Sky’s Angel Reese sends strong message to her critics

chicago sky star angel reese

...

Matthew Couden

By Matthew Couden

Contributing Writer

See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.

WNBA star Angel Reese had a disappointing season with the Chicago Sky, which ended amid controversy due to her critical statement about her team. Weeks later, she's watching the WNBA Playoffs from afar and dropping statements for her critics.

The Sky were among the WNBA's basement dwellers in the standings, with a 10-34 record that matched the Dallas Wings. However, Reese carries high expectations as a top star who entered the league alongside Caitlin Clark.

That often earns her much criticism, and most of it focuses on her multiple missed shots near the basket, which allow her to grab rebounds. Reese led the league with her 12.6 rebounds per game.

Read More on Sports

Reese's critics created a special term called "mebounds" to refer to her continuous rebounding of her own missed shots, and the Sky star managed to use it to her advantage.

During a recent episode of her "Unapolegetically Angel" podcast, she dropped a stunning reveal about the merchandise she created using that newly created word.

chicago sky star angel reese

...

"The receipts ready, because I keep them motherf***ing receipts ready. Thank you," she told listeners before bringing up her merch.

"So the Mebounds, if you know, you know. They tried to clown me for rebounds, and what did I do? I made a bag off of it. Six figures plus. Thank you," she revealed, adding, "So y'all can try again, because I do need some other ideas for some other colorways, so just keep it coming."

In an earlier part of her podcast, she looked back at her second season and mentioned rebounding in the WNBA as something valuable she can bring to the table, even if her scoring isn't where she wants it to be.

Reese's latest podcast remarks about her merchandise sales arrive not long after Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier dropped a lengthy and bold statement about the WNBA, calling out the leadership and particularly exposing the league's commissioner.

In her statement, she revealed that WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Caitlin Clark and others should be thankful to play in the league, as it helps her achieve superstardom.

"Her response was, 'Caitlin should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court because without the platform that the WBA gives her, she wouldn't make anything.' And in that same conversation, she told me, 'Players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the merchandise deal that I got them,'" Collier shared.

In an Elle interview last month, Reese shared that she hadn’t known about “mebounds” until she went on TikTok and saw people spammed that word in her comments.

“And then I was like, well, might as well make some money off of it. And we made a lot of money off of it. It's important to maximize the moment and turn a negative into a positive. We clearly did that,” Reese said.

She’s quickly proven herself among the league’s best rebounders, setting several single-season rebound records as a rookie. It seems she’ll only continue to improve her game and make bank off the criticisms.