Angel Reese has officially entered the next phase of her WNBA nickname era.
We had “mebounds.”
Now we’ve got “prayups.”
And honestly, it might be even better.
WNBA fans have been using “mebounds” to joke about Reese grabbing offensive rebounds after missing her own shots. “Prayups” is the newest addition to the dictionary, referring to those layups that look less like guaranteed buckets and more like a prayer being sent directly to the basketball gods.
The jokes didn’t exactly come from nowhere.
Reese has been elite on the glass, but her finishing around the rim has been a legitimate weakness. She shot just 48% on attempts within five feet during one recent stretch, according to WNBA tracking data, and she has had some genuinely spectacular misses this season.
Which has created the most Angel Reese stat line imaginable:
Miss layup.
Grab rebound.
Miss layup.
Grab rebound.
Double-double.
It’s basketball’s version of a money-back guarantee.
The funniest part is that Reese is actually having an excellent season overall. She’s shattered WNBA rebounding records and remains one of the league’s most productive players.
But the internet doesn’t care.
It sees one ball clank off the rim and immediately goes:
“PRAYUP.”
Angel Reese has gone from collecting mebounds to launching prayups.
At this point, we’re basically watching an entirely new basketball vocabulary develop in real time.
