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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Bryan Armen Graham at Barclays Center

‘I’m supposed to be here’: Angel Reese’s road from ridicule to the WNBA finals

Angel Reese (center) celebrates with her Atlanta Dream teammates after completing a three-game sweep of New York to reach the WNBA finals.
Angel Reese (center) celebrates with her Atlanta Dream teammates after completing a three-game sweep of New York to reach the WNBA finals. Photograph: Ishika Samant/Getty Images

A lot of folks owe Angel Reese an apology after Friday night. They should probably form an orderly queue.

Not that the bad-faith take merchants who have spent three years gleefully circulating her missed layups, likening her occasionally awkward footwork to “Bambi on ice” and marveling at the supposed comic genius of “mebounds” are likely to join it. The right-wing culture warriors who turned one of the WNBA’s most naturally gifted rebounders into a joke were never particularly interested in an honest assessment of her basketball abilities. But after Friday the punchline has never worn thinner.

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