The world of women’s basketball has come a very long way since the conception of the Women’s National Basketball Association in 1996, but that growth bounded exponentially into previously uncharted territory within the last two years alone. Although the WNBA remains the dream of any female hooper, what truly got a wider population to start paying attention was not the league, but the women of college basketball. Among the many women driving this change, there is one name known across America, not just for the quality of her game, but also the way her personality shines. The name? Angel Reese.
Angel Reese, a Baltimore native from a family of basketball players, transferred to LSU for the 2022-23 school year and quickly became a star, not just in Baton Rouge or the SEC, but the NCAA as a whole. Reese, an All-American, SEC Player of theYyear, and powerhouse of a forward, stands out on and off the court. Nicknamed the ‘Bayou Barbie’ (and now owning the trademark for the moniker), Reese is fierce in every sense. Her glam is admired by many, but her style of competition has faced wide, harsh, misogynistic, and racist criticism.
Videos and pictures of Reese’s trash talk and gestures during the 2023 championship game of the Women’s March Madness tournament, the highest level of competition in college basketball, brought a relentless onslaught of critics eager to stomp on her success. However, as any marginalized person in America can tell you, not all criticism is constructive, and in Reese’s case, criticism looked far more like spewing hate. Hate, threats, and remarks questioning Reese’s validity as a competitor have been never-ending, all because a Black woman was nothing short of stellar in her craft, and dared to be competitive at a level that has been expected of her male counterparts far longer than the WNBA has even existed. In short, they hate to see bad bitch winning.
At just 21, Angel Reese has broken boundaries and been nothing short of a trailblazer for young women and girls in athletics. Beyond her achievements on the court, Reese was also one of the highest-earning NCAA athletes since students became able to profit from name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals and partnerships. Even with all of these achievements under her belt, her biggest move yet came when Reese announced her decision to leave LSU and enter the WNBA draft. The typical student-athlete would make such an announcement through a personal social media post, or for a more well-known athlete, potentially through an ESPN or other sports media outlet. Angel Reese has never been your typical athlete.
On April 3, 2024, Angel Reese made history as the first athlete ever to announce her draft declaration in Vogue. The Vogue name is renowned across the world, and to have your name in the pages of Vogue or seen on Vogue.com is an achievement equally recognized by the fashion industry and society at large. The first athlete to ever make a career-changing announcement with Vogue was none other than Serena Williams, announcing her retirement in the 2022 September Issue.
The move from Reese only further emphasizes a cultural shift in how we see and treat women’s sports. This year, the semi-final game of the women’s March Madness tournament between the University of Connecticut and the University of Iowa, broke ESPN records, not just becoming the most-viewed college sporting event in ESPN+ history, but also having the highest audience of any ESPN basketball game on record.
There are many instances in American (and global) sports history where female athletes have outperformed their male counterparts, with some of the greatest athletes of all time being women (Serena Williams, Simone Biles, and Katie Ledecky, to name a few). But even as some women’s sports have begun to earn their due recognition, basketball has notably lagged behind. Reese is entering a league where she will make far less playing for the Chicago Sky than she did through NIL deals as a student-athlete.
This year, college basketball brought a new sense of hope for women’s sports fans worldwide, in no small part due to Angel Reese’s athleticism, skill, personality, and of course, glam. With Reese entering the league alongside NCAA top scorer across women’s and men’s basketball Caitlin Clark, and fellow star forward and three-time gold medalist Cameron Brink, this year’s WNBA season is sure to be exciting. Leading a cohort of female athletes on and off the court, at age 21, Reese has already made leaps and bounds for the world of women’s sports, and won’t be stopping any time soon. At the end of the day, Angel Reese is a player with a go-big or go-home attitude, and she’s not going home any time soon.
Words by Flora Medina
Graphic by Eve Friday