When Tyler Marsh took over, he made it clear: Angel Reese wasn’t here to be labeled. And he wasn’t about to listen to the noise ignoring her strength and weakness just for the sake of others. And most importantly, he wasn’t about to ignore the fact that she was already out-rebounding half the league. In early June, ahead of the Chicago Sky’s Indiana Fever cash, the coach had mentioned, “Something that we talk about is finding so many different ways for her to be effective—whether it’s as a scorer, rebounder, screener, passer, defender—she’s extremely versatile…And that’s really the vision we have for her.”

Heads-up: Reese has absolutely taken the advice to heart. So, while the stat padding trend took a new name this year, Reese has let her performances do the talking—dropping 28 points, 23 rebounds, and 16 assists in her last two games. Yet, many are currently stuck one one word: “Mebounds”—a dig that fans used to indicate Reese’s knack for rebounding her own missed shots. But, in true Bayou Barbie fashion, she turned it into an opportunity instead. But not without admitting how that specific style of play was months in the making, and something she necessarily didn’t understand initially.

During a post-game press conference after Sunday’s 78-66 win over the Connecticut Sun at the Mohegan Sun Arena, Reese admitted, “I’ve kind of been a passer all my career. I came out of high school as the No. 1 wing and trying to get back to that, trying to get back to being super versatile. Tyler made that emphasis early on in the season. I didn’t understand it. I’m still figuring it out, but I have patience obviously. Tonight it came up big.”

It did come up big, and that’s exactly what Lucy Rohden, reporter and sports content creator echoed on the ‘Good Follow’ podcast on June 19. Referencing the Sky star’s recent Instagram posts, she said, “It’s not a coincidence that [the Chicago Sky] finally get a win when Angel is passing the way that she does. Something that she posted on Instagram was just her game fit and all her picks from the game [with the caption] ‘I understand now’, which was in reference to her coach saying that she needs to be very, very versatile, she needs to completely sort of be not just the rebound Barbie and just all-basketball Bayou Barbie’,” the reporter said, as she dived into more detail.

“We saw that she had, what, 11 assists to six different players? Four other players for the Sky scored in double figures. Like, when Angel is able to just kind of like make her game a little more spread out—both literally in the sense of like doing more and actually spreading out on the court—it is amazing how she can just completely change the dynamic of the Sky,” she further mentioned.

As for the ‘Mebounds’ accusations, let’s break it down: In her first 10 games this season, only 18 of Angel Reese’s 119 rebounds came from her own missed shots; not more than 15.1%. But the biggest problem with these accusations isn’t that they are slightly off, but that they miss the actual issue. Reese has had a tougher time converting close-range shots this season, making just 38.2% of her attempts within five feet, noticeably less than her 44.5% mark last year. That dip is hard to ignore, especially when most frontcourt players in the league are finishing typically between 65% and 80%. If Reese can improve in that area, she’d likely be adding around five more points to her nightly total. It could completely elevate her impact on offense.

The good news? Marsh made sure she knew it. She watches film of her finishes daily and post-practice, she sits with position coach David Simon to correct old habits, like her instinct to pull the ball in low. These days, she’s also drilling rebound catches with her off-hand raised high, all while a development coach swats at her with a padded blocker. So, yes, soon enough, critics will be silenced for good and it will be just Angel Reese profiting off of “mebounds”.

‘Mebounds’: The story behind Angel Reese’s viral nickname

It’s only natural to wonder where a term like “mebounds” even came from. Just a month ago, no one was throwing that word around to mock Angel Reese for grabbing her own misses. But it’s a viral term now. And, if you’re curious about how it all started, don’t worry, we have got you covered!

Ngwa Numfor of The Athletic recently broke down the origins of the now-viral nickname. It was coined in an episode of the Club 520 podcast, hosted by former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague alongside “Bishop B Hen” Hendricks and DJ Wells.  Hendricks jokingly introduced the term “mebounds” to describe Angel Reese’s knack for grabbing her own missed shots. And since then, this term has gone viral.

But Reese took it as an opportunity, a classic move, and filed for a trademark for the term. “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 said in a recent TikTok video. “And a brand? That’s six figures right there.”

It’s refreshing to see a player face adversity and rise like a phoenix. Angel Reese has done a phenomenal job overcoming fan hatred, and it finally looks like she’s getting back to her best. Do you think her good run of form will continue? Let us know in the comments down below!