ESPN really, really wants you to know how good Angel Reese is at rebounding.
The network published a lengthy feature Saturday about the "secrets" behind Reese’s "legendary" work on the glass.
Then it spent Sunday’s Fever-Dream game broadcast selling viewers on the article.
Ryan Ruocco brought it up during the first quarter and praised ESPN writer Katie Barnes for writing such a terrific article. Late in the second quarter, Ruocco tossed to Holly Rowe for another plug.
"You talked about Katie Barnes’ great article about Angel Reese and her rebounding acumen," Rowe said before discussing her favorite part of the story. She then closed with "Great article, Katie Barnes."
So, by halftime, ESPN had promoted its own Angel Reese profile twice during a live WNBA game.
That's fine. It's called cross-promotion and executives love that kind of stuff. They call it "corporate synergy."
But there's a big difference between mentioning a timely feature and turning a regular-season broadcast into a promotional tour for your colleague’s work.
Especially when the story is working awfully hard to convince readers that Reese is not just a great rebounder, but some sort of basketball clairvoyant.
ANGEL REESE’S LATEST WNBA CONTROVERSY SHOWS HOW VICTIMHOOD BECAME CENTRAL TO HER BRAND
Let me be clear: I read the article so you don't have to. You're welcome. Sometimes I feel like readers don't appreciate all the things I do for them, so I felt it necessary to give myself some credit.
Anyway, the article compares Reese to Dennis Rodman and Charles Barkley. Seriously.
But it gets better.
It invokes magnets in her palms, rebounding DNA, a crystal ball, geometry, physics and something "beyond human understanding."
Reese herself offers a simpler explanation.
"I just know," she says.
Alrighty, then.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON'T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
Reese is a great rebounder. She reached 1,000 career rebounds in 79 games, 10 games faster than Tina Charles. She leads the WNBA in rebounds per game and her production on the glass is historically good.
But context matters.
The story includes a section titled "The ‘mebound’ phenomenon." That's where Barnes reports that Reese has recorded 49 "mebounds" this season, or rebounds she grabbed after missing her own shot.
That's 25 more than the next-highest player in the league.
The same article reports that 148 of Reese’s points this season have come on second-chance opportunities, 30% of her total, and that she is shooting 46.0% in the paint, worst among the 27 WNBA players with at least 175 paint attempts.
Barnes puts the numbers in the story. Then she asks readers to view all of it as proof Reese has basketball magnets in her palms.
Come on. Missing a layup and retrieving it is not a supernatural power.
ANGEL REESE GOT A BARBIE DOLL, SIGNATURE SHOE AND WNBA THEME NIGHT, THEN PLAYED VICTIM AGAIN
The ESPN broadcast also praised Angel Reese at every opportunity, even in spots that didn't make sense.
She shot 3 of 10 from the field in the first half and even described her own first-half performance by saying she "played like s---" for most of the half.
At one point, the commentators described her as "versatile enough to bring the ball up the floor." She dribbled the ball into the frontcourt and then handed it to a teammate. That's not exactly quarterbacking the offense.
Then, of course, there were the multiple story plugs.
Ruocco praised Barnes’ story in the first quarter, noting that it was about how great Reese is at basketball. Then Rowe came back before halftime to call it a "great article" and discuss her favorite part.
They even added a third reference in overtime, which only happened because Reese missed a layup with less than five seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
ESPN made the same pitch all afternoon: Angel Reese isn’t just a great rebounder. She’s legendary.
But the numbers and the eye test say she’s a limited offensive player who misses plenty around the basket and creates a chunk of her rebounds by chasing those misses.
ESPN took those numbers and sold Angel Reese as a cross between Dennis Rodman and Charles Barkley.
Corporate synergy, baby.
