MLB Broadcaster Takes An Unexpected Jab At Angel Reese During Chicago White Sox Game

Angel Reese is a rebounding machine; however, 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, during the Philadelphia Phillies' matchup against the Chicago White Sox, Kruk was speaking on the broadcast with NBC Sports play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy, who, at one point, gave a happy birthday shout-out to his friend's wife. During the special moment, McCarthy also highlighted his friend for being a "heck of a basketball player."

McCarthy explained that when they played together, he'd often miss many of his shots, and his friend was there to clean them up.

That's when Kruk made an interesting comment many assumed was about the Chicago Sky's leading scorer and rebounder, Reese.

"There’s someone here in Chicago that does that a lot," Kruk mentioned unexpectedly.

Although McCarthy laughed, he seemed to 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 many of her rebounds come from her own misses.

According to an in-depth analysis done by SportingNews, however, the myth 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 during the 2024 season, 34 of which came 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 came from her missed shots and 49 from her teammates.

During the "Club 520" podcast, NBA champion Jeff Teague opened up about Reese's game and likened her to another NBA legend: Dennis Rodman.

"Her brand, everything, Dennis Rodman was the biggest 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 example, some of Reese's biggest haters coined the term "mebounds," essentially implying that her rebounding ability isn't as impressive as it's made out to be, since they claimed they came from her missed shots.

However, Reese wasn't bothered by the phrase. In fact, she found a way to monetize it.

"Whoever came 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's six figures right there."

"Whoever came up with that, the trolling, I love when y'all do it, because the ideas be good," she said, adding, "when y'all came up with mebounds — cause, statistically, all the rebounds I get aren't always just mine. They're the defenses, too, or somebody else's on my team — but when y'all came up with mebounds, y'all [ate]."

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

"#Hatingpaystoo," she wrote in the caption.

In a previous interview, covered by The Blast, Reese reflected on being the target of cyberbullying, admitting that it "was hard for me in the beginning."

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 changed."

"It was bigger than basketball when they were finding my address [and] my car. I had to change my whole lifestyle. It doesn't bother me as much anymore just because I feel like I've built a thicker skin, but not everybody has a thick skin," she said.

To help keep her head focused on the game, Reese said she relies heavily on her support system in the WNBA.

"That's what I really love about this league: being able to have sisters. I don't have any sisters. Being able to have sisters here who really, really care about me and knowing I can take that and transform that into the community," she explained.