Having won the ultimate prize on the court, the Valkyries organization and their fan base brought maximum pettiness to their championship parade in San Francisco. And most of the trolling was directed at one player, Angel Reese. Given how much trash talk Reese herself dished out during the Finals, it would be fair to say the pettiness was earned, and perhaps even expected, something WNBA journalist Sabreena Merchant also seemed to agree.

However, what Merchant does not necessarily agree with is any possible criticism of Reese’s actions in the first place. Speaking on The Athletic LIVE show alongside Talk Hoops’ Zach Harper, Merchant expressed the belief that this is simply the kind of player Reese has always been and perhaps will always be.

“…that’s part of her,” Merchant said. “…I don’t think it’s going to change her behavior either, because this is just how Angel Reese exists on the court.”

In fact, for Harper, trash talk has always been part of professional sports, making Reese’s approach nothing particularly unusual.

And yes, Angel Reese certainly turned up the trash-talk volume during the WNBA final series, especially after the Dream’s Game 3 victory. In that 97-71 blowout, she scored on Valkyries rookie center Aminata Gueye and immediately turned toward the Golden State bench, hitting them with a pinching “too small” gesture while calling Gueye a “bum.”

Also, with the series on the line in Game 6, which saw Atlanta secure an 80-69 victory to force a decisive Game 7, Reese drove through contact against Kiah Stokes, completed a layup, and turned directly toward the Valkyries bench to flex and chirp at them. She shouted, “Sit down, you’re on the bench!” 

Those bold taunts ultimately came back to haunt her, because the Valkyries remembered every one of them and served them right back. During their championship parade celebrations, multiple Valkyries players were caught on camera flashing the “too small” gesture toward the crowds, directly mocking Reese’s signature taunt.

Former NBA champion and current Bay Area analyst Festus Ezeli, alongside Valkyries staff members, also rode atop the parade buses holding up and wearing custom black T-shirts. The shirts featured Reese’s face edited into the iconic “Crying Jordan” meme, superimposed next to her own “too small” hand gesture.

In fact, Valkyries fans fully embraced the trolling too, passing around pink pacifiers attached to tags reading “Too Small, You Bum,” turning Reese’s heat-of-the-moment words into parade merchandise.

For Merchant, the Valkyries were certainly within their rights to return the trash talk after everything that had happened during the series. However, she also appeared to believe that some aspects of the celebrations might have taken things a little too far.

“I think it’s totally fine what the Valkyries did,” Merchant said. “If you’re going to dish out trash talk, you should be able to take it. I think it’s a little weird when there’s material handed out that is deliberately trolling one player on another team. I don’t know that you need to go that far, but hey, you won the title, you make the rules now, right? So that’s fine.”

Merchant, however, also believes Reese does not necessarily have a problem with the trolling directed at her. In fact, she does not expect the Valkyries’ championship celebrations to change the Dream forward’s approach to the game. And amid all the trolling, Reese herself has pledged to use the coming offseason to focus on herself.

Angel Reese Chooses Personal Growth Over Off-Court Commitment as She Reveals 6-Month Offseason Plans

After a season-long campaign that ended in WNBA Finals heartbreak, Angel Reese appears ready to take a step back from the spotlight and focus on herself. The Atlanta Dream forward is now pressing pause on one of her biggest off-court commitments, her podcast, Unapologetically Angel, as she prepares to dedicate the next six months to personal growth and the things that bring her happiness.

Reese made the announcement through a social media post, bidding farewell to her followers while explaining her plans for the offseason.

“Hi my lovebugsss! i’ll miss y’all, but before I go for the next 6 months… i’m dedicating this offseason to myself. I won’t be doing my podcast this offseason, but you can expect some vlogs from time to time…” the post read.

As revealed in the post, Angel Reese will be spending the WNBA offseason making Florida her temporary home base. This will give her time to rest, work out, continue building her personal brand quietly, and spend quality time supporting and loving on her partner, Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr.

Although her podcast will be taking a break during this period, Reese has assured fans that she will not disappear completely, promising occasional vlogs on YouTube to keep them updated on her activities. For now, however, the Dream star appears content with stepping away from the regular demands of content creation and giving herself the time and space to enjoy life outside basketball.