Sophie Cunningham insisted she was ‘not surprised’ by Angel Reese’s behavior during the WNBA Finals, which generated attention online.
Reese started the series with three straight double-doubles to lead the Atlanta Dream to a 2-1 lead over the Golden State Valkyries before the series was tied up on Saturday afternoon.
But the former LSU standout was visibly frustrated at one stage during Game 2, with footage going viral of her jockeying for position before seemingly giving up on the play and saying something to the bench while teammate Allisha Gray took a three-point shot.
Despite Reese facing accusations of giving up on her team, as well as drawing attention for her taunting of opponents and berating of officials, Cunningham came to her defense.
The Indiana Fever star and teammate of Caitlin Clark addressed Reese’s actions on her ‘No Hesitation’ podcast released on Friday and insisted it was nothing unusual from a fierce competitor.
‘You could probably clip almost everybody in the WNBA, in the NBA, that has [the frustration] clips like this,’ Cunningham said. ‘You could 100% do that.
Angel Reese faced criticism over her body language after appearing to give up on a play
Sophie Cunningham defended Reese and insisted it is ‘no surprise’ given her competitive edge
Reese and the Atlanta Dream are attempting to win the first championship in franchise history
‘That’s what you get when you’re playing at a high level, when you’re a competitor, especially when you’re trying to get a championship. Like, this s*** is going to happen. I’m not surprised by that.
‘Do I like the body language? Do I think that it could have been better? Absolutely. And I think if she watches this back, I think she would have said the same thing.
‘But sometimes you got to do it. If your team’s not getting you the damn ball, then if you see one of your star players getting frustrated, getting pissed off, then it’s like, ‘Oh, you know, they’re not messing around. We need to get her the damn ball.
‘And I think the coaching staff saw it; I think everyone on the bench saw it; her teammates felt the energy. And, you know, she did what she needed to do in order to put yet another game on her back.’
After taking control of the series, the Dream came out flat in Game 4 in a 67-62 loss, with Reese held to only eight points and making just two of 12 shots from the field.
‘I think it was me, I think I rushed a lot on my shots and I didn’t take my time and finish around the basket like I’ve been doing the last three games,’ Reese said. ‘It happens and I’m just looking forward to the next game and just do it.’
Center Kiah Stokes led Golden State’s defense against Reese and said: ‘She’s been the head of their snake all series, so for me it was just trying to make every look that she had of the basket difficult.
‘It’s a tough job, but I think being our best defensive big, I’ve got to own up to that challenge. Like I said, it was trying to just make her take difficult shots.’
