
Brittney Griner Dealt Unfortunate News on Sunday
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Brittney Griner Dealt Unfortunate News on Sunday
Brittney Griner Dealt Unfortunate News on Sunday. WNBA released its All‑Star Reserves list and Griner was not included. Earlier, she had also been left out of the Starters. Griner has 10 career All-Star selections, tied with Tamika Catchings for the third‑most in WNBA history behind Sue Bird (13) and Diana Taurasi (10) Three rookies made the final All‑Stars team: Washington Mystics’ Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen, and Dallas Wings’ Paige Bueckers.
WNBA veteran Brittney Griner has been a powerful addition to the Atlanta Dream squad this spring.
Her 6‑foot‑9 stature helps win battles in the paint, both offensively and defensively. She has averaged 9.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in the regular season so far.
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Despite Griner’s strong play, however, she received bad news on Sunday.
WNBA released its All‑Star Reserves list and Griner was not included. Earlier, she had also been left out of the Starters.
This marks the first time since 2021 that she hasn’t made either list. Even in the year she was detained in Russia, the WNBA named her an honorary All‑Star.
Her omission stands in contrast to teammate Rhyne Howard, who earned a spot on the Reserves after averaging 16.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists.
Besides Howard, Allisha Gray also made the team. Last month, she was named an All‑Star starter after several displays of phenomenal performances. Gray has averaged 19.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists thus far.
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Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner.© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The list also featured the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese, who was left out of the previous list.
Three rookies made the final All‑Star team: Washington Mystics’ Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen, and Dallas Wings’ Paige Bueckers. This marks the first time since 2011 that three rookies will play together.
Griner has 10 career All‑Star selections, tied with Tamika Catchings for the third‑most in WNBA history behind Sue Bird (13) and Diana Taurasi (10). She will turn 35 this October. With only a few years left in her career, missing this season’s team will be a major blow to the star.
Related: Brittney Griner Sends Heartfelt Message to Wife Cherelle Griner on Friday
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
Angel Reese should continue to ‘go after’ America’s Sweetheart, Caitlin Clark | Opinion
Reese’s rebounding prowess overshadows her limited offensive efficiency. Every sports league is better with a bad guy, and Reese subtly demeaning Clark is a brilliant marketing ploy. Brittney Griner: “The ‘W’ will be bigger than the NFL in five years thanks to Angel Reese.” Reese should be a 1996 Olympian and University of Georgia product Katrina McClain-Johnson, who was a 6-foot-1 walking double-double. Reese and the Chicago Sky come to Arlington on Saturday, May 31, to play Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings. The game is a sellout, with nosebleed seats priced for as much as $200. The Chicago Sky are the second-worst team in the WNBA. The Dallas Wings are the third-best team. The Atlanta Hawks are the fourth-worst. The Washington Mystics are the fifth-worst league. The New York Knicks are the sixth-worst League. The Los Angeles Clippers are the seventh-worstLeague.
Key Takeaways Key Takeaways AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom. Read our AI Policy. Angel Reese’s rivalry with Caitlin Clark drives publicity and fan engagement.
Reese’s rebounding prowess overshadows her limited offensive efficiency.
Embracing the ‘heel’ role boosts Reese’s marketing appeal and league visibility.
Other than grab 29 offensive rebounds on the same possession, mostly off her own shots, Angel Reese’s most impressive play on a basketball court remains her “You Can’t See Me” hand gesture in front of America’s sweetheart.
We will never know if it was business decision, but the moment Reese diminished Caitlin Clark in the 2023 NCAA national title game, when the two played at LSU and Iowa, it created an identity that one of these two needs whereas the other doesn’t.
Caitlin Clark doesn’t need Angel Reese. Angel Reese needs Caitlin Clark. Women’s basketball has seen players of Reese’s caliber before whereas Clark is the unicorn.
If Reese can deal with the noise, her best play is to remain the WNBA’s heel. Every sports league is better with a bad guy, and Reese subtly demeaning Clark is a brilliant marketing ploy.
