Angel Reese's eighth technical foul, which she received during the Atlanta Dream's 101-83 loss to the Portland Fire on Friday, has alrady been rescinded by the league, according to the Associated Press. That means Reese will stay below the technical foul limit and be eligible to play Sunday against the league-leading Lynx.
Reese finished Friday's defeat with 16 points, 16 rebounds and six assists, but shot just 5 of 14 from the field.
Under WNBA rules, a player or coach is automatically suspended without pay for one game upon receiving an eighth technical foul during the regular season. The previous limit was seven technicals, but the league increased it to eight last season with the jump to a 44-game schedule. For every two additional technical fouls received, the player or coach will be automatically suspended for an additional game.
Early in the fourth quarter, Reese got tangled up with Fire point guard Carla Leite during a box-out situation. Reese appeared to push down on Leite's head/neck area, while Leite had her arm wrapped around Reese's back. As the two started to separate, Reese gave a little shove and was called for a technical.
The play that led to Angel Reese's 8th technical foul and a suspension for Sunday against the Lynx unless it is rescinded:pic.twitter.com/G8wsa09F37
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) August 29, 2026
Reese was suspended for one game last season after surpassing the technical foul limit and led the league in technicals with eight. She is currently tied for the most technicals in the league this season along with Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark and Phoenix Mercury star Kahleah Copper.
Clark also avoided a suspension when she had what would have been her eighth technical rescinded by the league. All of Reese, Clark and Copper remain one technical away from a one-game suspension. Notably, technical foul counts reset after the regular season.
Most technicals in the WNBA in 2026
| Player | Team | Technicals |
|---|---|---|
Caitlin Clark | Fever | 7 |
Kahleah Copper | Mercury | 7 |
Angel Reese | Dream | 7 |
6 | ||
Mercury | 6 |
Reese would have been huge loss vs. Lynx
If Reese would have been suspended for Sunday's game against the Lynx, that would have been a major loss for the Dream, who are in a battle for seeding in the middle of the playoff picture.
Atlanta entered Friday in fourth place, half a game behind the third-place Las Vegas Aces and half a game ahead of the fifth-place Fever. Due to their defeat and wins by the Aces and Fever, the Dream have now dropped to fifth place -- half a game behind the Fever and one and a half games behind the Aces. They are one and a half games ahead of the sixth-place Washington Mystics, who own the tiebreaker between the clubs.
Reese recently set the single-game rebounding record and has been playing some of the best basketball of her career. The Dream will need her at her best on Sunday against the Lynx, who are coming off just their second loss since July 6 and are eager to lock up the No. 1 overall seed.
