The circumstances surrounding the Minnesota Lynx's Game 5 loss to the New York Liberty in the WNBA Finals are something forward Napheesa Collier won't soon forget.

"I think it's easy to be appreciative of this team and see how special this season was," she said during her exit interview. "I think that loss is something I'll never get over. To have it end that way where it just feels super unjust, I don't think that's something I'll be able to get over."

Teammate Kayla McBride echoed the sentiment:

The Lynx attempted 17 fewer free throws than the Liberty and watched the referees stand by their original call when reviewing a controversial foul on Alanna Smith, which allowed Breanna Stewart to tie the game from the charity stripe with 5.2 seconds left in regulation.

In an Instagram post looking back on the 2024 season, Collier included a photo of Smith contesting Stewart's shot along with two other pictures of officiating calls that went against Minnesota.

Immediately after the game, Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve created quite the soundbite when she said the Finals were "stolen from us" thanks to the officiating.

Now a few days removed from those comments, Reeve said Tuesday she "for sure" agreed with Collier about how Game 5 will be tough to forget. But she wanted to avoid diving back into the issue.

"You know, trying to keep the focus on the players today I think is probably best," she said. "Unfortunately I have experience in this and I have a lot of feelings about it. But I think probably today would want to focus on the players and this season because I think something like this (spoils) the amazing season we had. We all know, I don't need to say anything, we all know what happened."

For fans, the idea that the WNBA tipped the scales in favor of its New York-based franchise gained further traction thanks to the wardrobe selection of commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Her dress was emblazoned with a snapshot of the NYC skyline.

More than anything, Game 5 opened far more eyes to what has been a longstanding gripe among players and coaches.

"I believe our officiating was the worst this year than it had been in 15 years."

That was how one general manager described the performance of WNBA referees in an interview with The Athletic's Ben Pickman for a piece in October 2023.

Another GM lamented how there's a perception the WNBA referees who do work well move on to the NBA. The personnel turnover then leads to having replacements with less experience and a lower feel for how to officiate a WNBA game.

It won't overturn the result of the 2024 Finals, but an overhaul of the league's entire referee setup might raise the standard to a point where something like Game 5 never happens again.