"A for effort LMAO": WNBA fans in stitches as DiJonai Carrington recreates Ja Morant meme while shielding Cheryl Reeve's crashout

Arguably the biggest headline coming out of Game 3 between the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury was Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve unleashing her fury at the referees, resulting in a second technical foul that got her ejected.

It took a number of players and coaches to ensure that Reeve would not get near the referees. Even injured Lynx guard DiJonai Carrington got in on the action, putting up a towel to serve as a shield for Reeve. The image of Carrington holding the towel went on to make its rounds on the internet.

"A for effort LMAO," one fan tweeted.

Another fan noticed the resemblance between Carrington's gesture and the Ja Morant meme in which he holds up a hand between himself and a camera.

"ja and dijonai vs camera angles," this fan tweeted.

Still other netizens pointed out that Carrington provided a much-needed moment of comic relief in an otherwise tense situation.

"dijonai that towel ain’t covering anything sister i’m sorry," one netizen said. "the camera above you the whole time."

Reeve's outburst was triggered by what she perceived to be a non-call on Napheesa Collier, whose knee collided with Alyssa Thomas as the Mercury forward stole the ball.

After Thomas scored in transition, Reeve called timeout and proceeded to berate the referees. Her non-stop complaints caused one referee to call a technical foul, which was her second of the game.

Reeve and her players will have to bounce back quickly, as the Mercury are now just one win away from securing a trip to the WNBA Finals.

"Cheryl Reeve traded for the dirtiest player in the league": Jason Whitlock comments on Lynx HC's "hypocrisy" after acquiring DiJonai Carrington and complaining about physicality

After the game, veteran analyst Jason Whitlock reacted to Reeve's comments on excessive physicality. In his reaction, he brought up an infamous moment last year when Carrington jabbed Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark in the eye.

"Cheryl Reeve traded for the dirtiest player in the league — Dijonai Carrington, the Caitlin Clark Killer," Whitlock tweeted. "Now Reeve wants to whine about a league that has always been cheap, dirty, physical and nasty just because that nastiness might cost her a championship. Hypocrite."

In her post-game interview, Reeve expressed her disappointment with the crew of officials in Game 3, questioning their worthiness to call a game of that magnitude.

About the author

Simoun Victor Redoblado is an NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda with over 12 years of experience writing for publications such as Collider, ALL-STAR Magazine, and Sir Charles in Charge.

Simoun has a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education, Major in English and Minor in journalism. Thanks to the journalism courses that he took, Simoun understood the fundamentals of journalistic storytelling in the context of sports writing.

Passionate for the UP Fighting Maroons, Simoun is a fan of the NBA, PBA, UAAP, and FIBA.
His childhood team was the Chicago Bulls and Simoun was a longtime supporter of the Houston Rockets because his friends would say he looked like Yao Ming.

Simoun loves the systematic, tactical movement of the ball and the players, the stories behind each individual competing on the hardcourt and most of all, how basketball is a sport for life and all its struggles and lessons.

A father of two, Simoun spends his free time with his kids.

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Edited by Simoun Victor Redoblado