ESPN Glazing Angel Reese Despite Horrible 1st-Half Performance Angers Fans – “It’s Comical”

Angel Reese and her Atlanta Dream battled longtime rival Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever for the final time this regular season.

ESPN Glazing Angel Reese Despite Horrible 1st-Half Performance Angers Fans – “It’s Comical”

Dream star Angel Reese (Image via WNBA/X)

When Angel Reese joined the Atlanta Dream via a trade from the Chicago Sky, many felt she would be the piece that helps the team take the next step towards its goal of winning a championship.

That opinion also noted that her numbers could drop, given that she would have to share the ball with three All-Stars and one of the league’s best defensive point guards.

However, the Maryland native found her footing early and has not shown any indication that her performances would suffer. In fact, Reese is averaging more points, steals, and blocks even though her rebounding numbers have declined. She is still the best rebounder in the league by a decent margin and has improved her overall defensive presence to help the Dream become one of the best teams on that side of the ball.

That is why they were positioned as the favorites when taking on the Indiana Fever, even if the latter’s high-powered offense, led by longtime rival and fellow USA Basketball teammate Caitlin Clark, is blowing records every other game.

The latter struggled against other stud defenses, and along with the home fans cheering them on, Reese and her teammates were expected to stamp their mark on this game.

That goal, though, could not materialize when the forward missed seven of her ten attempts before halftime. While analyzing that period, ESPN’s WNBA Halftime show acknowledged the misses, but went on to praise Angel Reese and what she brings to the Dream.

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Fans tear into ESPN for being biased towards Angel Reese

This segment from the halftime show reached social media and instantly drew the ire of fans. They felt that the network was actively praising Angel Reese despite her poor performance in that half.

Instead of objectively criticizing her poor performance, fans felt that the show’s cast intentionally picked up another aspect of the Dream star’s leadership to prop her up. They wondered why the show does not do that for other players, since the analysts have been caught intentionally criticizing them. Check out examples of those reactions below.

The WNBA’s media rights partners are generally tasked with uplifting its players and the league. However, fans noticed that some of them have a tendency to promote some players, while consistently finding criticisms in others. In this instance, they felt that the crew of the Halftime Show clearly showed their bias towards Angel Reese.

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Skip Bayless sums up how Angel Reese’s WNBA career has come so far

Angel Reese and her Atlanta Dream went on to lose this overtime battle to Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever 91-95. After the game, a veteran journalist summed up how far the former has come in her WNBA career.

Angel Reese's layups have not improved
Angel Reese’s layups have not improved (Image via AR5 Source/X)

Angel Reese, who has made 3 straight All-Star teams, is on the way to becoming the greatest WNBA rebounder ever. She’s leading the league in rebounding – but also in badly blown layups. Never seen anything like her lack of control at the rim. Can make you laugh or wince.

Skip Bayless wrote on X

He believes that there is no doubt that the LSU alum will go on to set several records for rebounding, as she first did in her rookie season. However, the baffling misses that close to the basket have led him to wonder why her unusually high motor is letting her down when it matters.

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