Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbets had some choice words for the officials after he was ejected in the third quarter of Game 4 of the WNBA Finals against the Las Vegas Aces on Friday night.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Tibbets called it a “weak” ejection and unwarranted.
“It’s weak, weak, weak,” Tibbetts said. “We were playing for our playoff lives. Most coaches, when they get tossed, you’re doing it on purpose. That wasn’t my intention at all. … I didn’t feel like I deserved it at all. … It was bulls–t.”
The Mercury were trailing 68-54 with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter when Monique Akoa Makani was whistled for a foul. Tibbets was unhappy with the call, stepped up to the official and was immediately assessed a double-technical.
In the pool report with Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports after the game, crew chief Roy Gulbeyan said Tibbets’ first tech was assessed for calling the initial call against Akoa Makani “f–king terrible” and the second one was for repeating that line while “aggressively” stepping toward the official.
This is yet another instance in which the officiating became a main talking point after a game. WNBA officials have been under a microscope all season and it has only been magnified throughout these playoffs.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said prior to the start of the Finals that “change is needed” with the officiating and the league was looking at ways to improve it going forward.
Tibbets’ ejection probably didn’t change the outcome of the game. The Aces were in control from the start and cruised to victory en route to capping off the sweep, securing their third WNBA title in the last four years.
It was a disappointing way to end 2025 for Tibbets and the Mercury, but they did have a successful year overall with their first winning season since 2021.
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