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Alyssa Thomas and the Phoenix Mercury have been battling it out with Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA semifinals. Throughout the series, Thomas and Collier notably traded some trash talk.
During a virtual sitdown with Caroline Fenton of Yahoo! Sports prior to Game 3, Thomas was asked if she was willing to elaborate on any of the trash talk that was shared between the two through the first two games.
In response, she replied with a laugh:
"No no no, nothing. Nothing of importance."
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Thomas was then asked who the best trash talker in the league is. In response, she stated that her fellow players voted her as the best trash talker in the league, and she's cool with keeping it.
Late in Game 3, Thomas stole the ball from Collier and scored a breakaway layup to secure the win and give the Mercury a 2-1 series lead.
The play led to Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve being ejected after fierce criticism of the officials.
Cheryl Reeve unloads on referees for viral Alyssa Thomas-Napheesa Collier play
Following the controversial late-game play that saw Alyssa Thomas steal Game 3 for the Mercury, Cheryl Reeve spoke to members of the press moments after being ejected.
In response to the officiating, Reeve unloaded on the officials, calling for a change in leadership:
"If this is what the league wants, OK, but I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating. The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinal-playoff worthy, it's f*****g malpractice.
"We were trying to play through it, trying not to make excuses. But one of the best players in the league, she had zero free throws and she had five fouls. She had her shoulder pulled out and finished the game with her leg being taken out."
Considering her harsh criticism of the situation and the officials, the expectation is that Reeve could wind up getting fined by the league.
It's important to note, however, that during last year's playoffs, Reeve was not fined for her criticism of the officiating in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals.
Whether that winds up being the case following her ejection and subsequent comments, only time will tell.
