Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. jokingly made a pointed comment this week about the true home of LSU star Angel Reese.

In a quote tweet responding to comments Reese made at her court unveiling in Baltimore County, where she said the city and Randallstown are home, Olszewski chimed in with his own correction to support his stomping grounds:

Then, Reese was honored by the city of Baltimore, with Mayor Brandon Scott giving her a key to the city Wednesday. That’s when Scott delivered a subtle jab at Olszewski’s thinking.

“We are here to honor someone who is no stranger to our community,” Scott said to begin his press conference. “While she lays her head in Baltimore County, she embodies the spirit of Baltimore City. [She] has our swag, has our style and our passion for the game of Baltimore that we know you can’t find nowhere else on this planet.”

So where is Reese from? It’s really not that complicated.

Reese proudly represents both Randallstown and Baltimore. She was born and raised in the county. She attended St. Frances Academy in the city, where she was consistently regarded as one of the nation’s top basketball players and ranked No. 2 in ESPN’s class of 2020.

Of course, Reese talks about “Baltimore” — doing that thing most normal humans do where they describe a place based on the closest recognizable city, rather than a specific near suburb — whenever she gets the chance, talking about how it shaped her and gave her an edge on and off the court.

“I’m from Baltimore where you hoop outside & talk trash,” she tweeted in January.

There’s not much more to it than that. Baltimore’s basketball culture — which of course is spread over the whole region and not constrained by some imaginary line — shaped her.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist and former WNBA star Angel McCoughtry, another Baltimore hoops star who attended St. Frances, echoed those same feelings.

“Angel Reese is from Baltimore like me,” McCoughtry recently said on the Montgomery & Co. podcast. “She went to my high school like me. That’s my little baby. Who she talk trash like? Like me!”

Reese, the ESPY winner for Best Breakthrough Athlete, made appearances in each area Monday, spending her morning in Randallstown for the unveiling before partnering with DTLR in the evening for an in-store meet and greet where attendees could chat with her and purchase one of her “Bayou Barbie” T-shirts to benefit her foundation. DTLR matched every dollar to establish a scholarship fund at her alma mater.

aron.yohannes@thebaltimorebanner.com