Spike Lee‘s famous courtside trash talk stings a little more when you’re losing, but that didn’t stop Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum from firing back and putting Spike in check during the heat of the WNBA Playoffs.

Spike Lee trash talks Kelsey Plum

A highly-anticipated rematch of the 2023 WNBA Finals resulted in a Game 1 win for the New York Liberty in Barclays Center behind 34 points from Breanna Stewart.

Plum did her part, leading Las Vegas with 24 points in the loss and proving she would not back down to anyone. As always, New York’s courtside king had the best view of the action, and had plenty to say about it.

The Aces superstar called Spike out for not being loud enough when he made one of his signature jabs to her during Game 1 of the WNBA Semifinals. She appeared to say, “you’re gonna have to be louder than that,” encouraging the trash talk even though her team was losing to Lee’s Liberty.

WNBA not backing down

It’s the latest in several high-profile examples in the past year of competitive women’s basketball players wanting to be treated the same as their NBA counterparts, criticism included. Plum was begging for Spike to be just as obnoxious as he would be to any New York Knicks rival from his courtside seat at Madison Square Garden.

WNBA rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese added their unique intensity to the league in 2024. The downside comes when certain fans take it too far, and use on court beef as an excuse to make hateful comments. Clark was sure to identify those miscreants as “trolls,” not fans.

Spike and Kelsey’s viral moment perfectly described the spirit of the WNBA Playoffs, especially the Liberty-Aces rivalry. Competitive, fun, and not backing down to anyone. They will meet again for Game 2 in Brooklyn on Tuesday, October 1.