Bill Simmons Defends Minnesota Lynx After Controversial Officiating vs Mercury

Game 3 between the Minnesota Lynx and the Phoenix Mercury has the basketball world talking.

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve is held back after being ejected during game three against the Phoenix Mercury of the second round for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at PHX Arena. / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Friday night's Game 3 matchup between the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury ended in chaos. Minnesota held a slight lead going into the fourth quarter before everything fell apart and the Mercury ran away with an 84-76 win to take the lead in the series.

Lynx star Napheesa Collier suffered an injury in the final seconds of the game after colliding with Alyssa Thomas and Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve was ejected. Reeve went ballistic on both officials and the crowd before she had to be escorted off the court, overcome with rage.

In her postgame, Reeve held nothing back and lambasted officials for what she saw as unfair foul-calling and took particular issue with the way that Collier was left exposed by officials.

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve reacts after being ejected from the game during their 84-76 loss to the Phoenix Mercury during Game 3 of WNBA semifinals at PHX Arena on Sept. 26, 2025. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"People get hurt, there's fights. And this is the look that our league wants, for some reason," Reeve said. "We were trying to play through it, trying not to make excuses. One of the best players in the league (Collier) shot zero free throws, and she had five fouls. got her shoulder pulled out, and finished the game with her leg being taken out. And probably has a fracture."

Before walking out of the conference, Reeve even went so far as to challenge the leadership of WNBA officiating at the highest level.

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) drives the ball against Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner (14) during game three of the second round for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at PHX Arena. / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

"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," Reeve said. "The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those 3 people semifinals playoff worthy, is f-----g malpractice."

Bill Simmons Weighs In

In the aftermath of Game 3's mayhem, Reeve isn't alone in her disgust with the way the game was called. Bill Simmons of The Ringer, a popular figure in the sports media world, took to X to show his own outrage at the game. Simmons called his post "a rare WNBA tweet for me," showing how strongly he felt about the game to bring him out of his usual scope of coverage.

Simmons listed four major issues he had with the game and posted them with the video of Collier's injury.

A rare WNBA tweet for me

1. The Lynx got HOSED by calls in last year’s Finals, they should’ve won
2. Collier gets less ref respect than any NBA/WNBA star, it’s bizarre
3. The reffing last night was hilariously bad
4. This is unequivocally a foul ⬇️⬇️⬇️pic.twitter.com/yWteauChUa

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) September 27, 2025

"1. The Lynx got HOSED by calls in last year's Finals, they should've won. 2. Collier gets less ref respect than any NBA/WNBA star, it's bizarre. 3. The reffing last night was hilariously bad. 4. This is unequivocally a foul," Simmons said, referring to the collision between Thomas and Collier in his final point.

The WNBA World is Divided

The play in question has been polarizing. As Collier drove with the ball, Thomas planted her feet and reached in to try and bat the ball away. As she stayed stationary, Collier's momentum carried her into the Phoenix forward and the two players' legs knocked together. Collier went down and turned her ankle in the process, later being seen in a wheelchair. Her status is unknown at this point.

I hope Napheesa Collier will be okay, but the way folks are villainizing Alyssa Thomas on a pure basketball play need to grow up

— christan (no i), ß (@ChristanWNBA) September 27, 2025

While Reeve and Simmons have been among the most notable figures outraged at the no-call on Thomas, others have defended her, calling the incident a basketball play and an unfortunate accident.

Foul or not, the facts after Friday are that the Mercury came away with the series lead and Collier came away with an injury that could possibly keep her out of the rest of the series and beyond.

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