Reese and the Chicago Sky come to Arlington on Saturday, May 31 to play Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings. The game is a sellout, with nosebleed seats priced for as much as $200.
This is a wonderful statement for the state of the WNBA; these are two of the worst teams in the league, and this is a game where people should be paid to enter the arena to watch. Instead, people are paying The Stupid Price to see Buckets play Bayou Barbie.
Apr 15, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark pose for photos before the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports Brad Penner Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
All of this prompted former Baylor, Olympian and current WNBA player Brittney Griner to (allegedly) utter, “The ‘W’ will be bigger than the NFL in five years thanks to Angel Reese.”
Apparently marijuana is legal in Russian prisons; Griner’s point is hyperbole, but her thoughts about the continued rise of the league, thanks in part to Reese, is accurate.
Angel Reese’s Game
On the court, Reese is an inspiring, tireless rebounder. In her second season as a pro, she averages 13.5 rebounds a game.
The recurring joke is most of these rebounds come off of her own missed shots. After you type in Angel Reese on Google, one of the first auto prompts is, “missed layups.”
YouTube and Instagram are full of reels of Reese collecting two or three rebounds only to miss another close shot at the rim in the same possession.
These reels are real. This isn’t AI. She averages better than 5.5 offensive rebounds per game.
What Reese should be is 1996 Olympian and University of Georgia product Katrina McClain-Johnson. As the WNBA was born, McClain was the best women’s player alive. She was a 6-foot-1 walking double-double. In 2018, the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association created the Katrina McClain Award, given annually to the nation’s top power forward.
Reese was a finalist for this award multiple times during her college career. The only reason she never won it is an offensive game that’s a little … what’s the word? Rough? Unrefined? Awful?
Reese can grab any rebound, defend any big player, but she’s not much of a scorer. She shoots the ball at less than 40 percent from the floor. For a big, that’s a problem.
She is a good player with an upside, who may mature into a scorer who averages better than 10 points per game.
LSU forward Angel Reese (10) shows Iowa guard Caitlin Clark (22) her ring finger during final seconds of the NCAA Women’s National Championship basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, April 2, 2023. Hawks20 Jpg Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK
Angel Reese’s Appeal
She has posed for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, is unafraid of her own opinions, and boasts of 4.9 million followers on Instagram.
She hosts a podcasts called, The “Unapologetically Angel” Show. She is outspoken about player salaries in the WNBA, going so far as to suggest the players will sit out when the collective bargaining agreement expires after this season.
In her second year in the WNBA, she has also made it a point not to kiss the ring of Caitlin Clark. Whether this is gamesmanship, bravado, bold marketing, or jealousy, it’s working.
What began in college has continued, and none of it comes from Clark.
During Chicago’s game against Indiana on May 17, Clark committed a hard foul on Reese that prevented her from getting the shot off. On second and third look, it was a standard basketball foul, and a “flagrant” was assessed. Reese turned on the theatrics and had to be “held back” from going after Clark.
The play kicked off another round of debate about Clark, Reese, and the WNBA; because Reese is Black and Clark is white, a fair amount of this debate jumped into race.
None of this is perfect, or even ideal, but Reese even faking like she’s going after Clark is a wise choice. Reese was no more going to hit Caitlin Clark with a punch than she will dunk a basketball from the foul line.
It was a good show.
A show that the WNBA needs. There are still only a small number of WNBA players who are widely known, and Reese is one of them.
She’s known because she’s a solid player who won in college, and has made either the intentional or unintentional decision not to revere the league’s meal ticket player. It has made Angel Reese a villain.
All sports leagues are better off with bad guys.
And the best move Angel Reese can make is to be the WNBA’s heel.
This story was originally published May 29, 2025 at 9:53 AM.
Source: https://athlonsports.com/wnba/atlanta-dream/wnba-news-brittney-griner-all-star-team-bg