Angel Reese has admitted she was scared for her WNBA welcoming from league veterans before she was drafted seventh overall to the Chicago Sky.
The 22-year-old entered the 2024 WNBA Draft off the back of a stellar college basketball career with the LSU Tigers. Reese helped the school claim a national championship in 2023, beating out rival Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in a thriller.
“I was scared, and I’m not somebody to be scared, but I was just scared,” Reese admitted on her “Unapologetically Angel” podcast. “I didn’t think nobody was gonna like me because of everything coming in. I just thought I was just gonna be like, they were just gonna treat me like crap.”
It was a hard foul by Alyssa Thomas on Reese that left the rookie with concerns. “When the whole situation with AT knocked me down, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, they hate me here. They hate me here, it’s gonna be hard for me. They don’t like me, the vets don’t like me.’ And when I went to the draft, that kind of changed my perspective,” she said.
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However, Reese’s assumption couldn’t have been further from the truth. A group of veterans met up with the rebound machine and eased her concerns. Reese highlighted Nneka Ogwumike, Satou Sabally, and Dearica Hamby.
“So when I went and met Nneka, I met Satou, who else did I meet there?” Reese continued. “I met a whole bunch of vets, and they made me, and Dearica, they made me feel really welcome.
“And I just was like, that’s what changed my whole thing and made me feel really comfortable in this league. And maybe that’s also kudos to why I’m playing. I play so comfortable because I felt comfortable in this league.
Angel Reese received veteran support which helped change her perspective (
Getty)
“The players made me feel comfortable, and as a rookie, I was just so scared of what everybody else thought of me and how they were gonna treat me, but I talked to so many other vets. I talked to different players on other teams and how much they love me and they respect me and knowing what I can do. So that was my whole thing coming in. I was just kind of scared. I was a little scared.”
In her rookie campaign, like rival Clark, Reese has already shattered WNBA records before her season was ended with a hand injury. Reese holds the WNBA record for most rebounds in a single season with 418 rebounds. Reese also set the record for the most offensive rebounds in a season with 165.
She also became the fastest player in WNBA history to record 20 double-doubles, while also setting the record for most consecutive double-doubles with 15. Reese is also the only rookie to record at least 23 double-doubles, and the only WNBA player to record 20 or more rebounds in three consecutive games.
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