Sky’s Angel Reese surpasses technical foul limit, will be suspended for Friday’s game vs. Fever

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese will be suspended for one game after surpassing the regular-season technical foul limit during her team’s 88-64 win over the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday. Reese will serve her suspension on Friday when the Sky take on the Indiana Fever, assuming that her technical is not rescinded. 

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 this 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.

Reese was issued her league-leading eighth technical late in the second quarter on Wednesday after hitting Sun forward Aaliyah Edwards in the head while the two were battling for position under the basket. While Edwards was looking up toward the basket, Reese spun and smacked Edwards with the back of her hand. 

Crew chief Randy Richardson explained the decision to give Reese a technical in the pool report after the game: 

QUESTION: “Could you break down the reasoning behind the technical foul that was called on Angel Reese?”

RICHARDSON: “Yeah, so we had a flail on the court; so we had a non-call on the court and then we went to take a look at it and we deemed that to be a non-basketball act by Reese and we ended up calling the flail an unsportsmanlike technical foul.”

QUESTION: “Can you specify what the flail was?”

RICHARDSON: “A flail is when her arm hit (Aaliyah Edwards) in the back of the head after the ball went into the basket and it was just deemed to be an unsportsmanlike act. It was the back of the hand to the contact to Edwards.”

QUESTION: “What is the difference between what would have been a basketball play versus a non-basketball play as you deemed it?”

RICHARDSON: “Any contact to the head like that, we’ll just take a look at that for potential, justfor the severity of the contact. We think it was just an unsportsmanlike act.”

WNBA leaders in technical fouls

Reese recorded another double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, but shot just 4 of 12 from the field with four turnovers to bring her interesting Wednesday to a close. 

Prior to the game, Reese made headlines for explosive comments she gave to the Chicago Tribune. In a lengthy interview, Reese called out the Sky’s front office and coaching staff, as well as her teammates. She demanded big moves in free agency and suggested that she could leave the Sky when she reaches free agency in 2027. 

“I’m not settling for the same shit we did this year,” Reese said. “We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me.

“I’m willing and wanting to play with the best. And however I can help to get the best here, that’s what I’m going to do this offseason. So it’s going to be very, very important this offseason to make sure we attract the best of the best because we can’t settle for what we have this year.”

Reese’s remarks about franchise icon Courtney Vandersloot, who has been out since June 7 with a torn ACL, were particularly notable.

“We can’t rely on Courtney to come back at the age that she’s at,” Reese said. “I know she’ll be a great asset for us, but we can’t rely on that.”

Coach Tyler Marsh addressed Reese’s comments prior to the team’s game against the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday.

“We are aware of it,” Marsh said. “We’re addressing it in-house as currently speaking. That’s where we’ll stay right now.”

Reese’s teammates have seen the interview and are unhappy, according to Front Office Sports, and the Sky have reported planned a team meeting to discuss the situation. “There is a belief among some sources that Reese’s future in Chicago may not be reparable,” Annie Costabile reported.