Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese’s leadup to her homecoming game against the Washington Mystics on Thursday night encompassed everything that has turned her into the polarizing star she is.
She was ejected from her most recent game after receiving two technical fouls (the latter of which the WNBA later rescinded), then posted online that the Sky dealt with harassment from a reported man with a camera when they walked from their bus to their Washington hotel Wednesday.
Thursday night, she donned custom sneakers covered with the Maryland flag that read “Baltimore Barbie,” a play on her LSU nickname and hometown roots. The Randallstown native and St. Frances graduate was greeted on the court by booming cheers from family, friends and fans who likely traveled from in and around her hometown to see her play in the area for the first time as a professional.
Reese, along with other members of the WNBA’s rookie class, have helped catapult the league to heights it’s never reached. But what makes Reese unique from her fellow first-year stars is the attention that engulfs her every step.
The 22-year-old Reese claims that she’s just as critical to the league’s skyrocketing success as her perceived rival Caitlin Clark, the former Iowa star and No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever who battled Reese throughout their college careers. Reese might be correct, but she’s had a much more tumultuous journey to arrive at this spot because of her outward and unapologetic personality, which has attracted both supporters and naysayers.
Even as a teenager in Randallstown, attention has followed Reese everywhere she goes. The WNBA has been no different.
“I’m just happy to be a part of this, negative or positive,” she said Thursday. “People are talking about women’s basketball. That’s really important. This is long overdue.”
Reese, who said she bought tickets to Thursday’s game for everyone from hairstylists to elementary school friends, grew up attending WNBA games in downtown Capital One Arena with her family. Her mother, Angel, and brother, Terps men’s basketball forward Julian, sat courtside Thursday, part of an announced sellout crowd of 10,000 that Reese helped draw as the league’s popularity grows.
That spotlight has come at a cost.
“I’ve been dealing with this for two years now and understanding like, yeah, negative things have probably been said about me, but honestly, I’ll take that because look where women’s basketball is,” Reese told reporters Monday. “I’ll take the bad guy role.”
Shouldering that load mentally has been just as tough as adjusting to the professional circuit. Reese hasn’t escaped rookie struggles — she’s shooting just 33% from the field and averaging nearly four fouls per game. But the 6-foot-3 forward has shown flashes of why she was the No. 7 overall pick.
Her 9.2 rebounds per game rank seventh in the WNBA. She’s started all nine games for Chicago (4-5), including Thursday’s 79-71 win over Washington (0-10) in which she paced the team with 35 minutes and 11 rebounds and added 16 points in her first appearance close to her hometown in months.
“Baltimore’s always been home for me,” Reese said. “They’ve known me before all the publicity … before the 3 million followers [on social media], before the national championship. They know who I am and really understand who I am. I don’t care what other people think about me, I know who home is. Baltimore and Maryland will always be home.”
Reese has grabbed the spotlight throughout every stop of her successful career. She led LSU to a national title in 2023 with a victory over Clark’s Iowa team in the championship game, which Reese called the origin of her at times villainous perception. The previous year, Reese transferred from Maryland after two seasons.
Brenda Frese said afterward that she was prepared for the former No. 2 overall high school prospect’s departure after what the longtime Terps coach called “one of the toughest” seasons of her career. At St. Frances, a rival coach was fired after saying in a leaked direct message that Reese’s behavior was “repulsive, unacceptable, unflattering and unnecessary.”
The Mystics moved Thursday’s game to Capital One Arena, one of the few times they’ve played in the venue since they moved out of it after the 2018 season. The 20,000-seat home of the NHL’s Capitals and the NBA’s Wizards sits more than five times as many fans as the 4,200-seat Entertainment & Sports Arena, and although capacity was capped at 10,000, fans filled it up.
“Nothing really surprises me anymore,” Reese said. “I’m blessed to be in the situation that I’m in. I wouldn’t change anything.”
Reese scored her 14th point Thursday on an and-one layup late in the third quarter to cap a run that slingshotted the Sky to one of their largest leads of the night. The basket widened the Mystics’ deficit, but the home crowd didn’t care. They erupted as if Reese was one of their own. For most in attendance, she is.
It might have been unfairly placed on her or a product of her own intention, but Reese is fine with being the “bad guy” of the WNBA. After all, she’s contributed to record television ratings and attendance numbers for the league while paving the way for more Baltimore girls.
As long as that continues, Reese is fine with any label.
“I think a lot of people want to be a people pleaser. I’ve never been a people pleaser,” Reese said. “That’s why people love me or they hate me.”
