RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesBefore Wednesday night’s matchup between the Atlanta Dream and Dallas Wings, the WNBA posted a video on social media showing stars Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers appearing to make a friendly $400 wager on the game.
The post was quickly deleted, but not before users on X captured screenshots and recordings , allowing it to spread across the platform.
“While the social media post was intended to be lighthearted, WNBA players are well aware of the league’s policies prohibiting betting on WNBA games and receive training every year reinforcing those policies,” the WNBA said in a statement on Thursday. “We recognized that the post missed the mark, removed it shortly after it was published, and addressed the matter internally. We will also use this as an opportunity to reemphasize with the players involved that conversations about wagering on WNBA games, even when intended as a joke, can have negative consequences.”
Reese and Bueckers both played in the WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday for Team Coop, which lost 129-122 to Team Spoon in Chicago, but the video appeared to have been filmed during a practice.
In the clip, Reese, while holding the cash, joked with Bueckers.
“Imma see y’all on Wednesday,” Reese said. “If y’all lose …”
“I get to have that,” Bueckers replied, gesturing toward the cash.
“If y’all win, you get the 400,” Reese responded.
“If we lose, then you get to keep it,” Bueckers said.
“No, you owe me 400,” Reese clarified.
In the video posted Wednesday, the WNBA’s social media team asked Bueckers to recall the bet the two players had made in Chicago.
“We did?” Bueckers asked, appearing confused. “At night?”
After it was clarified that the interaction had occurred during practice, she doubled down.
“Bet, I’m standing on that,” Bueckers said.
The caption on the league’s post read: “We did?” followed by a laughing emoji, and then, “Paige Bueckers on the bet she made with Angel Reese at All-Star weekend on tonight’s matchup.”
Bueckers’ Wings lost to Reese’s Dream 82-81. Reese finished with 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting, to go with 12 rebounds, four assists and four steals, and Bueckers had 16 points and six assists.
“Yeah, I’ll be requesting my Apple Pay after this,” Reese said, laughing during a postgame press conference Wednesday night. “Paige is a great player. To hold her to 16 points, it’s tough.”
She also later tweeted , seemingly at Bueckers, after the game with another reference to the bet.
Betting of any kind is strictly prohibited under the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement , signed before this season. Section 5 of Article 14 in the CBA is dedicated entirely to gambling regulations. Sub-sections a and b prohibit fixing results and require players to disclose any betting offers made to them.
Sub-section c is the relevant provision: “Any player found by the Commissioner after a hearing to have been guilty of wagering (directly or indirectly), or of offering or attempting to wager, money or anything of value on the outcome, score, or any other aspect of any WNBA Competition shall, in the sole discretion of the Commissioner, be subject to a fine, suspension, and/or dismissal and disqualification from any further association with the WNBA.”
Because Reese and Bueckers were shown on video appearing to wager on the outcome of a game in which they were participants, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has the discretion to impose penalties. The WNBA did not indicate any punishment was coming.
Bueckers and Reese are among the league’s three most-followed players on social media, along with Caitlin Clark. Both are 24-year-old former NCAA champions — Bueckers at UConn and Reese at LSU — and are widely viewed as faces of the WNBA’s next generation.
While the exchange appeared lighthearted, the league’s decision to promote it struck a nerve given the current landscape surrounding sports betting.
Former Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby transferred to Texas Tech ahead of the 2026 season but will never play for the Red Raiders after admitting to placing at least 9,000 impermissible bets totaling more than $90,000 during his college career, including multiple wagers involving Indiana football while he was a member of the Hoosiers in 2022. Sorsby checked himself into a gambling addiction treatment program in April and has been ruled ineligible to play.
In October 2025, former NBA guard Terry Rozier was arrested and charged by federal prosecutors with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Through subsequent court proceedings, prosecutors alleged Rozier accepted a $100,000 bribe to leave a 2023 Charlotte Hornets game early.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic .
Atlanta Dream, Dallas Wings, WNBA
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