Sophie Cunningham Criticizes Angel Reese's Actions in WNBA Playoffs

Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has publicly criticized Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese's actions during Game 3 of the WNBA playoffs semifinals series between the Dream and the New York Liberty.

On the "No Hesitation" podcast, Cunningham stated that Reese should have received a technical foul for confronting Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu. The incident occurred after Ionescu was called for an offensive foul on Dream guard Isobel Borlase. Cunningham described Reese chasing down Ionescu and engaging in verbal exchanges, deeming such behavior worthy of a technical foul under regular season and playoff rules.

"Angel, I appreciate her having her teammate's back. I think that just shows that she care and that she has love for her teammates," Cunningham said on the podcast. "Here's my thing, if you're going to chase someone down the court and get in someone's ear, that should be a tech, any time. It's going to be a tech in the regular season. Any other playoff games, that's a technical foul. You can't do that."

Cunningham added, "Now if she were to stay on her side and kind of just yell and say something, I'm all for that. But the fact that she didn't get a tech on that I think that is absolutely insane."

Cunningham also pointed to an earlier play where Reese and Liberty center Jonquel Jones received matching technical fouls after a collision under the basket. Cunningham suggested that referees were inconsistent in their calls throughout the game.

She drew a comparison to an incident on June 22, where she herself received a technical foul for a finger-pointing gesture during a game between the Indiana Fever and the Phoenix Mercury, which her team won 86-77.

"I think that's good playoff basketball. Let them talk a little s–t to each other," Cunningham commented on the exchanges between players. "It's just so weird and inconsistent, of course this is what I go back to, of how the refs call it."

Cunningham concluded, "If you're not going to call someone chasing someone down and on the court and talking s–t to them and then if someone gets a block … and Angel sticks her ground too don't call a tech. Let them play goodhearted basketball."

The Atlanta Dream secured their spot in the WNBA Finals by defeating the New York Liberty 85-83 in Game 3. The Dream are set to face the Valkyries in Game 1 of the Finals on Saturday at Chase Center in San Francisco. The Fever's playoff run concluded after a Game 3 loss to the Las Vegas Aces in their first-round series.