Angel Reese (born May 6, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at LSU and Maryland. Reese attended Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland, where she was awarded McDonald’s All-American honors in 2020 and was ranked the number two player in her class by ESPN.
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Angel Reese Good Player
Reese joined the Maryland Terrapins as the highest-ranked recruit in program history, but her freshman season in 2020–21 was interrupted by a fractured right foot. She was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press as a sophomore. In her junior season, Reese transferred to LSU and was a unanimous first-team All-American selection. She led LSU to its first national championship, where she was Most Outstanding Player. Reese set the NCAA single-season record in double-doubles and the SEC single-season record in rebounds. As a senior, she was named SEC Player of the Year and an All-American. Reese was selected by the Chicago Sky with the seventh overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft. At the international level, she helped the United States win a silver medal at the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup.
Early Life
Angel Reese was born on May 6, 2002, in Randallstown, Maryland, to Angel and Michael Reese. She learned how to play basketball from her mother at a very young age and grew up playing against her brother, Julian, in their driveway. Reese competed in a recreational league in Baltimore County, where her mother also played. She emerged as one of the best players in the city and had success playing above her age group and on boys’ teams.Reese played the point guard position before having two growth spurts by her first year of high school. In addition to basketball, she took part in ballet, gymnastics, swimming and track during her childhood. Reese often attended Washington Mystics games and drew inspiration from Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players Candace Parker and Maya Moore, as well as former National Basketball Association (NBA) player and Baltimore native Muggsy Bogues. She was coached by Ron James with Team Takeover, an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) program based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL), a national circuit. Her AAU teammates included Madison Scott, Mir McLean and Jackie Brown-Turner, all of whom were given five-star ratings by ESPN at the end of their high school careers.
Personal Life
Reese’s mother, Angel Reese (née Webb), played college basketball for UMBC, where she was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame and her number 10 jersey was retired. She later played professionally in Luxembourg. Reese’s father, Michael Reese, with whom she does not have a close relationship, played basketball for Boston College and Loyola (Maryland) before embarking on a professional career in Luxembourg, Cyprus, Austria and Portugal. Reese was raised by her mother and maternal grandparents, Curtis and Barbara Webb. Her younger brother, Julian, plays college basketball for Maryland and competed for St. Frances Academy. Reese’s stepbrother, Mikael Hopkins, is a professional basketball player. Her cousin, Jordan Hawkins, plays in the NBA and helped the UConn Huskies men’s team win the 2023 NCAA championship. She dated Florida State men’s basketball player Camron Fletcher from 2023 until early 2024.She has described Hall of Fame basketball player and LSU alumnus Shaquille O’Neal as a father figure.
Reese majored in interdisciplinary studies at Louisiana State University and majored in communications at the University of Maryland, College Park. She has expressed interest in broadcasting and modeling after her basketball career. She was a member of the honor roll in high school.
Junior Season
On May 6, 2022, LSU announced that Reese would transfer to their program. She made the decision due to her trust in head coach Kim Mulkey and a desire to join a “winning culture”. Reese was also impressed by the school’s interest in the women’s team. On November 7, she made her debut for LSU, recording 31 points and 13 rebounds in a 125–50 win over Bellarmine. Reese posted 32 points and 15 rebounds in an 88–42 victory over Lamar on December 14.She surpassed LSU’s single-game rebounding record, held by Maree Jackson since 1977, during a 26-point, 28-rebound performance in a 74–34 win over Texas A&M on January 5, 2023.Reese had her 20th straight double-double on January 23, with 14 points and 14 rebounds in an 89–51 win against Alabama. She broke the program record for consecutive double-doubles, set by Sylvia Fowles during the 2006–07 season. On February 16, Reese had a career-high 36 points and 20 rebounds in a 69–60 win over Ole Miss. She earned first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) and All-Defensive Team honors at the end of the regular season.[68] In the first round of the 2023 NCAA tournament, she recorded 34 points and 15 rebounds in a 73–50 win against Hawaii. Reese posted 25 points, 24 rebounds and 6 blocks in a 66–42 second-round win over Michigan. In the Elite Eight, she registered her 32nd double-double, breaking the SEC single-season record held by Tesira McCowan of Mississippi State. Reese was named Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the Greenville Regional 2. In the Final Four, she set the program and SEC single-season rebounding records after posting 24 points and 12 rebounds in a 79–72 win over Virginia Tech.
