Emotions appeared to boil over early in Game 3 of the first-round playoff series between the Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever on Thursday, Oct. 1, with two technical fouls being called in the opening minutes.
Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Aces forward/center Brianna Turner were called for double technical fouls with 6:54 remaining in the first quarter. It marks Clark's second technical foul of the 2026 WNBA playoffs after she picked up a tech in the Fever's Game 2 win over the Aces on Tuesday, moving her two technicals away from suspension.
Under WNBA rules, a player or coach is automatically suspended for one game upon receiving their fourth technical foul during the postseason. Each additional technical comes with a $1,500 fine and every two
additional technical fouls during the WNBA playoffs result in an additional one-game suspension.
The league can rescind every technical or flagrant foul assessed during each game.
Offsetting technical fouls were assessed to Caitlin Clark and Brianna Turner on this sequence. #WNBA pic.twitter.com/6ktfF5AwRH
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 2, 2026
The incident started when Fever forward Lexie Hull was whistled for fouling Aces center A'ja Wilson on a rebound attempt with 6:54 left in the first quarter as Indiana led 12-6. The contact with Hull sent Wilson into the basketball stanchion, prompting an official review by referees to see if the foul should be upgraded.
As officials reviewed the play, the Fever's starting five, made up of Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull, Aliyah Boston and Makayla Timpson, gathered together in an impromptu huddle on the court. Turner was nearby and joined the Fever's huddle before Clark pushed her out the circle. Turner flailed back after the shove.
The interaction between Clark and Turner resulted in offsetting double technical fouls, meaning no teams shot free throws. Clark and Turner are former teammates as Turner played for the Fever in 2025.
Clark finished the regular season with seven technicals, narrowly avoiding a one-game suspension assessed by the league upon receiving an eighth technical foul. Each player and coach's technical foul count resets at the end of the regular season, but only four techs are allowed in the postseason before earning a one-game suspension.
Clark will receive a $500 fine for her second technical foul of the postseason.
Earlier this week, Clark was assessed a technical foul after she received an offensive foul for pushing Las Vegas Aces guard Mai Yamamoto at the 8:33 mark of the second quarter of Game 2 on Sept. 29. Clark appeared to wave off the referee after the initial foul call. It's unclear if she said something to the nearby official to warrant the technical. The Fever went on a 28-14 run after Clark's tech. They had trailed 29-20.
During that same game, Wilson was called for an "unsportsmanlike conduct" technical foul after confronting a fan at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis after feeling slighted by him pointing at her. Wilson looked up and pointed to a fan under the baseline as she walked toward him. Wilson was face-to-face with the fan before Parker-Tyus pulled her away.
The WNBA announced on Thursday that Wilson won't face further punishment for the confrontation with a fan, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports.
WNBA playoff technical fouls thresholds
According to the WNBA, the playoff technical foul penalties are as follows:
- Technical Fouls 1-2: $500 fine each
- Technical Foul 3: $1,000 fine (warning letter issued after violator’s 3rd technical)
- Technical Foul 4: $1,500 fine plus one-game suspension
- Each additional Technical Foul: $1,500 fine
- Each Two additional Technical Fouls (6, 8,10, etc.) $1,500 fine plus one-game suspension
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Caitlin Clark hit with second playoff technical after incident with former teammate
