The Atlanta Dream have left no doubt that they are one of the strongest teams this season. Behind Angel Reese, they’ve already picked up 12 wins, and they just keep looking more and more unstoppable. But while things are rolling in Atlanta, there’s also trouble starting to loom over their star player, and it didn’t take long for it to show up again, on Monday night, when Atlanta locked horns with the Toronto Tempo.

With just over a minute left in the fourth quarter, the Dream team was leading by 10 points when Reese drove hard toward the rim, trying to finish through contact. But Julie Allemand stepped in and made a clean block by snatching the ball away, which prompted the 24-year-old to immediately try to regain control. However, in the process, her stray arm appeared to slap Allemand in the face as she attempted to secure possession again.

Now, that was all the officials needed to see to assess Angel Reese with a technical foul, ruled as a “hostile act” after a brief review. But neither Reese nor the fans inside the arena liked the call.

The Dream forward immediately ran towards the officials, visibly frustrated as she argued the decision, while the crowd erupted and started chanting “REFS YOU SUCK” in unison.

Yet even after this incident, the Dream didn’t lose their cool and ended the game with a 94-87 win behind Rhyne Howard and Angel Reese, who combined for 31 points and 16 rebounds.

However, the issue is that this technical has added another layer to what has already been a growing pattern around Reese this season, especially when it comes to physical paint battles and quick-trigger reactions that keep putting her under the spotlight.

The young star has already picked up multiple technicals this season, and this latest one is her fifth. That means she now sits on the league’s radar and will have to pay a $1,000 fine, while being due to receive a warning from the WNBA. Because if she reaches eight technical fouls, she will be fined $1,500 and suspended for one game.

But only if that was it……

Besides leading the league with the most techs so far, a place she shares with her arch-rival, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese is also leading in flagrant fouls this season, with multiple Flagrant 1 calls already going against her for overly aggressive contact around the rim.

See, physical style has always been a key part of her gameplay, but after growing complaints from players and coaches about the level of physicality in the W, the league introduced a task force this season to monitor and review contact more closely.

As a result, players who rely heavily on physical dominance inside the paint have found themselves under greater scrutiny, and Angel Reese has been one of the most affected players by that shift, and that is a reason for concern, given how early it still is in the season

If this trend continues, she could soon find herself facing harsher penalties, and while the Dream are expected to review the incident and submit it to the league office for assessment, all eyes will now shift quickly to Atlanta’s next matchup against the Golden State Valkyries – a physical team in their own right – where fans will be hoping Reese can keep her physicality in check while still maintaining her edge inside the paint.