Dan Falkenheim
Role at the time: Sports Illustrated reporter and awards voter
Defended or excused
Response to this claim
Angel Reese deserved the 2026 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award.
“I voted for Angel Reese for Defensive Player of the Year.”
Read the original post (opens in a new tab)Falkenheim explains his Reese vote on XPost 2105738089163612550; author's own text
Falkenheim posted after the league announced the award. He describes reviewing defensive possessions, acknowledges limits in evaluating defense and recognizes other deserving candidates.
Why we used this label
Relative to selecting Reese, Falkenheim supports the choice. Acknowledging other deserving candidates and the limits of his evaluation does not create a conflicting position.