WATCH VIDEO: Angel Reese Trolled by Golden State Valkyries at WNBA Championship Parade After Finals Heartbreak

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The Golden State Valkyries added a cheeky twist to their WNBA championship celebrations, taking a pointed dig at Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese. The team marked its historic title triumph with a grand parade in San Francisco on Wednesday, drawing thousands of supporters dressed in lavender along the Embarcadero. Fans gathered several rows deep to welcome the champions as they arrived after a ferry ride across the bay. However, amid the celebrations and festivities, a playful but rather pointed message aimed at Reese caught the attention of cameras and quickly became a talking point.

Some Valkyries staff members were spotted wearing T-shirts featuring Reese’s face edited into the iconic crying Michael Jordan meme. The shirts also included her trademark “too small” hand gesture, making the reference difficult to miss. The apparent dig added another layer to the celebrations, particularly after the Valkyries’ championship victory ended Reese’s hopes of lifting a WNBA title.

Angel Reese Faces Trolling at Valkyries’ Championship Parade After WNBA Finals Heartbreak

Angel Reese’s “too small” celebration from Game 3 came back to haunt her during the Golden State Valkyries’ championship parade. The Atlanta Dream forward had used the gesture to taunt Golden State’s bench after her team secured a 68-63 victory in Game 3, taking a 2-1 lead in the WNBA Finals. Reese had an impressive outing that night, recording 21 points and 12 rebounds, and appeared to have the upper hand in the series. However, the Valkyries eventually turned things around, winning Game 7 to secure their first-ever WNBA championship.

The Golden State players and staff made sure the gesture did not go forgotten. During Wednesday’s celebrations, former Golden State Warriors player Festus Ezeli was spotted aboard one of the team’s buses holding up a T-shirt featuring Reese’s face edited into the famous crying Michael Jordan meme, alongside the same hand gesture. Fans also noticed another cheeky reference to the Dream star: a pink pacifier with a tag carrying the words “if found return to: ATL.” According to the fan who shared the picture, the pacifiers were actually being distributed during the parade.

Reese’s Game 3 celebration had been directed at Valkyries forward Aminata Gueye, who had spent much of the series defending her. But after Golden State completed its comeback, the team found its own ways to respond. Gueye shared a photograph of Reese making the gesture on Instagram shortly after the championship victory, while Tiffany Hayes was also seen mimicking the move during an Instagram Live session. The playful exchanges showed that the rivalry had not ended with the final buzzer of Game 7.

Kiah Stokes Takes Another Dig at ESPN’s Valkyries Doubts as Golden State Celebrates Historic WNBA Title

Reese, however, was not the only person who became part of the Valkyries’ championship banter. Center Kiah Stokes arrived at the parade wearing a T-shirt inspired by ESPN’s title-probability chart released in late July. The graphic had placed the Indiana Fever, Las Vegas Aces, Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty and Atlanta Dream among the top five championship contenders, with Golden State sitting in sixth place. ESPN Insights later joined the celebrations on social media, joking that its predictions had arrived a little too late.

At the time those predictions were released, there were reasons to doubt Golden State’s championship credentials. The Valkyries were 10-7 midway through the season and had managed just three victories in nine games against eventual playoff teams. They also entered the postseason without an All-WNBA selection, making their eventual championship run even more remarkable. The team responded to the criticism in emphatic fashion, winning 13 of its next 17 games and finishing the regular season with a 32-12 record to secure the No. 2 seed. By November 4, ESPN’s updated championship projections had Golden State at a 100% probability of winning the title.

Stokes also had plenty of personal reasons to celebrate, having secured her fourth championship and set a WNBA Finals record with 19 blocks. Meanwhile, Reese finished the postseason with averages of 16.1 points, 11 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.4 steals across 12 games. Despite the heartbreaking Finals defeat, the 24-year-old made it clear that she remained proud of her season and was already looking forward to coming back stronger. The Valkyries, meanwhile, enjoyed their championship parade with the trophy in hand and a few reminders of the rivalry that made their title journey even more memorable.

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