The 2025 WNBA season has gotten off to an explosive start. First, it began with Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese getting into it in both teams’ season opener. We’ve seen the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty get off to undefeated starts and make statements. And we’ve also gotten some controversy that has fans talking, and it involves Clark and the Liberty.
On the final play of the Liberty-Indiana Fever game on Saturday, Clark got stripped of the ball with only two seconds left in the game. She was adamant she was fouled, as was Fever head coach Stephanie White, who went off on WNBA officials in the postgame. The Fever ended up losing by two points, as Clark wasn’t able to get a shot off due to the no-call. Now, Ionescu has stoked the flames a little bit, although indirectly.
Sabrina Ionescu believes WNBA games are harder than the NBA due to lenient officiating
Only a few days following that controversy, Ionescu came out to speak about WNBA officiating, contrasting it with the tight way NBA games are officiated. She spoke to Sue Bird on her podcast.
When you watch NBA or men’s college, your star players get any call. You can touch them with a little fingernail, they’re going to the free throw line. In the W(NBA), they don’t care. You can be averaging 30, you could be coming off the bench, you’re not really getting the benefit of the doubt on a whistle… It’s just hard-nosed, physical. All the hand checks, like there are no hand check calls.
Ionescu’s comments are of particular note to certain NBA fans, and it’s especially timely given that the Oklahoma City Thunder are a game away from reaching the NBA Finals. League MVP and star Thunder player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been labeled a “free throw merchant” due to his penchant for getting calls and getting to the line. Many fans feel that defenders can’t even put a hand on him without a foul being called.
Not all fans feel that way, though, and there were plenty of users responding to Ionescu’s comments and calling out her hypocrisy. In particular, they harkened back to the Liberty-Fever game in which many feel Ionescu got that “star call” she mentioned, while Clark didn’t.
There could be a new rivalry forming in the WNBA if Clark and the Fever find Ionescu’s comments disheartening.
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