New York basketball superfan and film director Spike Lee has been seen on the sidelines of countless Knicks games over the years. On Sunday, she swapped an NBA court for the WNBA court.
The New York Liberty are in the middle of a best-of-five semifinal series against the Las Vegas Aces, who feature superstars like league MVP A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum.
Lee decided to spend some time mocking Plum in particular during the game, with the ‘He Got Game’ writer/director chirping at the Aces guard throughout the contest.
The 67-year-old filmmaker was seen getting up from his seat to badmouth Plum, as he has been known to do at Knicks games over the years.
Plum, 30, was seen shouting at Lee, telling him: “Keep talking.”
New York basketball superfan Spike Lee was seen trash-talking Kelsey Plum at the Liberty-Aces game on Sunday in the WNBA Playoff semifinals.
Plum didn’t back down from the screeching and yelled at the legendary filmmaker.
If Lee’s trash talk was supposed to be an attempt to throw Plum off her game, it didn’t work: The guard had 24 points and four assists that day to lead her team.
However, the Liberty were able to win at home 87-77, thanks in part to a resurgent performance from Sabrina Ionescu.
Ionescu scored 21 points (50 percent from 3-point range) and Lee gave him props along the way while wearing the Liberty star’s jersey.
“To be honest, I think he might have been the first person to call me when I got drafted here,” Ionescu said after the win. “I think it’s a story that I don’t know if I’ve ever told.
“But I think he was the first person to call me and just share his excitement about New York getting the No. 1 pick (in 2020). Every time I saw him on the road, we had a little chat and I kept telling him I had to come to a game because this one is unlike any other.
“Being able to see him here, cheering us on loudly, he was there singing to the referees, talking to the players, which was a lot of fun.” But obviously, it’s exciting to see the support we’re getting from all the New York fans.”
The Liberty were led by Breanna Stewart’s 34 points that night, with other significant contributions coming from Jonquel Jones’ double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Liberty stars Breanna Stewart (left) and Sabrina Ionescu (right) led New York to a victory over Las Vegas.
New York and Las Vegas met in last season’s WNBA Finals and now meet again in the semifinals.
Last season, the Aces prevailed with a three-games-to-one victory in the best-of-five final series to win their second consecutive title.
They will hope to clinch a third title by defeating Liberty and playing the winner of the series between the Connecticut Sun and the Minnesota Lynx.
The Sun eliminated Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever in a sweep, giving the rookie of the year time to enjoy herself after a long, grueling season that began when she was drafted out of Iowa in the spring.
Connecticut and New York have never won WNBA titles, while Minnesota has won four and the Aces have won two.
