomas) with contact that wasn’t malicious or intentional.” With the slowed-down reply, it does appear that Alyssa made a clean strip. However, with the way their bodies were positioned, it was fairly evident that they were going to make contact.

Debates over whether it was a foul will continue, but the reality is clear: Napheesa Collier might be done for the playoffs. That blow not only makes Minnesota’s title pursuit far tougher, it also robs fans of a possible Finals showdown between the MVP and the runner-up.