The Atlanta Dream ended a five-game losing streak with an 89-78 win against the Seattle Storm. But it wasn’t all good. While recording her 64th career double-double—the most in a player’s first three seasons, according to ESPN—Angel Reese also picked up her seventh technical foul of the season.
About halfway through the second quarter, Reese snagged a rebound from Dominique Malonga, took it all the way to the other end, but missed the layup after going through Natisha Hiedeman and Jordan Horston. There was no call, which prompted Reese to state her case and clap at the officials.
Reese is now dangerously close to a suspension. Players are automatically suspended without pay for one game when they are called for their eighth technical foul—something that Reese knows very well, as she was suspended for technical fouls last season—and every two technical fouls after that warrant another suspension.
“Obviously, the last thing we want is to go a game without Angel,” head coach Karl Smesko said in the postgame media availability, per a recording by The Ballers Magazine. “So, we’ll let her know that. Obviously, she was frustrated with a couple of calls, and we’re at that point where the next one is going to be a suspension. We’re all aware of it, and hopefully, we can push that off as far as possible.”
Losing Reese to a suspension would be difficult to stomach with the Dream’s current frontcourt depth. Brionna Jones is still out after undergoing knee surgery in the offseason, Madina Okot is a rookie, and Sika Kone isn’t exactly a trusted part of Smekso’s rotation. Depending on the matchup, losing Reese to a suspension could cost the Dream a game.
Yes, it would (hopefully) be just one game, but one game can make all the difference in the playoff seeding. The Dream, Liberty, and Fever all have a 13-9 record, and the Wings are one game ahead of them in the standings with a 14-8 record. It’s not like the Dream are sitting comfortably at the top of the standings with a nice cushion between them and the next tier of teams, like the Aces, Lynx, and Valkyries.
Reese leads the league in technical fouls
With seven technical fouls in 22 games, Reese leads the league by a good bit. Kahleah Copper and Caitlin Clark are next in line with five technical fouls each. Alyssa Thomas has four, and Natasha Cloud, Skylar Diggins, Sophie Cunningham, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, and Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve have all been called for three.
Seven technical fouls don’t just cost a ton of money—$500 for the first three, $1000 each starting with the fourth, and $1500 once a player hits eight technical fouls—but they also give the opposing team a free throw every time.
With 22 games still left in the season and given Reese’s track record with technical fouls, it seems unlikely that she will avoid a suspension. At this point, the Dream can only really hope that it won’t go beyond one suspension.
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