The Atlanta Dream can breathe a collective sigh of relief. After a tense few days, the WNBA has officially overturned the technical foul that threatened to sideline star forward Angel Reese for a crucial late-season matchup.
Reese was initially slapped with her eighth technical of the season during Friday's 101-83 loss to the Portland Fire, a call that would have triggered an automatic one-game suspension under league rules. The foul came with 8:45 left in the fourth quarter when Reese made contact with Portland's Carla Leite while both players were heading up the court.
Dream head coach Karl Smesko didn't hide his displeasure with the officials' decision, vowing to challenge it immediately. "I'm sure we'll appeal it," Smesko said. "From my vantage point, it didn't look like something that was tech worthy. So, hopefully, it'll be rescinded, but I haven't had the benefit of watching it on film yet or anything like that. I think that's probably something that we're gonna try to get rescinded."
His instincts proved correct. According to a report from USA Today, the league reviewed the play and decided to wipe the technical from Reese's record, dropping her season total back to seven. That means she'll be available for Sunday's game against the Minnesota Lynx and for the remaining five games of the regular season.
The ruling brings a sense of relief to a Dream squad that's already dealing with playoff positioning pressure. Reese has been a force all year, and her absence would have been a massive blow. She's also been making headlines for her historic rebounding numbers—a feat that has LSU celebrating her achievements—and she remains a central figure in the league's spotlight.
This isn't the first time the WNBA has shown leniency on this exact rule. Earlier this month, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark found herself in a nearly identical situation. She picked up her eighth technical against the Chicago Sky, seemingly for incidental contact with an official near the baseline. The Fever appealed, and the league rescinded the call, keeping Clark's count at seven.
Clark later acknowledged the process, saying she felt good about the outcome after speaking with the officials. "Honestly, I forgot about that," Clark said. "I mean, obviously, I think it's the right decision. I talked to Maj Forsberg after the game, too, the other ref, and, like, I felt good coming out of that, too. Like, she was going to go back and look at it. I think they did their report or whatever, and then it was quickly communicated that, obviously, there was what the ref interpreted was not actually the case of what happened."
The league's consistency in reviewing and overturning questionable technicals is a positive sign for players, even if it doesn't erase the stress of waiting for a decision. For Reese, the message is clear: tread carefully. With her count back at seven, any technical in the final stretch would trigger that automatic suspension.
The Dream, currently fighting to secure a favorable playoff seed, will need Reese at full throttle. She's been a double-double machine and a defensive anchor, and her presence alone changes the dynamics of any game. Fans and teammates alike are relieved that this particular scare is over.
As the regular season winds down, the league's willingness to correct its own mistakes is a story in itself. It echoes the broader conversation about player safety and fair officiating that's been simmering all year. And while some might argue that consistency is key, the WNBA's decision here feels like the right call—one that keeps the focus on the game, not on the sidelines.
