Success in sports should be celebrated, right? Well, not if you’re Angel Reese. Since her college days, she’s been under the microscope. Returning from a national championship campaign at LSU? People picked apart her game. Finishing as a runner-up for WNBA Rookie of the Year? The scepticism was louder than the applause. And now, after making history at Unrivaled, the reactions are no different.

When Reese stepped into Unrivaled, expectations around her dominance were still in the air, coming off a left wrist injury that cut her rookie WNBA season short. But if there’s one thing about Chi-Town Barbie, she’s going to put in the work. And she did.

When the All-Unrivaled teams were announced, she landed on the Second Team. And one of the fans made sure to give her flowers, tweeting: “ANGEL REESE SECOND TEAM MY FAVORITE BARBIE WALKING DOUBLE DOUBLE, ULTIMATE COMPETITOR! SOOOO PROUD OF YOU A5.” Reese’s response? A simple but powerful: “Thank you for trusting & believing in me!“ Just gratitude.

And honestly, she deserved it. She became the first player in Unrivaled history to drop a 20-20 game—22 points and 21 rebounds against the Lunar Owls. Week after week, she became a crucial piece in Rose BC’s turnaround, helping them go from a rough 1-4 start to a five-game winning streak. By the end of the season, they had locked up the No. 2 seed in the Unrivaled playoffs with an 8-6 record.

Averaging 13.1 points and 12.1 rebounds, Reese didn’t just contribute—she dominated the glass. She even led the league in rebounding, though all this wasn’t enough to earn her praise. So, she ended up actively enhancing her game under the mentorship of basketball legend Lisa Leslie.

“The biggest advice I have for you is gonna be how you shoot your layups, period,” Lisa Leslie told Angel Reese. And let’s be real—she wasn’t wrong. Reese’s layups have been a hot topic of criticism. In her rookie season, she made just 42% of her attempts (136 of 321). For someone who thrives in the paint, that’s a number that needed fixing.

And Reese knew it, too. She didn’t shy away from the criticism. Instead, she faced it head-on, even calling her rookie-year percentages “the worst you’ll ever see me” in a social media post. Then came the turning point.

Leslie didn’t just point out the problem—she offered a solution. “Like, we’re gonna fix that. That’s fixable for you. I can’t wait to work with you some more.” And she meant it. Soon, clips of Leslie and Reese training together started popping up.

And guess what? It worked. Reese has made clear strides in her game, proving that hard work and the right guidance make all the difference. Her historic 20-20 performance was just one sign of her hustle and talent. But despite every achievement, the comment section? That’s a different story.

Angel Reese on second All-Unrivaled team: justified or not?

Fans wasted no time dissecting her selection. “Of course Angel couldn’t make 1st team,” one person mocked. And let’s be real—there was a reason she didn’t. As impressive as Reese was, the First Team players simply put up bigger numbers. Take her teammate Chelsea Gray, for example.

She averaged 21.3 points and knocked down six game-winners. That’s the kind of production that made her an easy First Team selection. Alongside her were Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, and Allisha Gray—players who, statistically, stood a level above.

One comment summed up the outrage: “This is not a serious league, please go look at the stats of these players and tell me this looks right.” On the Second Team, Reese was joined by Rhyne Howard and Skylar Diggins-Smith—both stars in their own right.

Howard finished fourth in scoring (20.5 PPG) while ranking in the top five in steals and blocks. Diggins-Smith? A walking clutch moment, hitting five game-winners while averaging 17.9 points, 4.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. Still, the criticism kept rolling in. “2nd team are the first losers. Get first or it’s a participation trophy.”

And then came the usual discourse. “Y’all be throwing Angel Reese in there for clout purposes. If you actually watch her play, she’s horrible, bruh. Y’all doing too much with this black vs white BS. She not a good hooper yet.” 

She was the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year runner-up. She averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds over 34 games. She even set the WNBA’s single-season rebounding record before A’ja Wilson overtook her. But somehow, it has never been enough.

“Reese above Hamby?” questioned another. The LA Sparks star posted a 35-point, 15-rebound performance on February 1, 2025, yet another example of her dominance. She’d also go on to average 19 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists– higher than Reese’s in two and only 5th in scoring.

The Chi-Town Barbie, however, would remain unfazed. She is aware of the work she is putting in and it is yielding results at the end of the day.