WNBA stars Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese will not face any punishment after a since-deleted social media post showed the two discussing a friendly wager prior to their teams' matchup on Wednesday, a league source told ESPN.
The WNBA acknowledged on Thursday that the post from the league's X account "missed the mark."
"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," a WNBA spokesperson said in a statement. "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."
Bueckers' Dallas Wings and Reese's Atlanta Dream have not commented on the matter.
Betting on WNBA games is prohibited by the league's collective bargaining agreement.
According to Article XIV, Section 5(c) of the document, "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."
The caption of the post -- which has been preserved with screen recordings -- read "We did?" with a laughing emoji, and "Paige Bueckers on the bet she made with Angel Reese at All-Star Weekend on tonight's matchup."
The video showed, prior to tipoff of Wednesday's game between the Wings and Dream, someone prompting Bueckers, "at All-Star Weekend, you and Angel made a bet with each other on this game."
Bueckers appeared to jokingly play dumb, asking, "We did?"
The video then cuts to footage of the two All-Stars joking at practice last weekend in Chicago and Reese holding $400 in her hand.
"If y'all lose," Reese said, with Bueckers interjecting, "I get to have that."
"If y'all win, you get your 400," Reese added.
"And if we lose then you get to keep [that]," Bueckers continued, with Reese saying, "no, you owe me 400."
The video cuts back to Bueckers saying to the camera on Wednesday, "Bet, I'm standing on it."
Asked about the wager following the Dream's 82-81 win, Reese said, "I'll be requesting my Apple Pay after this." She also appeared to reference the bet by posting a hashtag with "cuatrocientos" (400 in Spanish) on X after the game.
The two players are back in action on Friday, with the Dream hosting the Seattle Storm and the Wings taking on the Washington Mystics.