Spike Lee and Kelsey Plum got into some good ol' trash talk in the middle of the Game 1 WNBA Semi-Finals matchup between the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces.
On Sunday, the Aces paid a visit to the Liberty at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, for their best-of-five second-round playoff bout, and diehard NYC basketball fan Spike Lee wasted no time yapping at Plum. In the third quarter, Lee and Plum started chatting at one another while the Liberty were up by 14.
Lee, who's known to get feisty during playoff basketball games in New York City, was relentless in his jabs while Plum, who's no trash talk fluke herself, fired back at him with precision. Some clips circulated online, and many were happy to see Spike keeping that New York sports spirit alive.
"Spike Lee jawing with Kelsey Plum the New York hoops of it all is amazing," one person tweeted. Another said, "Liberty up 59-44, Spike Lee and Kelsey Plum going back & forth. NYC basketball y'all lol #wnba."
Someone else wrote, "It's not New York playoff basketball until Spike Lee starts trash talking an opposing player Today it is Kelsey Plum."
The Liberty took Game 1 with an 87-77 win over the Aces, with Game 2 taking place on Thursday. Plum is just the latest person to be added to Lee's list of athletes he's gone toe-to-toe with in trash-talking. Paul Pierce, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and so many more have shared words with Spike, but none more memorable than Reggie Miller.
In Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, Lee's trash talk caused Miller to go on a 25-point fourth-quarter rampage and later had him show off the infamous choking gesture when the Pacers took down the Knicks. In a conversation on the Dan Patrick Show, Miller explained he made Lee "part of the game" regarding trash-talking.