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By now, Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese has heard the criticisms of her game.
A lot of it is centered around the notion that she is only good at grabbing rebounds, specifically ones that are generated by her own missed shots. The chatter has only grown louder as the Sky (3-7) have struggled to start this season, becoming prominent enough for a term for these rebounds to emerge: “Mebounds.”
But rather than act insulted by the slights from online trolls, Reese, who had her first career triple-double Sunday, has taken it all in stride. In fact, she has gone so far as to apply to trademark “mebounds.”
“Whoever came up with the ‘mebounds’ thing, y’all ate that up because ‘mebounds,’ rebounds, ‘crebounds’ … anything that comes off that board, it’s mine,” she quipped in a recent TikTok video. “And a brand? That’s six figures right there.”
@angelreese10
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♬ original sound – angel
The phrase “mebounds” originated during an episode of the Club 520 podcast, a show featuring former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague and his co-hosts, DJ Wells and Brandon “Bishop B Hen” Hendricks. Hendricks jokingly referred to Reese’s rebounds as “mebounds” due to her ability to secure her own missed shots at the rim. The co-host later insisted on X that he was not “hating,” however, online trolls ran with the phrase, inevitably leading to Reese capitalizing on the momentum.
And Reese wasn’t kidding. A trademark application was filed on Saturday by her team with the United States Patent and Trademark Office under the goods and services category, meaning, if approved, apparel with the signature phrase could potentially be coming soon.
The criticism may have been meant to mock Reese, but the numbers don’t lie about her impact on the boards. In her record-breaking 2024 rookie season, Reese averaged 13.6 points, 13.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 34 games. Her 13.1 rebounds per game led the league and set a WNBA single-season record.
Reese broke the WNBA single-season rebounding record held by Sylvia Fowles as part of a 17-point, 19-rebound effort in a 79-74 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Sept. 1. That record was broken by Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson later in the month after Reese missed her final six games due to a wrist injury.
Reese also became the first player to have three consecutive games of 20-plus rebounds and set the record for most consecutive double-doubles, scoring a minimum of 10 points and grabbing at least 10 rebounds for 15 games in a row.
“The trolling? I love when y’all do it because, like, the ideas be good,” Reese said. “Like, when y’all have to alter my face and [expletive] because I’m cute, all right, whatever. That doesn’t get me. But when y’all came up with ‘mebounds’ — because statistically, all the rebounds that I get aren’t always just mine. They’re, like, the defense’s, too, or somebody else on my team. But, when y’all came up with ‘mebounds,’ y’all ate …”
The trademark application wraps a significant weekend for Reese, who recorded the first triple-double of her WNBA career with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in Chicago’s 78-66 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.
Filing a trademark for a term used by trolls, fresh off a win, is not a bad way to flip the narratives. And with this move, she can, almost literally, laugh to the bank.
(Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
