Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Brittney Griner Breaks Silence After Fake Angel Reese Quote Goes Viral

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jeremy Beren | Last updated Jun 8, 2025 2:00 PM ET

Angel Reese has spoken before about the importance of blocking out the noise . After all, few rookies in WNBA history entered the league with as much fanfare as Reese did in 2024, amid her so-called NCAA "rivalry" with Caitlin Clark that has carried over to the pros.

However, Clark's Indiana Fever and Reese's Chicago Sky appear to be on different trajectories. Reese was held to four points in the Sky's 79-52 loss to the Fever on Saturday night in Indiana's fourth consecutive game without the injured Clark.

The defeat dropped Chicago's record to 2-5, and Reese continues to draw headlines for things she is — and isn't — doing.

Reese recently disputed a fake quote attributed to her that went viral on social media. The former LSU star disputed that she once said "prime Brittney Griner" would defeat "prime Allen Iverson" in a one-on-one matchup. After a couple days, Griner herself decided it was time to respond to the falsified quote, which baited many users of the social media platform X.

"We know this (is) fake," Griner said Saturday on Threads. "AI (Iverson) is, was, and will be one of the most exciting players to watch. I get crossed up watching his highlights."

Griner has long been in the national spotlight — first as a phenom at Baylor University, as a star player for the Phoenix Mercury and during her 2022 detainment in Russia . A faked quote pales in comparison to the attention, positive and negative, the Atlanta Dream center has long garnered.

Griner's effort to defuse the situation with humor could be something of a lesson for Reese as she deals with her own fan and media pressure. While playing in college, Reese said she received death threats online, and the WNBA last month investigated "alleged hateful fan comments" during the season's first meeting between the Sky and the Fever.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: