The Chicago Sky were recently defeated by the New York Liberty, as they're still trying to figure out how to get out of their slump this year. With the recent injury to Courtney Vandersloot, the team will have to rely on their depth and hope things get better on the court for them to get more wins.

Angel Reese, who is just in her second season, has done her best to rally the team, and she's been very open about how they want to turn things around. Nonetheless, there are other people who are interested in other things that go on with Reese, more so outside of basketball. That's what happened after their game against the Liberty, where Reese was asked how she handles online scrutiny.

After Reese answered, her teammate, Ariel Atkins, stepped in to defend her.

“This is a 23-year-old kid who handles herself with grace. Her crown is heavy,” Atkins said. “So whatever else 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 because of the way she carries herself.

“She knows who she is, and we ain’t going to break her down for that.”

Many were impressed with Atkins and her response, including Giannis Antetokounmpo.

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“That’s a great teammate right there,” Antetokounmpo wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Angel Reese opens up about online criticism

Before Atkins shared how she felt about the media continuing to ask Reese non-basketball questions, Reese actually answered how she felt about the online criticism that she receives.

“I obviously don’t worry about what’s going on online,” Reese said. “I get so much love in person. I haven’t ever had a negative encounter in person, ever, and I’ve been going through this for three years. I’ve never had an encounter in person that was negative. People online are behind a keyboard for a reason.

“I know my teammates have my back, my coaches have my back, and that’s all that really matters. I don’t have to prove anything to anybody besides myself and my teammates.”

Since Reese has been in the league, she's received criticism for things on and off the court, but has continued to stand tall and show up in all aspects.