Fever Fans Upset Over NaLyssa Smith's 'Touches' Gripe After Win

Indiana Fever fans were irked by what forward NaLyssa Smith had to say after Sunday's win.
Sep 15, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever forward NaLyssa Smith (1) wipes off her face at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Grace Hollars/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
Sep 15, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever forward NaLyssa Smith (1) wipes off her face at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Grace Hollars/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images / Grace Hollars/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

The Indiana Fever improved to 20-19 on the WNBA season after defeating the Dallas Wings in an offensive showcase on Sunday.

Dynamic guard duo Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell combined to score 65 of Indiana's 110 points in the game. Forward NaLyssa Smith added 8 points to Indiana's tally, which is less than the 10.4 points per game she has averaged this year.

At one point in the contest, Connecticut Sun standout Dijonai Carrington (who is Smith's girlfriend) posted on X, "see what happens when my girl gets some touches 😇".

This prompted Smith to reply after the game by saying, "fun while it lasted babe 🤣🤣" after the game ended.

Social media is convinced that this was Smith's way of complaining about the number of shots she received in the game — and let her know how they felt about the gripe.

X user @dukejoint replied to Smith's post by posting a photo of Magic Johnson rolling his eyes.

Smith took a total of 7 shots on Sunday, which is a bit less than her average of 8.8 shots taken per game. She took 12.7 shots per game last season.

Another X user added, "I get the frustration, but this ain't it. Keep it professional!!! We all know the coach is a**, but this is is petty and unprofessional."

"Yo #1 what are you doing. Stop feeding into this, if you aren’t happy change it , if you aren’t getting minutes put in the work. You need to be consistent. But this , what you and your girl doing ain’t it. We stand behind you but this is a job," added another.

Smith also didn't seem to understand what all the fuss was about.

There's a good chance that Smith and Carrington will face off in the playoffs, as it appears that Indiana and Connecticut will be playing each other in the first round.


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Grant Young

GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.