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Angel Reese hasn't been in the league for long, but she's one of the most popular and respected WNBA players. The Chicago Sky took her out of LSU with the No. 7 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, and it didn't take long before she showed what she was capable of.
Despite missing six games with a hand injury, Reese set multiple records, both for a rookie and in franchise history, as she established herself as one of the best rebounders of all time.
Clearly, she felt quite comfortable with the organization, and that's something that didn't happen overnight. On April 14, 2024, she gushed about how her conversations with then-coach Teresa Weatherspoon inspired her and how eager she was to play for the Sky:
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"Knowing the conversations were so good and (Weatherspoon) felt like a mother to me," Reese said.
"Being able to be a Black woman and as a head coach, and everything she's done at the NBA level, I just knew everything they were bringing to the table. Jeff (Pagliocca), the GM, was amazing, too, and player development is something that I was looking for and they looked for in me. I'm super excited for this move, and I'm just looking forward to getting to Chicago."
Unfortunately, her partnership with Weatherspoon was short-lived, as the Sky fired her after just one season after failing to make the playoffs and ending the year with a 13-27 record.
Former NBA player calls Angel Reese a "black villain"
Unlike most young players, Reese already had a huge and passionate fan base before entering the WNBA.
Her success in college and her rivalry with Caitlin Clark propelled her popularity on and off the court. Meanwhile, her outspoken nature and demeanor made her a polarizing figure.
According to former NBA player Etan Thomas, race also played a big part in this narrative. Trying to explain why Paige Bueckers hasn't gotten as much attention as Clark, he argued that it's because she didn't go against a "black villain" like Angel Reese:
"Much of the media made Reese the villain to Clark's heroine after the Black Princess upstaged the Great White Hope in the 2023 NCAA Tournament championship game," Thomas wrote.
"Meanwhile, there has been no Black villain for Bueckers to compete against."
We've seen this happen in the past, but even if that's also a factor, Angel Reese's talent is just too big to overlook.
