Brittney Griner’s Controversial Flagrant Foul Sparks Debate After Collision with Angel Reese on Court

With Atlanta clinging to a narrow 68-65 lead and less than eight minutes on the clock, Reese and Griner were locked in a battle near the basket, each vying for the prime rebounding spot.

Positioned to Reese’s left, Griner’s and Reese’s arms tangled as they turned toward the hoop.

The duo rotated with their arms locked to the point that Reese faced the basket while Griner had her back to the hoop, which led to an awkward scenario when one moment later Reese attempted to run toward the loose ball in the paint while Griner’s arm held her back.

Reese then suddennly lost her balance, throwing her hands up in the air while sliding the floor in a mannerism that perhaps leads to questions of whether she flopped.

Griner stood over Reese moments later while expressing surprise, although she extended a hand to her foe to help her up.

The referees reviewed the play and ultimately awarded a flagrant foul, with Reese hitting one of two free throws to grow the lead to four points.

Reese ultimately tallied another double-double with 12 rebounds and 13 points to help the Dream improve to 6-2, while Griner had seven points and four rebounds in a loss that dropped the Sun to 2-9.

Dream coach Karl Smesko credited Reese for having a “big” fourth quarter, and credited her for making a crucial 3-pointer in the third to cut Connecticut’s lead to 65-64.

“I did think it was a momentum changer,” Smesko said of the 3. “Crowd loved it, team loved it, I loved it.

“She’s been really open to kind of changing her shot and it’s shown up in practice … but in the game we haven’t had the same release we’ve had in practice, but today, that looked like a good one.”