Reese posing with Joe Biden and Jill Biden, who are both holding LSU jerseys, during her team’s White House visit in 2023
Reese with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden during her team’s visit to the White House in 2023
Reese helped LSU win its first national championship, posting 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a 102–85 victory over Iowa in the title game. She won the tournament Most Outstanding Player award and set the NCAA single-season record with 34 double-doubles. In the closing minutes of the game, Reese followed Iowa star Caitlin Clark around the court and made a “you can’t see me” gesture by waving her hand in front of her face—a taunt popularized by professional wrestler John Cena—before pointing to her ring finger in reference to a championship ring. Her actions came under scrutiny, with some journalists and analysts criticizing her for poor sportsmanship and others, including Reese herself, pointing to a double standard, because Clark had not received similar backlash for making the “you can’t see me” gesture two games earlier. Clark later defended Reese from criticism over the gesture. The incident drew attention to the roles of race and gender in the perception of trash talk in sports since Reese is Black and Clark is White. Following the game, First Lady Jill Biden remarked that she wanted Iowa to be invited to the White House along with LSU, as an addition to the custom of the president and first lady hosting the national champions. Despite Biden’s press secretary clarifying that only LSU would be invited, Reese initially rejected the invitation and said she would prefer to celebrate with the Obamas, before accepting it with her team later that week. President Joe Biden called Reese individually to congratulate her on LSU’s victory.
Senior Season
Entering her senior season, Reese was named an AP preseason All-American and preseason SEC Player of the Year. LSU was ranked number one by the AP in its preseason poll, with incoming transfers Hailey Van Lith and Aneesa Morrow. On November 6, 2023, Reese recorded 15 points and 12 rebounds in her season debut, as her team suffered an upset loss to AP No. 20 Colorado, 92–78.On November 14, 2023, she had 11 points and five rebounds in a 109–79 win over Kent State but was benched for the second half, which Mulkey described as a coach’s decision and did not elaborate. Reese did not play in LSU’s next four games for undisclosed reasons. Mulkey later attributed Reese’s absence to locker room issues. On November 30, Reese returned, posting 19 points and nine rebounds in an 82–64 win over AP No. 9 Virginia Tech. On December 19, she shared Sporting News Athlete of the Year honors with Caitlin Clark. At the end of the regular season, Reese was named SEC Player of the Year while earning first-team All-SEC and All-Defensive Team recognition from the league’s coaches. She led LSU to the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA tournament, where she had 17 points and 20 rebounds in a 94–87 loss to one-seed Iowa in a rematch of the 2023 national championship game.
Professional career WNBA
Reese was selected as the seventh overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft by the Chicago Sky.
2024
In starting her WNBA career playing for the Chicago Sky, she is the “first rookie since Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard in 2022 to record five consecutive double-digit scoring games” at the beginning of her WNBA career. She had the second most offensive rebounds in a season’s first five games (with 24), “ranking behind only all-time great Yolanda Griffith’s 31.” She set a league record for having seven consecutive double-doubles in a rookie season in June.
National Team Career
Reese attended trials for the United States team for the 2017 FIBA Under-16 Women’s Americas Championship but was not named to the final roster. She missed the cut for the 2018 Under-17 World Cup team after being a finalist. Reese was named a finalist for the 2019 Under-19 World Cup team before withdrawing to play in the Nike EYBL. She withdrew from consideration for the 2021 Under-19 World Cup for health reasons after receiving an invitation to team trials and being a finalist.
Reese made her United States national team debut at the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup in Mexico. In her first game, she posted 11 points and 9 rebounds in an 80–54 win over Venezuela. Reese recorded 13 points and 18 rebounds in a 68–49 victory over Colombia in the quarterfinals. She helped her team win the silver medal, posting four points and six rebounds in a 69–58 loss to Brazil in the final.
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