Angel Reese has never been one to shy away from the spotlight. But when her team played for the Unrivaled championship, the WNBA rookie was nowhere to be seen.
She missed both playoff games due to a reported hand injury—the same wrist she had surgery on back in September. Her last appearance came in Rose’s regular-season finale against Vinyl on March 10, where she played just 13 minutes before exiting.
However, she was not present courtside for the league’s final to support her team. And for outspoken sports commentator Jason Whitlock, that was all the ammo he needed to criticize the WNBA rising star.
Whitlock Blasts Angel Reese for Skipping Unrivaled Finals
Although Reese missed both playoff games that actually mattered, she still picked up major accolades, winning Defensive Player of the Year and earning an All-Unrivaled second-team selection.
She averaged 13.3 points and 12.1 rebounds this season—an impressive feat—while setting the league’s single-season rebounding record and leading Rose to the No. 2 seed. But Whitlock wasn’t buying into the celebration.
The conservative commentator took aim at Reese’s decision to sit out the championship game, questioning how much it actually mattered to her.
“This championship game was so unimportant that she said, ‘Nah, I’m good. I’ll watch from home. I’ll watch this stream from home, and I’ll FaceTime in if we win.’ And didn’t Angel Reese, didn’t she take to Twitter last night and ask some questions about— “what y’all gonna say now?”
ESPN has painted this narrative that Angel Reese is one of the greatest up and coming athletes of our lifetime. They act like this Unrivaled league championship cemented her legacy. She even took to X and posted “What y’all gon say now?” Baby girl, finish your layups first. pic.twitter.com/qQ67zpbhMT
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) March 18, 2025
He then took it a step further, speculating that Reese simply had other priorities.
“Or maybe she went to one of LeBron James’ younger son’s high school state championship games. Maybe she was joining LeBron in celebrating that. All of that is more important than being at the location, being with her teammates, and acting like this championship matters.”
But Whitlock’s criticism didn’t stop there. He accused media outlets and fans of exaggerating Reese’s impact, claiming that people were fabricating her legacy.
“Hey, let’s put up some social media campaign and pretend like Angel Reese just accomplished something important because we are gonna build this narrative that Angel Reese is one of the great athletes of our lifetime. She is right there with Steph Curry, she is right there with LeBron James, she is right there with Kevin Durant. She’s got a championship at LSU and now she has the championship in the Unrivaled league.”
He vented further, questioning whether the audience or fans actually cared about the Unrivaled league.
“Everybody rushed to social media and pretended like they actually watched Unrivaled, like Unrivaled actually mattered. Let’s go rush to social media and pretend YOU cared more about the Unrivaled league than Angel Reese does.”
Do Whitlock’s Claims Hold True?
While Whitlock downplayed Unrivaled and questioned Reese’s commitment, the numbers tell a different story. Monday’s final between Vinyl BC and Laces BC averaged 364,000 viewers and peaked at 385,000—a staggering 99% increase over the league’s record-breaking regular-season average of 221,000 viewers.
This wasn’t just a one-off moment, either. Unrivaled ended its debut season as a major success, airing the 10 most-watched women’s basketball broadcasts in TNT Sports history. In total, the league reached 11.9 million viewers across its two-month regular-season and postseason run, proving there is a real and growing audience for women’s basketball.
Meanwhile, the WNBA continues to build on this momentum. The league recently secured a landmark $2.2 billion media rights deal with ESPN, Amazon Prime Video, and NBCUniversal, ensuring that women’s basketball will have a massive platform for years to come.
Whitlock’s argument that the sport only exists because of “reparations” ignores the clear demand and financial investment pouring into women’s basketball.
Angel Reese may have missed the Unrivaled finals, but her impact on the court this season is undeniable. And as the numbers continue to prove, women’s basketball is no longer just surviving—it’s thriving.