Is Caitlin Clark responsible for Angel Reese’s growing popularity? Is the Chicago Sky star just riding the Clark wave? Some basketball voices indeed believe so. According to them, Reese would be flying under the radar without the Indiana Fever rookie’s immense influence on women’s basketball.
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Jason Whitlock has been a vociferous critic of the former LSU star and has often called her out for her antics on and off the court. Whitlock went as far as saying that if not for her dazzling looks, Reese would hold no sway over the basketball fanbase.
On his Fearless podcast, the controversial NBA commentator launched another tirade at the Chicago Sky Center recently. For him, Reese is only relevant because of her budding rivalry with Clark, who is the real face of women’s basketball. The 57-year-old opined that Reese has received favorable media coverage throughout her career because she was marketable as the future face of the WNBA.
However, Clark’s unprecedented popularity has overshadowed her. Therefore, Reese must concede that the credit for the steep rise in viewership in the WNBA goes to Clark and not her.
Without Caitlin Clark, no one knows or cares anything about you, Angel Reese. pic.twitter.com/kyORIPwvjS
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) June 21, 2024
During a conversation with Steve Kim in his podcast, Whitlock posited that Reese is undergoing a reality check in the WNBA. He said,
“It’s like a hot girl, she rarely gets told the truth.. So if you wanna sit there and say, ‘Hey, I am the reason this audience is showing up too’, there gonna be people like me and others that are gonna say, ‘Well, I’m not really sure, because without Caitlin Clark, no one knows or cares anything about you Angel Reese’.”
Therefore, this was yet another scathing attack that Whitlock unleashed on one of the WNBA Rookie of the Year frontrunners. He has downplayed Reese’s influence in the hoops community before as well.
Jason Whitlock can’t stomach Angel Reese’s persona
According to Whitlock, Reese’s basketball abilities are next to nothing. He hasn’t seen a more unskilled player in the WNBA and believes that greats like Candace Parker aren’t able to control their laughter while watching her work on the hardwood. Launching a blistering attack on the 22-year-old’s playing-style, Whitlock has said on his pod,
“Angel Reese is arguably the most overrated athlete in all of sports. She is as unskilled as any player in the WNBA…She is incredibly unathletic. She has no skill, no postgame…This woman is a rebounder and that’s it.”
While it is true that Reese’s offensive game has left a lot to be desired, but it also indicates the difference in defensive quality between college and pro sports. The Bayou Barbie had a solid post-game in college, but in the WNBA, she has struggled with her skillset. However, to call her unskilled is overlooking many positive aspects of her game.
Reese is a tremendous offensive rebounder and gets a ton of second-chance points. She tries to capture 50-50 balls at every turn and has shown the willingness to absorb what her coaches tell her. At the end of the day, she is the only rookie from the decorated 2024 class to average a double-double.
Apart from that, Reese is popular in her own right and commands an Instagram following of 3 Million, which proves that she has built her brand by herself, and not through Clark.
