New York Liberty and Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai really struck a nerve with Michael Wilbon.
The two sides have now each fired a salvo in a war of words that began on Friday’s edition of ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption” when Wilbon was asked to pick a winner in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals and went into a rant about poor acoustics for crowd noise at the Barclays Center.
“I’ve got the Aces,” Wilbon said to co-host Frank Isola, as covered by Awful Announcing.
“You need a rabid, Phillies-like crowd in Brooklyn. Oh, wait. They’re barely awake in Brooklyn. It is the worst homecourt advantage, homecourt situation in terms of spirit in the entire NBA — all 30 teams (maybe Washington) — and the entire WNBA — all whatever it is, 12 teams? It’s the worst.
“There’s nothing to rally the Liberty. I want to see a series, Frank. It’s not happening. It’s not.”
Wilbon compared the Barclays Center noise levels to a “library” and added that “you hipsters better get a real arena because you stink right now.”
After the Liberty won convincingly in Game 3 on Sunday, a fan mockingly posted on X a reference about Wilbon saying “Worst home court advantage in the WNBA” with a video of a raucous crowd attached.
This tweet caught Tsai’s eye.
“We’d like to invite @RealMikeWilbon to his first WNBA game on Wednesday at Barclays Center,” the said in a re-share.
On Monday’s “PTI,” Wilbon doubled down on his take, clarifying that it was the arena and not the team’s fans that he was taking aim at.
“Let me just say this to Joe Tsai, who tweeted at me yesterday. Let’s be clear about something: I didn’t criticize your league or your fanbase or even your team,” Wilbon mused.
“I criticized your building, which is awful. Dark, quiet, and awful. So let’s get something straight about that you and your minions don’t confuse it. The Liberty bounced back well yesterday. This is now a series. And don’t think, ‘Oh, let’s invite Wilbon to his first WNBA game.’ I was a season ticket holder before you knew where the league was. Let’s get all that straight.”
Tony Kornheiser asked Wilbon if he meant that the Barclays Center is a “dump,” to which Wilbon responded, “No, it’s dark and it’s quiet and it’s not Vegas. It’s not one of the top places you go to get fired up and amped up for your team. It’s not.”
The Aces have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series, and Game 4 is Wednesday in Brooklyn.
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