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The officiating in the 2025 WNBA season has quickly become a hotly debated topic with fans and even coaches calling out perceived inconsistencies in the whistles for various teams in the league. So when Breanna Stewart walked away with 19 free throw attempts during the New York Liberty’s victory over the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday, it left many spectators stunned.
Even Liberty coach Sandy Brondello was awed at the performance, saying she had “never” seen a player garner as many fouls in a game—acknowledging it as a credit to Stewart’s drive to win.
But it was Sabrina Ionescu’s playful nod comparing Stewart to an NBA superstar well-known for his ability to draw a contentious amount of fouls that has been making waves on the internet.
When journalist Lucas Kaplan asked coach Brondello if she had ever seen a player draw so many fouls, Ionescu sat back and said with a grin, “SGA,” referring to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander—the current NBA MVP on the Oklahoma City Thunder, who is famously known for his uncanny ability to get to the charity stripe.
While drawing fouls can simply come as a result of assertive play as Brondello suggested, fans online questioned the disparity that saw Stewart make 19 trips to the free throw line—more than the entire Valkyries team combined.
One fan expressed empathy for how the Indiana Fever must have felt after their close matchup with New York last week, where Fever coach Stephanie White called out what she thought was an inconsistent whistle after a loss to the Liberty.
Others were quick to defend Stewart saying that if you look at the box score, the amount of attempts seem crazy, but were valid for those closely viewing the contest.
Questioning the refs is nothing new for fans on the losing end of the whistle and it’s unlikely to ever disappear entirely. While elite players like Stewart naturally draw more contact due to their aggressive play, the disparities in foul calls from game to game have fueled growing frustration, both at the start of this season and dating back to the deciding Game 5 of the WNBA Finals.
In a day where fans can highlight every play in slow motion and post receipts to the internet, the league may face mounting pressure to address any inconsistencies—because in today’s game, every call is under a microscope, with many observers crying foul.
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