Good news for Paige Bueckers. The WNBA officially rescinded the technical foul given to the Dallas Wings star two nights earlier.

As a result, Bueckers avoids a $500 fine and also stays alive in a season-long bet with teammate Alysha Clark about finishing the year without a technical foul. Clark, however, joked that she helped get the call overturned.

"I gave her a little something to send in with it," Clark said, according to reporter Madeline Kenney on X. "I just felt it wasn't warranted. If I'm going to win money out of her, I want it to be legit. ‌I ⁠want to be able to sleep at night. I don't want that it's not deserving to get her money."

For those who missed it, the technical foul happened late in the third quarter against the Atlanta Dream. After drawing a non-shooting foul from defender Indya Nivar while driving to the basket, Bueckers clapped her hands thrice. Official Kevin Fahy viewed the reaction as unsportsmanlike and gave her a technical foul.

Still, Bueckers quickly moved on from the incident against the New York Liberty. She bounced back with 11 first-half points and eventually finished with 24 points on 53.8% shooting in the Dallas Wings’ 91-76 win in New York.

Though the WNBA has overturned the call, it had sparked frustration and debate when it happened.

Paige Bueckers Questions WNBA Technical Foul Call

Jose Fernandez seemed surprised by the technical foul called on Paige Bueckers two nights ago. But when asked about the incident after the game, the Dallas Wings coach chose his words carefully.

"I’m not going to comment on that because I don’t want to get fined," he said.

The WNBA has placed a bigger emphasis on officiating this season, especially when it comes to controlling games and limiting physical play. And Bueckers seems to understand that approach after the kind of fouls that were let go last season.

Still, she believes technical fouls are different because they involve emotion rather than physical contact.

"See that we were down a ton and we’re making a run, so we’re obviously going to be hyped up and showing a bunch of passion and joy and fire. Like, that’s what basketball’s all about," said Bueckers.

The timing of the technical also made the situation more frustrating for the team. The Dallas Wings were trying to fight their way back into the game against the Atlanta Dream when the call happened.

In the end, Dallas lost 86-69, while Bueckers finished with just seven points on 3-of-13 shooting in one of her toughest games of the season.

So, do you think Paige Bueckers deserved the technical foul, or did the WNBA make the right call by rescinding it?

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Written by

Sauramita Debbarma

Edited by

Yask Kotak