Chery Reeve is no stranger to calling out the referees. She famously said that bad refereeing stole the Minnesota Lynx’s title in 2024, when they lost a controversial Game 5 to the New York Liberty.
She was also ejected from the Lynx’s Game 3 in last year’s semifinals against the Phoenix Mercury and called the refereeing job in that game “malpractice” after her star player, Napheesa Collier, left the match with an injury that later required her to have surgery on both ankles—and is still keeping her on the sidelines to start the new season.
Reeve also wasn’t thrilled about the refereeing in her team’s first game of the 2026 season, which ended with a one-point loss to the Atlanta Dream.
“We learned we don’t have enough challenges in our league,” Reeve said in the postgame media availability. “I think we need more. You have to use them at times when it’s not necessary, then you lose it, and then you have a complete phantom call, and you don’t have a challenge to use.”
She also added, “What I’m confused about is, being on the task force, and we talked about some unnecessary physicality We didn’t say we want to call marginal fouls. We never brought that up. It takes a little bit of time for sure to calibrate both them and us, but I know that when we’re trying to get open on the side out-of-bounds and we’re being held by the shoulders, that’s the kind of stuff that we’re talking about that you have to call those plays…Obviously, we’ll continue to work with the league on getting this right because we’re not the only team sitting here wondering why everything’s a foul.”
There’s been an uptick in fouls called
One of the notable takeaways from preseason games was how many fouls were called. Games between the Storm and Liberty and Wings and Fever both had 61 fouls called each, and another one between the Mercury and Sky saw 58 foul calls.
There is a clear focus on calling more fouls to eliminate excessive contact and physicality.
The Lynx and Dream combined for 42 fouls in yesterday’s matchup—a low number compared to some of those preseason games, but Natasha Howard and Emma Cechova both fouled out of the game. The Dream had Angel Reese and Te-Hina Paopao in foul trouble.
Fouls weren’t the Lynx’s only problem
Reeves acknowledged that the number and kind of fouls called weren’t what ultimately led to the Lynx’s 91-90 loss. They let a 17-point lead slip away, as the Dream finally found a groove offensively.
The main problem, she noted, was that her team didn’t start the second half with the right energy, missed defensive coverages, and couldn’t get stops.
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