Angel Reese struggled to find her rhythm Sunday as the Atlanta Dream hosted Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever. Yet even with Reese shooting poorly, the WNBA halftime broadcast raved about her performance.
That extra praise caught the attention of Jason Whitlock, who accused the broadcast of going too far in its effort to sell Reese’s performance.
Jason Whitlock Calls Out WNBA Broadcast Over Angel Reese Praise
Reese entered halftime having made only 3 of her 10 attempts, with 2 turnovers also on her stat line. Still, the discussion around the Dream forward on the WNBA halftime show focused heavily on her influence as Atlanta recovered from a shaky opening.
Monica McNutt pointed to a change in Reese’s energy after she started getting easier looks around the basket.
“Angel Reese in particular, her energy shifted,” McNutt said. “I thought when she got some of those easy baskets to go in the paint that, quite frankly, she had struggled with to open the ballgame.”
Malika Andrews also brought the conversation back to Reese, saying, “Let’s go back to Angel really quickly, though, because she was part of the catalyst that you saw to be able to change things around.”
But that praise didn’t sit well with Whitlock. He delivered a blunt assessment of the coverage.
“Good lord they have gone overboard trying to convince us Angel Reese is great. Stop it,” Whitlock posted on X.
Brick Center’s X post was equally critical of the broadcast, claiming the WNBA crew spent the entire halftime show “GLAZING Angel Reese” despite her 3-for-10 shooting.
Reese did manage to help Atlanta put together a late 7-0 run that gave the Dream a four-point advantage at the break. That stretch provided some context for the broadcasters’ praise, even as her overall shooting remained inefficient.
The bigger issue for Reese was that the shooting trouble continued after halftime. She finished the game 5-for-16 from the field and missed both of her 3-point attempts while committing 4 turnovers.
Her 15 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists still produced another double-double, but the outing marked part of a difficult August for the forward.
Reese has shot just 37.5% from the field this month, making Sunday another inefficient night during her current shooting slump. Atlanta also failed to protect its lead. The Dream lost to Indiana 95-91 in overtime, ending their two-game winning streak.
Reese had a chance to change the outcome late in regulation but could not convert a close-range opportunity after securing an offensive rebound.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.