The franchise that won the WNBA’s first-ever game has finally won the title after 27 years! Game 5 of the 2024 Finals had an unexpected twist at the end. It indeed cost the Minnesota Lynx their championship. With only five seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Napheesa Collier & Co. held a two-point lead and looked comfortable to win. However, out of the blue, the refs blew the whistle for a controversial shooting foul, offering two free throws for the NY Liberty. It entirely changed the course of the game, and ultimately let the Liberty win the title. While LeBron James called it out, Candace Parker had a twisted take.

As soon as the refs called the shooting foul, LeBron James already had his fingers tapping the keypad. The superstar took to his X handle and wrote, “I’m sorry but that wasn’t a foul! Let the damn players dictate the outcome of a close battled tested game,” along with a palm on the face emoji.

Moments later, when the fans took matters into their own hands and called out the referees for the controversial decision, Candace Parker, who recently called it quits on her WNBA career, refused to align with the popular stance. She did agree with fans, saying that it wasn’t a shooting foul on her X handle, “Was that reviewed foul call a foul? I don’t think it was. Marginal contact.” 

However, Parker refused to agree that the controversial call ‘overturned’ the result. She wrote, “As a new fan to the WNBA I can debate stuff like this…. That call didn’t lose the game but boy it wlda prolly won it for Minny if it was overturned.”

It’s quite difficult to align with Candace Parker’s take because the game wouldn’t have gone into overtime if the refs overturned the shooting foul in their review. Anyway, let’s look closer into those two free throws that caused the stir.

Breanna Stewart and her chronicles of free throws in the WNBA Finals

Breanna Stewart alongside Sabrina Ionescu had a cold day at the offensive end. But Stewart turned up the heat when it mattered the most. So, when the Lynx were up by 2 points with five seconds remaining, it was the star forward, who dropped the two clutch free throws to force the game into overtime. And the rest is history. The Lynx failed to replicate their dominance in the overtime and the NY side flew away with the title.

Notably, a few days ago, Breanna Stewart was on the opposite side. In Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, it was again a close affair. This time, the Liberty had the upper hand. With less than a second remaining on the clock, Stewart was on the line, with an opportunity to win the game. The 30-year-old splashed the bucket on the first attempt, tying the scores at 84-84. However, the star unfortunately missed the second attempt and ended up losing the game in overtime 95-93.

Speaking after tonight’s game, Stewart said, “I missed it earlier in the series, and I knew I was going to make it. I knew I was going to make it for this city. This is something special right here, and I’m trying not to cry.” 

The joyous moment also had the hooper recall herself in a moment where she was second-guessing before announcing free agency in 2023. “I thought, ‘Am I doing the right thing? I’m leaving my safe space of Seattle,'” she said. “But it’s been incredible. I’m back where I’m rooted. It feels like home.” It’s safe to say that New York will have its own WNBA Championship banner and will be Breanna’s new ‘safe place’. The Liberty’s ticker tape parade is scheduled for Monday.

However, what do you make of the controversial call today? Let us know in the comments.