MINNEAPOLIS — Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve had a brutally honest message for Emma Meesseman after the Belgian star recently committed to the New York Liberty — and she didn’t try to soften it.
Asked after Tuesday’s practice about Meesseman’s decision, Reeve fired back without hesitation.
“She made the wrong choice,” Reeve said, delivering the line with the same edge that’s defined her competitive reputation for years.
Meesseman had been the most coveted free agent left on the market, with the Lynx, Liberty and Mercury all pushing hard to sign her earlier this month. Minnesota associate coach Eric Thibault — who previously coached Meesseman during her standout years with the Washington Mystics — spearheaded the Lynx’s pursuit, hoping their connection and the team’s championship aspirations would seal the deal.
But in the end, Meesseman chose New York.
Although she has committed to the Liberty, she still hasn’t formally signed as the team works through the final stages of her visa process. It remains unclear when she’ll officially join the defending WNBA champions, but expectations are high that she will fit seamlessly into the Liberty’s system.
Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb didn’t want to speak for Meesseman’s personal reasoning, but he made one thing clear regarding her motivation.
“From my purview, she wants to win,” Kolb said.
“She wants to win a championship. That’s her No. 1 goal.”
Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts also voiced support for Meesseman’s decision earlier this month. He acknowledged that several teams were in the mix, but ultimately felt New York made sense for her.
“Emma’s a great player. She’s going to be a really good fit here,” Tibbetts said before the Mercury’s July 25 loss in Brooklyn. “There were two or three teams involved. We were lucky to be one of them. And I think she made a good choice. She’s familiar with Sandy [Brondello], she’s played with Stewie, and she’s going to help them.”
Reeve, however, wasn’t nearly as diplomatic.
Her pointed comment only adds fuel to an already electric rivalry between the Lynx and the Liberty — currently the league’s top two teams — who will face off Wednesday in their first matchup since New York defeated Minnesota last October to clinch the 2024 WNBA title.
This game marks the beginning of a high-stakes stretch, with the two powerhouses scheduled to meet four times in the next three weeks, a run that could redefine playoff seeding and reignite tensions from last year’s championship series.
For now, Meesseman’s choice has set the stage:
New York believes it added the missing piece.
Minnesota believes she picked the wrong destination.
And the WNBA is about to find out who’s right.
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