Angel Reese Responds After Sky Teammate Defends Her From Unnecessary Hate

Reese was asked what kind of game this was for her haters, and Atkins stepped in to defend her.

"And the amount of crap that she gets on a day-to-day, she still shows up," Atkins said. "So, whatever questions y'all got about our team, basketball-wise, we appreciate it. But all the other nonsense, like, it's irrelevant. We're here to play basketball and do what we do. We're having a hard time right now, at the end of the day. This is a 23-year-old kid who handles herself with grace. Her crown is heavy. So whatever else, like, y'all want to come at her for the way that she acts, she has to build the wall. She has to have the wall. Because if she doesn't, people will break her down. Not only just because of the way she looks, but it's because of the way she carries herself. She doesn't just walk around and act like, ‘oh, I'm this, I'm that.’ No, she knows who she is and we ain’t gonna break her down for that. So whatever other questions y'all got, like, I'm hoping it's just about basketball, maybe a box score question, but the kids' crown is heavy. Like, respect that."

A clip began spreading on social media when the press conference ended, and Reese reposted it with a four-word message.

"Love my Vet man," she said.

Atkins, 28, was drafted No. 7 overall in the 2018 draft by the Washington Mystics. She’s in her eighth WNBA season and her first with the Sky, after spending her first seven years in Washington.

Heading into Tuesday night’s game, she was averaging 13.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists on the season.