Brittney Griner Reportedly Blasts Angel Reese After Atlanta Dream Trade and Publicly Sides With Caitlin Clark
Brittany Griner’s Exit Speaks Volumes: Angel Reese’s Arrival Triggers a Hall of Famer’s Departure
Brittany Griner watched Angel Reese walk through the Atlanta Dream’s door and, within days, packed her bags. She didn’t head to a championship contender or even a solid playoff team. Instead, the two-time WNBA champion and future Hall of Famer signed with the Connecticut Sun — one of the league’s worst teams. The message was unmistakable: Griner would rather rebuild with a bottom-feeder franchise than share a locker room with Reese.
Before leaving, reports say Griner had pointed words for her new teammate, describing her as a “toxic loser.” In a league where veterans rarely burn bridges publicly, that kind of direct assessment carries weight.
The reaction inside the Chicago Sky locker room when Reese was traded told the same story. Teammates didn’t hide their relief. Sources told Yahoo Sports there was “no love lost” and that everyone was “very happy she is gone.
” Another insider said teammates were “getting sick of her” and that the trade was necessary for the organization’s health. This wasn’t quiet grumbling — it was a collective exhale after two seasons of dysfunction.
When Reese arrived in Chicago with massive hype from LSU, the Sky envisioned her rebounding prowess as the foundation for a rebuild. She delivered statistically, earning All-Star nods in both her rookie and sophomore seasons while leading the league in rebounds.
Yet the wins never followed. Chicago went 13-34 in her first year and regressed to 10-34 in her second — a combined 23-61 record with Reese as the centerpiece. Many of those rebounds came off her own missed layups, creating impressive box-score totals that masked poor shooting efficiency and limited offensive impact.
The real damage happened behind closed doors. When veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot was injured, Reese publicly called her “old” and “washed up,” questioning the team’s reliance on her. Vandersloot, a two-time champion and five-time All-Star, had left a contender to join Chicago.
That kind of public disrespect lingers. Frontcourt partner Camila Cardoso reportedly walked out of practice because of Reese’s behavior toward younger players. Losses brought more finger-pointing in postgame interviews, with Reese deflecting blame onto teammates. The tension escalated until the Sky suspended her for “conduct detrimental to the team” — a rare and serious step against one of their own stars.
Chicago didn’t trade Reese for basketball reasons alone. They moved her because the drama and distraction had become unsustainable. Atlanta, coming off a franchise-best 30-14 season and a top-four seed, surprisingly got bounced in the first round by a shorthanded Indiana Fever team missing Caitlin Clark. Instead of addressing execution or mentality issues exposed in that series, the Dream front office surrendered two first-round picks to acquire Reese — the same player whose teams had just finished dead last twice.
The cost was immediate. Griner, who had anchored Atlanta’s frontcourt despite reduced minutes in coach Karl Smesko’s system, saw the writing on the wall. A proven winner with championship experience and locker-room credibility, Griner chose not to stick around. Five days after the trade announcement, she signed with Connecticut. The timeline was telling. No long deliberation, no wait-and-see approach — just a swift exit from a situation she clearly wanted no part of.
Atlanta’s decision looks even more questionable in hindsight. The Dream gave up future assets, lost their veteran anchor before training camp, and inserted a player with a documented history of locker-room friction. Reese’s rebounding is real, but her game creates spacing nightmares in the modern WNBA. Defenses sag off her limited perimeter shooting, clogging the paint and restricting driving lanes for scorers like Allisha Gray and Ryan Howard.
Against Indiana’s pace-and-space attack led by a healthy Clark, Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell, and Sophie Cunningham, Atlanta’s now-heavier frontcourt could struggle mightily in all four regular-season meetings.
Meanwhile, Chicago moved on decisively. They signed seven-time All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith, re-signed Vandersloot (the very veteran Reese had criticized), added floor-spacer Azurá Stevens, and traded for scoring forward Rickea Jackson.
All of these players committed quickly once Reese was gone — a striking contrast to the narrative that “nobody wanted to play in Chicago” during her tenure. The Sky even assigned Reese’s old number 5 to Jackson without ceremony, signaling a clean break from that chapter.
Reese’s brand thrives on confidence and marketability, but concrete actions from respected veterans tell a different story. A Hall of Famer with rings chose the league’s basement over playing alongside her. Chicago’s roster improved rapidly after her exit. Atlanta traded proven stability for statistical production wrapped in baggage.
The 2026 season will reveal whether the Dream can make this gamble work. They return much of the core that earned 30 wins but now carry the weight of two first-round picks gone, a veteran leader departed, and the same internal challenges that sank Chicago. Reese has never played in the playoffs. Griner has won titles and knows what championship cultures require. The contrast is impossible to ignore.
Atlanta bet that Reese’s interior presence would solve problems her previous franchise insisted were deeper than basketball. Griner’s rapid departure suggests those problems traveled with her. As the Dream open the new season, the early returns on chemistry, spacing, and veteran buy-in will matter far more than rebound totals. For a team that just exited the playoffs prematurely, importing proven turbulence may prove costly.
Reese remains on her second team before age 24, carrying the same reputation that led to a suspension and a celebrated exit in Chicago. Until behavior changes, history suggests the pattern will continue. Atlanta’s front office has bet heavily that this time will be different. Griner’s choice to leave for the worst team in the league says she isn’t buying it.
