A late-season slide by Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese during the 2026 WNBA Finals has reignited a familiar argument in women’s basketball coverage: where does fair criticism of a player’s performance end and accusations of racial bias against reporters begin.
The dispute centers on Outkick columnist Dan Zaksheske, who covered the Finals between Atlanta and the Golden State Valkyries and wrote about repeatedly being called racist online for his critical coverage of Reese. On Oct. 17, an X account called Apex Jones posted a five-minute, 39-second video accusing Outkick and Zaksheske of “targeting Angel Reese for YEARS” and labeling the outlet “anti-WNBA and anti-Black Women.” The account, which has nearly 10,000 followers, drew about 1,100 likes and more than 220 reposts on the post.
The video referenced questions Zaksheske asked Reese at Oct. 16 media day about her offseason move from the Chicago Sky to the Atlanta Dream. “What role did you play in that trade?” he asked. Reese responded that Chicago was trading her and that she worked with the team on a destination, adding that Atlanta wanted her and she wanted Atlanta. Zaksheske also asked how she balanced staying to build a winner against seeking a better opportunity elsewhere, prompting her to discuss her earlier move from Maryland to LSU.
Zaksheske said the criticism ignored that he had raised the same question about the trade back in April, when he wrote that “it’s possible that Reese demanded a trade from Chicago” because the team didn’t value her as highly as her supporters did.
A statistical slide late in the series
Zaksheske’s critical coverage intensified after Reese’s play dropped off over the final four games of the series. According to his column, Reese scored 38 points on 12-for-45 shooting across those games — 26.7% from the field — while committing 19 turnovers, more turnovers than made field goals in each of the four contests.
The shift followed public trash talk from Reese. After Game 3, she taunted Golden State with a “too small” gesture and a sarcastic wave as the Valkyries left the court. Ahead of Game 4, she said she could “take their confidence and just try to do whatever to mess them up.” She then scored 8 points on 2-for-12 shooting in that game.
In Game 7, Valkyries star Gabby Williams scored 28 points in the second half alone; Reese scored just 3 points in the second half on one made field goal.
After Game 4, Reese took responsibility for the poor outing, saying, “I’ll just be better.” But after Game 5, when asked about her eight shot attempts and Golden State’s defense, she pointed instead to the officiating: “A lot of us are getting fouled, and they are not calling it.”
Support from teammates and coaches
Reese has drawn consistent public backing from teammates and coaches throughout her career. During LSU’s 2024 Elite Eight loss to Iowa, teammates Flau’jae Johnson and Hailey Van Lith defended her. Van Lith said at the time, “Y’all do not get to Angel Reese. So you might want to throw the towel in because you’re wasting your energy,” and praised her toughness. Johnson called Reese a “caring, loving person.”
Former LSU coach Kim Mulkey attended Game 3 of the Finals in Atlanta to support Reese. In May, Dream head coach Karl Smesko said of her, “She wants to be held accountable. I mean, she’s an All-Star player, but she wants to be the best player.”
Zaksheske noted that Reese made herself available to reporters after every Finals game, even on nights she wasn’t listed among the scheduled postgame speakers.
The broader argument
Zaksheske also pointed out that he has written favorably about Reese when her play warranted it, citing headlines from Games 2 and 3 of the Finals praising her double-doubles and a June 2025 column about a strong stretch in Chicago. He said posts about Reese reliably draw heavy engagement — one post about a Game 5 outfit drew more than 1.7 million impressions and 3,400 replies, while a critical post about a Game 2 play drew nearly a million impressions and more than 1,300 replies.
He also disclosed that Reese has blocked him on X, despite his saying he has never tagged or tweeted directly at her.
The episode reflects a wider tension playing out across the league’s three Finals-connected cities — San Francisco, home of the Valkyries; Atlanta, home of the Dream; and Chicago, the team Reese departed — over how performance criticism of a prominent Black athlete is received by fans and interpreted online.
