Angel Reese booed as taunting gestures vs Paige Bueckers’ Dallas Wings stir controversy

The Atlanta Dream beat the Dallas Wings 77-72 on Tuesday night to move to 2-0 on the new WNBA season.

The marquee women’s basketball matchup pitted new Dream forward Angel Reese —  acquired from the Chicago Sky in a blockbuster trade during the offseason — against reigning Rookie of the Year, Paige Bueckers.

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The pair are close friends off the court but it was all business on the court on Tuesday as Reese notched 12 points and 16 rebounds — her 51st career double-double — to lead the Dream to victory.

Angel Reese met with boos after celebrating basket vs Wings

However, the two-time All-Star caused a stir at during the contest after hitting a ‘too small’ celebration after grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring over Odyssey Sims.

As Reese was getting back on defense, she was showered with boos from the home crowd, which prompted her to rile them up even further by by waving them on.

Reese is no stranger to embracing the ‘villain’ role, having become a household name during the 2023 NCAA Tournament after her infamous gesture towards rival Caitlin Clark.

Reese hit Clark with WWE icon John Cena’s ‘you can’t see me’ taunt, and also pointed to her ring finger to gesture her incoming national championship ring, sparking all kinds of national discourse about sportsmanship and trash talk.

Unsurprisingly, WNBA fans had a lot to say about Reese’s latest celebration.

“Outrebounded a 5ft 1 woman that didn’t even get off the ground and celebrated like she had just outrebounded Dennis Rodman,” posted one fan.

“Why does she act like finally making a basket is something to brag about, embarrassing,” another fan said.

“She hit 4 celebrations after one bucket where literally no one boxed out over a 5’3 player in a game she had 10 points,” a third wrote.

“Me spamming the taunt button on the controller after I make a layup,” joked someone else.

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Reese grabbed eight offensive rebounds against the Wings — one more than Dallas had as a team.

Bueckers added 15 points for a Wings team missing Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, who did not play due to a right knee injury.

It comes after Reese’s debut for Atlanta got off to a dream start in the team’s season-opener against the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday.

The 24-year-old Reese had 14 rebounds in the game to become the second youngest WNBA player to reach 50 career double-doubles (65 games) behind Tina Charles, who announced her retirement from the WNBA on last week.

Reese also racked up 11 points, two steals and three blocks, one of which was a game-saving shot block of Emese Hof’s layup attempt as the buzzer sounded.

The Dream will now take on the Las Vegas Aces in their home opener this Sunday.