Angel Reese helped arena security identify a spectator accused of throwing a bright green dildo onto the court during the Atlanta Dream's 124-88 win over the Los Angeles Sparks at Crypto.com Arena on 20 August 2026. The object interrupted play with 2:59 remaining in the third quarter, landing near Sparks player Jihyun Park as she stood at the free-throw line.
Reese, who was waiting to enter the game, immediately pointed into the stands and alerted officials, saying: 'Look up, look up. That's him, right there.' Security apprehended the spectator, who was later arrested and indefinitely banned from WNBA, NBA and related league events.
Authorities had not publicly established a motive, but the incident revived a bizarre pattern that disrupted WNBA games in 2025 and eventually became something people could trade on through prediction markets.
Reese Points Out The Alleged Thrower
Video of the stoppage shows players looking towards the stands as Reese repeatedly directs attention to one section of the crowd. Sparks centre Cameron Brink then moved the neon green object away from the playing area with her foot before arena staff removed it and play resumed. The sequence quickly circulated online, with Reese's pointing gesture becoming the defining image of the disruption.
The interruption came during one of Reese's strongest games of the season. The former LSU national champion finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals while making all nine of her field-goal attempts. The Atlanta Dream said the perfect shooting night set a franchise record for the most field goals made without a miss, while Reese collected her 25th double-double of the season.
Her performance helped Atlanta produce a franchise-record 124 points in the 36-point victory. Rhyne Howard led the Dream with 26 points, while the team also set franchise records with 46 made field goals and 35 assists. The numbers provided a striking contrast to the off-court spectacle that briefly interrupted what had otherwise been a historic night for Atlanta.
The WNBA Has Been Here Before
The green object was familiar because similar incidents repeatedly interrupted WNBA games in late July and August 2025. Sex toys were thrown onto courts or into seating areas in several cities, and arrests followed as players and coaches warned that a stunt framed online as a joke could injure someone. In Phoenix, an 18-year-old accused of throwing one of the objects allegedly hit two spectators, including a minor, before being detained.
🚨Sex toy tossed on WNBA court for second time this week pic.twitter.com/rJFhsD85ok
— josu (@Jetusahalaka) August 2, 2025
The WNBA responded at the time by warning: 'Objects of any kind thrown onto the court or in the seating area can pose a safety risk.' Its current fan code of conduct says guests who throw objects will be immediately ejected and can also face future bans, arrest or prosecution. The Los Angeles Sparks' own code also prohibits betting-related harassment towards players and other game participants, alongside throwing objects onto the court.
Players challenged the way the incidents turned women's professional basketball into material for a viral joke. Chicago Sky centre Elizabeth Williams called the behaviour 'super disrespectful' in 2025, adding: 'I don't really get the point of it. It's really immature. Whoever is doing it needs to grow up.' Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve separately linked the pattern to the sexualisation of women and argued that the spectacle should not be treated as harmless comedy.
When footage of the latest incident was posted on Reddit, some commenters quickly connected it to the betting markets that emerged around last year's WNBA disruptions. One wrote: 'It might also be related to sports betting,' pointing out that people had been able to predict whether another dildo would be thrown at a game and potentially profit if the outcome occurred.
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The Stunt Became A Multimillion-Dollar Prediction Market
That theory remains unproven in the latest case, but the markets themselves were real. In August 2025, Polymarket opened a prediction market asking whether a dildo would be thrown onto a WNBA court on seven specific dates, ultimately recording $2,997,357 in trading volume.
WNBA dildo betting gaining some traction as @BetOnline_ag pays out $600 for every $100 bet on a green sex toy being thrown onto court following Friday's "incident" that has WNBA players now scolding fans. @DaveMasonBOL https://t.co/Ftrt4b86T2 pic.twitter.com/oMeccmyC3I
— gambling911 (@gambling911) August 2, 2025
Participants bought and sold shares based on whether they believed the event would happen, while the platform's rules specified that a market would resolve 'Yes' only if a dildo was thrown onto the court during a WNBA game on the listed date. A separate market even asked traders to predict whether the next object would be green or yellow.
There is no evidence that the spectator accused in the 20 August 2026 incident used Polymarket, attempted to influence a wager or expected to profit from the stunt. The connection raised on Reddit therefore remains speculation, while the nearly $3 million in historical trading volume provides a documented example of how the WNBA disruption became something people could financially speculate on.
