'She's a diva, she can't shoot, she's no Caitlin Clark': Every Angel Reese narrative that has been proven false originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Three years after being drafted and six months after being traded, Angel Reese is on the brink of a WNBA title.
That likely won't come as any surprise to the Dream star. She has backed herself to succeed at every step of her basketball career.
Her detractors have argued otherwise. Reese was hardly a faultless prospect coming out of LSU. Nevertheless, she has found her niche and sticks to it, becoming one of the sport's finest defenders and rebounders while adding new bows to her offensive quiver each season that she's been in the league.
The Defensive Player of the Year has taken pride in turning her naysayers into reluctant admirers.
Here's a look at each falsehood she has turned away across her budding career.
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Every Angel Reese narrative that has been proven false
'She's a diva'
This one is easy to dispel.
Reese was draped with this misrepresentation during her collegiate career. It's a tale rooted in racism, sexism and the intermingling histories of both. Reese, a confident Black woman, drew rancor for some for having the audacity to taunt Caitlin Clark during the 2023 national championship game. Her "you can't see me" gesture — popularized by WWE star John Cena — was a reference to the one Clark pulled off weeks earlier when Iowa downed Louisville in the Elite Eight.
Notably, the symbol — like the ring-finger celebration Reese directed towards Clark as the title game wound down — was benign, especially when compared to most male athletes' expressions of joy. Nevertheless, Reese was ridiculed by social media users of a certain disposition.
The portrayal of Reese as a "diva" doesn't really align with the facts. Her skillset is underpinned by a motor like no other in the sport. She has a penchant for rebounds and deflections — the dirty work that basketball purists are purported to love more than anything else. She is a well-liked teammate and a player who embraces the spotlight, particularly when there's a championship on the line.
This characterization was lazy to begin with. In big 2026, it's nothing more than noise from those who want to deny her ability to impact games on both ends of the floor.
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'She can't shoot'
There was some truth in concerns over Reese's ability to score at the WNBA level. While she hovered around 50 percent shooting during her collegiate career, Reese rarely made threes. She also struggled with her release points on layups, limiting her efficiency close to the rim.
Those toils have followed Reese somewhat at the next level. She's still a below-average shooter, posting a 52.1% true shooting rate in 2026, four percent lower than the league average. Reese gets to the rim at ease, averaging 9.6 rim field goal attempts more than the league-average mark per 100 possessions. Her 53.3% conversion rate on those attempts is nearly 11% lower than the league average, indicating that Reese, indeed, struggles to score.
Nevertheless, Reese has shown signs of growth. She improved her effective field percentage markedly compared to her rookie season. She has also improved her three-point shooting incrementally. While Reese is hardly a three-point threat, the 38.5% clip she's produced beyond the arc in the postseason inspires confidence that she could become a proficient three-point shooter for short spells.
By no metric is Reese a strong shooter. But not even her most ardent supporters coming out of school would have said she is one. Ultimately, Reese is known for her commitment to defense and rebounding. The scoring outbursts — she's averaging 18 points per game in her first postseason run — represent found money for the Dream.
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'She's no Caitlin Clark'
Well, duh. Reese and Clark, indeed, are two different players.
Clark's playmaking chops and shooting range made her an enchanting prospect for the WNBA's worst sides. Reese, with her penchant for defense and rebounding, likely should have commanded similar respect. She was clearly undervalued by scouts. Given her accolades thus far, they likely would view that as a mistake.
Ultimately, Reese's activity on the boards and defensive side of the floor have made her one of the league's best players. While she might be lacking some of Clark's offensive craft, isn't that to be expected? Reese is a 6-4 wing/big hybrid. She has a strong base, long arms, quick feet and active hands. She has made the most of her physical tools since entering the league.
Perhaps she's not able to recreate the best offensive flourishes of Clark. Karl Smesko isn't asking her to do so, however. As long as Reese continues to contribute to winning basketball, it's unlikely Atlanta will care too much.
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'She doesn't pace interest in the sport'
This one has been popularized by those who attempt to use Clark as an avatar for their own seedy interests.
There's a tendency by some to paint the Fever supernova as a saintly figure who was forged spontaneously to lift a dying league to new heights. The metrics they use to justify their position are predictable: they cite television ratings and ticket prices as evidence of Clark's pull.
One might ask why someone would want to view sport — and all of its artistry — in such a cold and callous way. Are television companies and ticket resellers really the only way we can gauge interest in a sport? Do these measurements truly account for those at the margins who support their favorite teams and players as vociferously as those imbued with hulking bank accounts?
I'd argue that it doesn't. But if we're in the business of using arbitrary — and corporate-backed — data to decide what moves the needle among the masses of women's basketball fans, the Dream's pre-sale ticket numbers would indicate Reese and her teammates, too, are titans of the sport.
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