Drew Hanlen Fires Back at Backlash, Showing Why Angel Reese Must Refine Her Rim Touch

After facing blowback from Angel Reese's supporters, NBA trainer Drew Hanlen doubled down on his critique by highlighting that the Atlanta Dream forward shot just 32.5 percent from 3 to 10 feet and missed over half of her layups this season.

The prominent skills trainer refused to back away from his technical assessment of the young forward.

Hanlen initially voiced his evaluation during an episode of the "No Hesitation" podcast.

He hosts the program alongside WNBA player Sophie Cunningham.

On the show, Hanlen acknowledged that Reese has made noticeable strides across several areas of her game.

However, he stressed that her ability to finish in the paint remains an undeniable obstacle.

"Improving her touch around the rim is ultimately what's going to lead her to being the player that she can become… Just offensively, that's the next step," Hanlen said.

Those remarks quickly triggered an intense response from Reese's loyal fan base online.

Supporters accused the trainer of being overly harsh on the newly minted Atlanta star.

Hanlen responded not with rhetoric, but with cold, hard numbers.

DOUBLING DOWN ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Taking to social platform X, Hanlen shared a graphic comparing Reese’s interior shooting efficiency to that of Las Vegas Aces superstar A'ja Wilson.

The post made it clear that his critique was rooted in data rather than animosity.

"Despite giving Angel a ton of love for being DPOY & All-Star, some of her fans were mad that we said “improving her touch” & making her layups are the next steps for her development," Hanlen wrote.

He then laid out the defining statistics behind his evaluation.

"This season, she shot 32.5% from 3-10 feet (touch) and missed over half of her layups."

The statistic offered a sobering look at Reese's primary offensive limitation.

Converting barely a third of attempts from short range illustrates the gap in her scoring arsenal.

Missing more than half of her layup attempts highlights how many easy points are left on the floor.

For Hanlen, addressing those specific technical deficiencies is the clearest path to unlocking her full potential.

EFFICIENCY CONCERNS DATING BACK TO CHICAGO

Scrutiny surrounding Reese's shooting efficiency is not entirely new.

Throughout her first two professional seasons with the Chicago Sky, her touch around the basket was a persistent talking point.

Critics frequently highlighted her inability to consistently finish contested looks at the rim during her tenure in Chicago.

Her Sky teams failed to reach the postseason in both of those initial campaigns.

Atlanta subsequently traded for the former LSU standout to bolster their interior presence and defensive identity.

The regular season in Atlanta proved to be historic on multiple fronts.

Reese earned an All-Star selection and took home the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award.

She posted impressive season averages of 16.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.

Her dominance on the glass remained one of the league's signature forces.

Yet, despite her career-high scoring mark, the inefficient finishing beneath the basket lingered beneath the surface.

A TALE OF TWO FINALS

Those underlying offensive issues were magnified on the sport's biggest stage during the 2026 WNBA Finals.

The Atlanta Dream met the Golden State Valkyries in an intense seven-game championship clash.

Through the opening three contests, Reese looked like the runaway favorite for Finals MVP honors.

She powered Atlanta to a 2-1 series lead behind dominant two-way play.

Over those first three games, Reese averaged 21.7 points and 13.3 rebounds per contest.

She shot an exceptional 56.4 percent from the field during that opening stretch.

Game 3 was an emphatic showcase for Atlanta, resulting in a commanding 97-71 blowout victory.

Reese delivered 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while celebrating energetically on the floor.

At that moment, the Dream appeared poised to capture the franchise's first championship.

THE GOLDEN STATE ADJUSTMENT

Everything shifted once the Golden State Valkyries adjusted their defensive tactics.

The Valkyries devised a coordinated scheme specifically tailored to put the ball out of Reese's hands.

Golden State packed the paint, challenged her catches, and forced her away from comfortable scoring angles.

The adjustment effectively neutralized her production and completely altered the momentum of the series.

Over the final four games of the Finals, Reese’s numbers plummeted dramatically.

Her scoring dropped to just 9.5 points per game across that four-game stretch.

Her shooting efficiency cratered to a dismal 26.7 percent from the floor.

She struggled with ball security as well, committing 4.8 turnovers per contest.

Reese managed just eight points in Game 4 and followed that with a seven-point outing in Game 5.

Although she rebounded with 15 points and 14 boards in Game 6 to force a deciding matchup, the offensive woes returned in Game 7.

Reese scored just eight points in the ultimate deciding contest as Golden State completed the comeback to win the series 4-3.

THE HARSH MEDIA BLAME

The sudden drop in production ignited fierce debate across the sports landscape.

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy unleashed a scathing assessment on his show, "Wake Up Barstool."

Portnoy questioned whether Reese can still be mentioned in the same tier as Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark.

"She is a very loud talker when things are going well," Portnoy stated.

"In the last three losses that they had, she didn’t show up at all," he continued.

"Not even a little bit," Portnoy added.

"Not even a tiny bit."

Portnoy pointed to her Game 3 celebrations as the turning point that sparked Golden State's rally.

"She made the Finals, congrats, but she lost them the Finals," Portnoy said.

"There’s absolutely no other way to extrapolate this."

Television personality Emmanuel Acho echoed similar sentiments, accusing Reese of being a "frontrunner."

"The attitude that Angel Reese displays in sports, we call that ‘frontrunner,’" Acho said on his program.

"When you’re on front, everything’s cool," Acho remarked.

"You’re talking and living, and everything’s smiley," he noted.

"But then when you get behind, now it’s woe is me," Acho argued.

CAM NEWTON PUSHES BACK

Amid the storm of television and internet criticism, former NFL star Cam Newton came to Reese's defense.

Newton dismissed the attacks as cheap ploys designed to manufacture viral content.

He argued that young athletes invariably face humbling moments on championship stages.

Newton pointed out that Victor Wembanyama endured similar postseason struggles during the 2026 NBA Finals against Jalen Brunson.

"A person like Angel Reese is such an easy target," Newton said.

"Why are we holding Angel Reese comparable to a Michael Jordan, a LeBron James, a Steph Curry?" Newton asked.