Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream absorbed a tough loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Saturday. After this tightly contested game, former WNBA assistant coach Ty Young weighed in on a controversial call against Reese.
Young, who served on Teresa Weatherspoon’s staff back in 2024, expressed her disappointment in a clip posted online. Young was reacting to a second-quarter sequence in which Reese was called for an offensive foul against Laeticia Amihere. A slo-mo replay, however, suggested that Reese’s elbow didn’t actually make contact with the Valkyries forward.
“Flopping has been becoming more of a conversation…It’s getting out of hand…When selling contact becomes more rewarding than playing through contact, that’s when it starts affecting the integrity of the game.”
Young, a 13-year WNBA veteran who started her career with the Dream, added that “acting” shouldn’t have to “outweigh playing basketball.”
In the 88-83 victory, the Valkyries held the Dream to 30.8% shooting from deep. Golden State scored 23 points off the Dream’s 17 miscues; Atlanta, meanwhile, scored just 13 points from the Valkyries’ 15 errors.
Though Reese had another double-double (17 points, 13 rebounds) and Allisha Gray dropped 22 points, the Dream could not contain Veronica Burton (21 points, four assists) and Gabby Williams (19 points on 50.0% shooting from the field).
“We Haven’t Shot Great”: Angel Reese Admits Dream’s Free Throw Shooting Woes Amidst Losing Streak
The loss to the Valkyries marked a fifth straight setback for the Dream. As far as Angel Reese is concerned, free-throw shooting is a key area of focus for Atlanta.
In the post-game media session, Reese went so far as to suggest a regimen that she and her teammates could follow to improve their performance from the charity stripe.
“If it’s shooting 100 free throws after practice, 50 free throws after practice, that’s what it is. But we haven’t shot great, not just from the free throw line. For our field goals, too.”
This season, the Dream are in the bottom three in free-throw shooting, converting just 74.5% of their attempts. Only the Washington Mystics and the Connecticut Sun fare worse at the free-throw line than Atlanta.
READ MORE:
Atlanta Dream Nightmare Continues as Calls for Karl Smesko’s Firing Grow Louder Amid Losing Streak
Jordin Canada Unloads on Refs After Angel Reese Takes a “Beating” in Loss to Mystics
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