Angel Reese Hit With Harsh Criticism for ‘Great Player' Comment Before Loss

With Angel Reese making her highly anticipated home debut for the Atlanta Dream on Sunday afternoon, she made a bold statement about herself and her opponent, Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson.

"Just playing my game and doing what I do best, but also, knowing her game a lot,” she said about her mentality for the matchup against Wilson. “I’ve watched her game a lot. She’s obviously a great player. She’s the MVP for a reason, but I know I’m also a great player, too.”

Reese, who joined Atlanta after getting traded from the Chicago Sky in the offseason, also admitted she was “really excited” to get onto the court in front of the home fans for a sellout crowd.

And the game didn’t disappoint, as Atlanta nearly achieved their third win of the season to remain undefeated. However, the Aces’ Chelsea Gray hit a heroic 12-foot jumper with under five seconds remaining, which was the difference-maker in an 85-84 win for the visitors.

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And unfortunately for Reese, her statement about being a great player came ahead of an extremely poor shooting performance in her home debut.

She shot 1-for-8 from the field, also turning the ball over eight times of her team’s 13. Reese finished with nine points, mostly from free throws, to go with eight rebounds, three assists, and a block.

Wilson, a four-time WNBA MVP and three-time WNBA champion, finished with 20 points on 6-for-12 field goal shooting along with six rebounds, two blocks, and an assist in the win.

An X account shared a clip of Reese’s pregame interview along with the disappointing shooting and turnover stats. That prompted many commenters to share harsh criticism of Reese, a two-time WNBA All-Star in her third season.

“Does she know what the word great means? Does she think it means terrible? She needs to keep this in her inner monologue!!” one commenter wrote.

Another said, “How Atlanta was dumb enough to trade multiple picks for her is beyond me.”

“She’s a clumsy uncoordinated mess. How anyone watches this woman & thinks this a pro basketball star is laughable,” someone commented.

Others said, “She really is not a good player at all and she doesn’t realize it. It’s kinda sad no one around her will tell her the truth,” and “Talks a better game than she plays.”

With Reese on the court for 29 minutes, the stats show she was a -13 plus/minus for her team, hindering their efforts.

While Reese seems not to have improved much, she continues to excel at rebounding, averaging 15 per game. Along with that, she averages 11.5 points, 2 assists, and 1.5 steals.

A No. 7 draft pick in 2024, she spent her first two seasons with the Chicago Sky and was named a WNBA All-Star in each season there. However, those teams failed to reach the postseason due to poor records.

Reese expressed frustration with the Sky’s roster toward the end of last season. While she apologized for her critical remarks, Chicago traded her to Atlanta this past offseason.

With the Dream, it seems she has a better chance of finally making the postseason, but one has to wonder whether she can improve her shooting percentages and scoring average moving forward this season.

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This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 5:39 PM.