Angel Reese walked into the postgame presser with a double-double in her back pocket and exhaustion written across her face. After all, she had just led her team with 17 points and 11 rebounds against the red-hot New York Liberty. It was her 30th career double-double—in just her 42nd WNBA game, the fastest anyone’s ever done it. But the scoreboard was merciless. Chicago lost 85-66, turned the ball over 22 times, and trailed by as much as 34. And as Reese fielded questions, trying to balance vulnerability with resolve, her Olympian WNBA champion teammate stepped in.

“How old are you?” Ariel Atkins asked, turning toward Reese.

“Twenty-three,” Reese replied with a small smile.

That was all the 2X All-Star needed.

“I’m sorry, can I? Can I say something?” Ariel Atkins cut in, her tone firm and unwavering. “This is a 23-year-old kid. And the amount of crap that she gets on a day-to-day, she still shows up. So whatever questions y’all got, like, about our team, basketball-wise, we appreciate it. But all the other nonsense, like, it’s irrelevant. Like, we here to play basketball and do what we do. We having a hard time right now at the end of the day. This is a 23-year-old kid who handles herself with grace. Her crown is heavy.”

Yes, the Sky are struggling—just 2-6, with only Connecticut and Dallas behind them in the standings. But Atkins made it clear: the team’s challenges don’t rest on one player’s shoulders. And she wasn’t finished. Her voice didn’t tremble—it rose with conviction.

“So whatever else y’all want to come at her fo,r the way that she acts, she has to build the wall. She has to have the wall, because if she doesn’t, people will break her down, not only just because of the way she looked, but because of the way she carries herself. She doesn’t just walk around and act like, ‘Oh, I’m this and this.’ No. She knows who she is, and we ain’t gonna break her down for that. So whatever other questions y’all got, like, I’m hoping it’s just about basketball, maybe a box score question, but the kid’s crown is heavy. Like, respect that.”

Atkins’ 58-second stand wasn’t just a moment—it was a message. Reese may still be early in her professional journey, but the weight she carries has long surpassed her age. The Sky are struggling and missing Courtney Vandersloot, who tore her ACL. Their offensive engine is sputtering. They shot just 42.4% from the field against New York and hit only 6 of 23 from deep. But Reese? She was a constant in the chaos.

She muscled through Liberty defenders, finishing 8-for-13 from the field and pulling down 11 boards, 4 of them offensive. Even as the game unraveled—with Sabrina Ionescu pouring in 23 points and Breanna Stewart adding 18—Reese stayed aggressive. Her five turnovers spoke to the pressure she faced; her poise in the face of it, to the strength Atkins described.

Atkins’s words weren’t just about teammate loyalty. They were an acknowledgment of the tightrope Reese walks: producing at a high level while defending her image, identity, and confidence. That kind of double duty doesn’t show up in a box score.

Fair Critique vs. Unfair Pressure: Rethinking the Angel Reese-Caitlin Clark Rivalry

In fact, the kind of criticism and the battles Angel Reese is constantly being dragged into say a lot about where we are, with the media and with fan culture. Just take the most recent wave of online heat Reese has faced.

After a rough night against a Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever, where the “Chi-Town Barbie” managed just four points, the conversation didn’t turn to her past consistency or growth—it turned into sharp condemnation. Veteran commentator Skip Bayless, never one to hold back, slammed her with stats. He cited her 39% field goal percentage from last season, which ranked 50th out of 55 players, and called out her current 30.9% shooting—63rd out of 64. “Angel looked pretty sorry, as she often does, just being honest,” Bayless remarked.

But that, as Ariel Atkins pointed out, is the kind of criticism Reese should face—critique grounded in numbers, performance, and tangible flaws. What she—and many others—are calling out is everything beyond that.

Even within WNBA circles, comparisons continue to cloud the conversation. Candace Parker, while measured, leaned into the narrative when asked about Reese versus Clark: “It’s like comparing apples and oranges… there are a number of things Angel can improve on.” Her tone suggested what Atkins made clear: it’s time to take the pressure off Reese and evaluate her game for what it is, not in contrast to Clark.

The rivalry flared up again after a May 17 clash between the Sky and Fever. A flagrant foul on Clark, a tech on Reese, and the media took over from there. ESPN’s Monica McNutt called it out for what it is: unproductive noise. During a June 10 segment of The Rematch Show, she stated, “All of this noise that has come around this perceived rivalry… I find it to be very unproductive.” She noted that the constant magnification of Clark-Reese incidents is unfair and burdens them both, especially when the coverage veers more into spectacle than substance.

The rivalry may be real, but the discourse around it needs a reset.