Spike Lee gets into bizarre trash-talking altercation with WNBA star Kelsey Plum at Aces-Liberty playoff game
New York basketball superfan and film director Spike Lee has been seen on the sidelines of countless Knicks games over the years. On Sunday, he traded an NBA court for the WNBA.
The New York Liberty are in the middle of a best-of-five semifinal series against the Las Vegas Aces, who boast superstars like MVP A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum.
Lee decided to spend some time with Plum in particular, with the “He Got Game” writer/director chirping at the Aces guard throughout the game.
We saw the 67-year-old filmmaker rise from his chair to grill Plum, as he has been known to do at Knicks games over the years.
Plum, 30, was seen chirping at Lee and telling him to “Keep talking.”
New York basketball superfan Spike Lee was seen trash-talking Kelsey Plum during the Liberty-Aces semifinals game of the WNBA Playoffs on Sunday
Plum didn’t shy away from the chirping and shouted back at the legendary filmmaker
If Lee’s nonsense was intended to take Plum off her game, it didn’t work: The guard scored 24 points and four assists that day to lead her team.
However, the Liberty managed to win 87-77 on their home court, thanks in part to a resurgent performance from Sabrina Ionescu.
Ionescu dropped 21 points – 50 percent more than 3-point range – with Lee giving her 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 was called up here,” Ionescu said after the win. “I think this is a story that I don’t know if I’ve ever told.
“But he was, I think, the first person to call me and share his excitement when New York got the No. 1 pick [in 2020]. Every time I saw him on the road we would just have a chat, and I kept telling him to come to a game because this is a little different from all the others.
“To be able to see him here, cheering us on loudly, he was standing there whistling at the referees and talking to the players, which was really nice. But it’s obviously exciting to see the support we’re getting from all the New York fans.”
The Liberty were led by Breanna Stewart’s 34 points on the night – while other key contributions came from Jonquel Jones’ double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Liberty stars Breanna Stewart (L) and Sabrina Ionescu (R) led New York to a victory over Las Vegas
New York and Las Vegas met in the WNBA Finals last season – and now meet again in the semifinals.
Last season, the Aces came out on top with a three-games-to-one victory in the best-of-five finals series to win their second consecutive title.
They hope to make it a three-peat by eliminating the 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 one fell swoop, giving the rookie of the year time to enjoy herself after a long and grueling season that began when she was drafted out of Iowa in the spring.
Connecticut and New York have never won a WNBA title, while Minnesota has won four and the Aces have won two.