Angel Reese has just made WNBA history by breaking two WNBA records, but a brief exchange with a reporter after the Atlanta Dream’s win over the Los Angeles Sparks has taken all the attention. The Dream star’s response to what she saw as disrespect has drawn criticism across social media.
The exchange began when a reporter congratulated Reese for breaking the record for most rebounds in a single game as well as most rebounds in a single season following Atlanta’s 78-71 win on August 24. The interaction took place during the postgame conference, posted to the Dream’s YouTube channel, and was clipped and posted to X by @BrickCenter_.
“Congratulations on the NBA record, Angel,” he said, drawing Reese to correct him by saying “WNBA.” That prompted a reply from the reporter. “Well, you know what I’m talking about. She knows what I’m talking about,” he added.
Reese wasn’t convinced, telling the reporter, “No, I don’t because I’ll be setting NBA records soon.”
The reporter then de-escalated, saying, “Exactly. That’s what I’m saying.”
To be fair to Reese, she had every reason to be confident. During the game, she had produced perhaps the most remarkable rebounding performance in WNBA history, grabbing 26 boards to break the record for the most in a single game.
That total surpassed Chamique Holdsclaw’s previous record of 24 set in 2003, and marked the 27th double-double for Reese this season. She also broke the single-season rebounding record the same night, surpassing A’ja Wilson’s total of 451 set in 2024. Reese currently sits at 458 rebounds with six games left to play this season.
While the reporter’s initial “NBA record” comment was technically incorrect, fans didn’t like the way Reese approached the situation.
When the clip surfaced online, fans quickly took to the comments to call out Reese for her seemingly rude response, with many feeling that she had been unnecessarily provocative.
One such critic wrote, “She wakes up every day and finds new and exciting ways to be unlikeable.”
Another user was even more direct, commenting, “Just unbearable even when she’s given praise she has to act up.”
The criticism also extended to the substance of Reese’s record-breaking outing. One reaction called her out for trying to hide her poor scoring with rebounding, with the comment reading, “She had 11 points and bragging about how she breaking records for grabbing her own misses. 😆.”
While Reese did finish the game with 11 points on 4-14 shooting, her rebounding was much more than grabbing her own misses. 18 of her 26 rebounds came on the defensive end, showing her ability to get active on the glass and close opposing offensive possessions.
Another user questioned the literal possibility of Reese’s comment. Their post read, “how can you break an NBA record if you don’t play in the NBA?”
Finally, for one viewer, the biggest issue was how the comments ended up being a distraction from one of the most impressive outings of her career. The fan wrote, “See it’s stupid s*** like this that takes away from the game she had.”
Regardless of the sentiment behind Reese’s response, the moment showed just how quickly a historic performance can become secondary to the Dream star’s words.
