Angel Reese Shares Her Goals for the WNBA

Angel Reese is a star in each sense of the phrase. Regardless of Louisiana State’s loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes within the Ultimate 4 of March Insanity, Reese ended her collegiate profession on a excessive, strolling away with a number of awards and damaged data, in addition to an entry into the WNBA.

On April 15, Reese, extra affectionately recognized by followers because the “Bayou Barbie,” might be chosen by one of many league’s 12 groups alongside a few of her former NCAA rivals turned draftees, together with Caitlin Clark, Kamilla Cardoso, and Aliyah Edwards. PS caught up with the draft choose forward of the massive evening, the place Reese opened up about her collegiate legacy, in addition to among the objectives she has for the W.

A Look At Angel Reese’s Legacy

Whereas at LSU, the ahead turned recognized for her daring gameplay on the courtroom, which frequently contains unapologetic trash speak, contemporary lashes, and edges laid to the gods. That seemingly will not change. It is how she earned the nickname “Bayou Barbie” and it is served as a illustration that girls athletes — and extra particularly Black ladies athletes — may be precisely who they’re on the earth of sport.

Reese’s infamous crown, nonetheless, may not make it to the league. You have seemingly noticed the jeweled tiara positioned on Reese’s head throughout LSU’s pregame ritual. All through her profession, it is symbolized that Reese is “the queen,” LSU’s Amani Bartlett (bestower of the crown), informed the Related Press. However it seems the athlete is approaching her subsequent transfer with a contemporary begin mindset, doubtlessly leaving the crown behind.

“I do not know if we’ll see [the crown] within the WNBA,” Reese tells PS whereas working a predraft shift at Elevating Cane’s in Manhattan. “That was one thing that I did at LSU and I need to simply flip over a brand new web page and begin a brand new chapter.”

That stated, there’ll at all times be a figurative crown on her head — and it is a heavy one, Reese admits. The 21-year-old has confronted relentless assaults from the general public all through her collegiate profession, typically being pitted towards Caitlin Clark and villanized for a similar gameplay that is made her such a formidable participant. “I have been via a lot. I’ve seen a lot. I have been attacked so many occasions. Loss of life threats. I have been sexualized. I have been threatened,” Reese stated in a post-game interview after LSU’s loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes through the NCAA match.

What You Can Count on From Angel Reese within the WNBA

As Reese enters the WNBA, she’s hoping for a clear slate and to concentrate on rising ladies’s sports activities alongside gamers like Clark. For context, the NCAA ladies’s championship last raked in 18.7 million viewers, greater than any school or skilled basketball sport since 2019, per ESPN.

“It is loopy how the sport’s going proper now and having the ability to surpass the boys . . . it is thrilling and I feel our video games are a lot extra attention-grabbing proper now,” Reese says. “So many individuals are tuning in and watching us and I find it irresistible.”

Now, Reese is raring to see how the keenness interprets to the WNBA. “Having the ability to take this to the W is the place you need to do it at and I feel they deserve it, particularly the vets — they’ve carried out an awesome job and laid the bottom for us.”

Alexis Jones is the senior well being editor at POPSUGAR. Her areas of experience embrace ladies’s well being, psychological well being, racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare, range in wellness, and continual circumstances. Previous to becoming a member of POPSUGAR, she was the senior editor at Well being journal. Her different bylines may be discovered at Girls’s Well being, Prevention, Marie Claire, and extra.