MLB Broadcaster Takes Jab At Angel Reese During White Sox Game

Angel Reese is a rebounding machine; nevertheless, not everyone seems impressed.

During a recent Philadelphia Phillies game, MLB broadcaster John Kruk seemingly took a swipe at Angel Reese when the conversation shifted toward basketball.

In late July 2025, throughout the Philadelphia Phillies’ matchup against the Chicago White Sox, Kruk was speaking on the published with NBC Sports play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy, who, at one point, gave a joyful birthday shout-out to his friend’s wife. Through the special moment, McCarthy also highlighted his friend for being a “heck of a basketball player.”

McCarthy explained that after they played together, he’d often miss a lot of his shots, and his friend was there to wash them up.

That is when Kruk made an interesting comment many assumed was in regards to the Chicago Sky’s leading scorer and rebounder, Reese.

“There’s someone here in Chicago that does that quite a bit,” Kruk mentioned unexpectedly.

Although McCarthy laughed, he looked as if it would defend Reese, adding, “She gets her points,” to which Kruk replied, “She gets her rebounds, too.”

For those unfamiliar, Reese has received considerable criticism since joining the WNBA in 2024 regarding her shooting efficiency, which was 39 percent for her rookie season.

Reese’s critics have also questioned her rebounding ability, claiming a lot of her rebounds come from her own misses.

In keeping with an in-depth evaluation done by SportingNews, nevertheless, the parable that Reese only leads the WNBA in rebounds because she grabs her own misses is just that — a myth.

Based on the numbers, Reese snagged 97 offensive rebounds throughout the 2024 season, 34 of which got here from her missed shots, leaving 63 of them being produced off of her teammates’ misses. The league’s second-best offensive rebounder was Ezi Magbegor, who secured 62 offensive rebounds, 13 of which got here from her missed shots and 49 from her teammates.

Through the “Club 520” podcast, NBA champion Jeff Teague opened up about Reese’s game and likened her to a different NBA legend: Dennis Rodman.

“Her brand, all the things, Dennis Rodman was the most important player off the court, and he was a f-cking star, and he was a menace on defense and rebounding,” he said. “She is the Dennis Rodman of the WNBA.”

And the praise for Reese didn’t stop there. Teague called the 23-year-old a “superstar” off the court, while continuing to praise the 6’3″ athlete’s impressive on-court abilities.

Reese has also heard the critiques about her rebounding, so in June 2025, she shared a video on her TikTok account, admitting that sometimes she actually enjoys when her detractors troll her.

For instance, a few of Reese’s biggest haters coined the term “mebounds,” essentially implying that her rebounding ability is not as impressive because it’s made out to be, since they claimed they got here from her missed shots.

Nonetheless, Reese wasn’t bothered by the phrase. In reality, she found a approach to monetize it.

“Whoever got here up with the ‘mebounds’ thing, y’all ate that up,” Reese said in her TikTok. “Because mebounds, crebounds, keybounds, tebounds… anything that comes off the board, it’s mine.”

She added, “And a brand … that is six figures right there.”

“Whoever got here up with that, the trolling, I like when y’all do it, since the ideas be good,” she said, adding, “when y’all got here up with mebounds — cause, statistically, all of the rebounds I get aren’t at all times just mine. They’re the defenses, too, or any person else’s on my team — but when y’all got here up with mebounds, y’all [ate].”

Days later, Reese announced that she had officially trademarked the term “mebounds” and commenced selling merchandise on her website. The NCAA champion also announced that a portion of the proceeds can be donated to the Angel C. Reese Foundation to assist combat cyberbullying.

“#Hatingpaystoo,” she wrote within the caption.

In a previous interview, covered by The Blast, Reese reflected on being the goal of cyberbullying, admitting that it “was hard for me to start with.”

Although Reese experienced some hate while playing basketball for the University of Maryland, after she won the NCAA Championship against Caitlin Clark in 2023, Reese said her “whole life modified.”

“It was greater than basketball after they were finding my address [and] my automobile. I had to alter my whole lifestyle. It doesn’t trouble me as much anymore simply because I feel like I’ve built a thicker skin, but not everybody has a thick skin,” she said.

To assist keep her head focused on the sport, Reese said she relies heavily on her support system within the WNBA.

“That is what I actually love about this league: with the ability to have sisters. I have no sisters. Having the ability to have sisters here who really, really care about me and knowing I can take that and transform that into the community,” she explained.