Whether it’s her “Can’t you see me?” gesture or a clap back against fans scrutinizing her game, you’d hardly see Angel Reese slipping from speaking her mind. It was no exception when it came to expressing an opinion on one of WNBA’s biggest stars. “Sabrina can’t f—- guard!” she had said. While disagreements and criticisms went around, a WNBA analyst had the same reaction as Sabrina Ionescu did.

On January 31st, the Phantom BC took on Rose BC with both teams on the same boat — 1-3 — eager to turn their seasons around. But when the final second ticked and the board read 75-63, it was Sabrina Ionescu & Co., who walked away the victors. The real talk of the evening, however? The Chi-Town Barbie. Head coach Nola Henry was mic’d up that day as a part of Unrivaled’s content strategy. But an unaware Reese would straight-up express the now-popular view against the 2024 champion.

For analyst Rachel Annamarie DeMita, that was as normal a reaction as any other basketball player trash-talking. The only exception is if Reese took it out of the court. “It would be different if Angel was just tweeting, ‘Sabrina can’t guard me,’ but this was in the middle of a game,” the analyst said. “People need to let these women compete the way we allow men to.”

And honestly, her words are a bitter truth.

A little trash-talking is always awaited in the NBA. If anything, it has spoken of the tough mentality the players have been accused of having toned down on recently. Kevin Garnett, Kevin Durant, Michael Jordan, none have failed to deliver some entertainment. The Boston Celtics’ icon used it to intimidate his opponents and there have been more than a few victims, Chris Bosh included. But off the court, it has been all respect. Durant could give you an account for that.

“By the time you my age, you was the 8th man on the bench,” he had told Gary Payton, largely to show they really aren’t as soft as the players from past era claim to be. But after the game, he told the reporters, it was “all love.”

Reese even hadn’t taken it that far but the New York Liberty star blocking her the very next minute added fuel to the fire. From there, fans debated whether Reese’s words were out of line. Things also escalated when the Chicago Sky star imitated the Lunar Owls’ winning gesture after a dominant 72-63 victory against them. And that’s when DeMita stepped in to defend the W’s rebounding leader. “We have seen that from the NBA players. I don’t know why it’s different when we see it from WNBA players,” she added.

But she wasn’t the only one.

Despite trash-talking, Angel Reese finds support from the opponent team’s guard.

Sabrina Ionescu herself didn’t seem bothered. When asked about the situation during NBA All-Star weekend, the Liberty standout responded with pure professionalism.

“Oh, that’s fine. I mean, that’s just basketball. I don’t mind it. It’s part of our sport,” Ionescu said. While her response was enough to shut down critics, she went on to point out that trash talk exists in every major league—whether it’s the NFL, NBA, or elsewhere—but somehow, people still hesitate to embrace it in women’s sports.

And that’s how both of the W’s exceptional talents moved on. Rose BC struggled at that time, but now, Reese and company are absolutely dominant. In their latest game, they defeated Phantom 71-59, picking up their fifth straight win. The No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 draft has played a huge role in this turnaround.

She dropped 23 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and dished out five assists. Looks like she’s burning the midnight oil to take over when the Indiana Fever tip off their regular season.

What do you think?