COLLEGE PARK, GA – SEPTEMBER 17: Atlanta forward Angel Reese 5 reacts during the WNBA, Basketball Damen, USA game between the Connecticut Sun and the Atlanta Dream on September 17th, 2026 at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, GA. Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire WNBA: SEP 17 Connecticut Sun at Atlanta Dream EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon260917014 ©IMAGO/Icon Sportswire Harshita Saxena · EssentiallySports Thu, November 5, 2026 at 2:59 AM UTC · 4 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Golden State Valkyries' title party was supposed to be pure joy, and for the most part it was. Thousands of fans in lavender lined the Embarcadero in San Francisco on Wednesday, in some spots ten deep, to cheer their newest champions after a ferry ride across the bay. But somewhere in the party, the cameras caught a joke with Reese's name written all over it.
Valkyries staff were spotted wearing shirts with Reese's face morphed into the crying Michael Jordan meme, along with her "too small" hand gesture.
Fans also shared a photo from the parade of a hand holding a pink pacifier. A small paper tag was attached, showing the same morphed crying meme face and the words "if found return to: ATL." The fan who posted it shared that these were really being handed out.
To see why this stung, you have to go back to Game 3. After the Dream blew out Golden State and took a 2-1 series lead, Reese was seen doing the "too small" taunt toward the Valkyries' bench. It was aimed at forward Aminata Gueye, who had guarded her and traded words with her for much of the series. Reese had 21 points and 12 rebounds that night, and she looked ready to win a title.
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It did not age well. Reese never scored more than 15 points in any of the final four games, and Golden State won Game 7 to take the championship.
The Valkyries did not waste any time giving the taunt back. Gueye posted a photo of Reese's hand mid-taunt on Instagram on Saturday night, right after the win. Tiffany Hayes made the same gesture on an Instagram live while the team celebrated in the locker room.
COLLEGE PARK, GA – SEPTEMBER 17: Atlanta forward Angel Reese 5 indicates the defense is too small to guard her during the WNBA, Basketball Damen, USA game between the Connecticut Sun and the Atlanta Dream on September 17th, 2026 at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, GA. Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire WNBA: SEP 17 Connecticut Sun at Atlanta Dream EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon260917010
Reese was not the only target, either. Valkyries center Kiah Stokes stepped off the ferry wearing a shirt that copied ESPN's title-odds chart from late July. It listed the Fever, Aces, Lynx, Liberty and Dream as the five best bets to win it all. Golden State was sixth at the time, so it never made the list.
ESPN Insights answered on X with a joke, writing, "Sorry we were a little late to the party." It added that Golden State went 13-4 after the chart came out and that its analytics had the Valkyries as title favorites by Aug. 10.
The doubts were easy to understand at that point. The chart came out while the Valkyries were 10-7 at the midpoint and just 3-6 against playoff teams. They had no true star, and they would finish the year without a single All-WNBA player, a first for a champion. ESPN's chart had the Fever at 24% and the Aces at 23 percent, while Golden State sat sixth.
Then everything flipped. The Valkyries went on that 13-4 run and finished 32-12 as the No. 2 seed. As of Nov. 4, ESPN's updated chart gave them a 100 percent chance of winning the Finals, which was the punchline of the reply. Stokes, who won her fourth championship, also set a Finals record with 19 blocks.
So the parade doubled as a victory lap with a few well-aimed digs. For months, the Valkyries heard the doubts and watched the taunts. On Wednesday, with a title in hand, they answered both in front of a very loud crowd.
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