CHICAGO — If you want to know how quickly things can change in the WNBA, look no further than Angel Reese’s week.
On Monday, her 22nd birthday, the Chicago Sky rookie took an unusual trip after practice in suburban Deerfield.
Typically, when people leave Saks Center, a Park District fitness club in a strip mall, they might grab some ramen at Jimmy Thai or grab a cup of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts. If they really wanted to ruin their workout, they’d go to Portillo’s across the street.
Reese, rookie or not, is a little different than the average player, and he attended the Met Gala.
“These new kids,” veteran guard Diamond DeShields said with a laugh and a sigh. “They did it.”
Happy birthday, @Reese10Angel !The basketball superstar is about to have her first #MetGala Outfit tonight @16arlington.
See more @TheMarkHotelNY Departure location: https://t.co/dCcxppu9YC pic.twitter.com/pnNtFCOHpA
—WWD (@wwd) May 6, 2024
Wearing a custom dress by British label 16Arlington, Reese spent the night among celebrities before flying back to Chicago to get ready for work on Tuesday. She had 13 points and five rebounds in 19 minutes to help the Sky beat the New York Liberty 101-53 in the preseason.
“I went to the Met Gala, beat the Met Gala in New York, and came back and beat New York,” she said. “That’s what I do.”
“Angels are unique,” DeShields said. “She’s very unique. I think it’s really cool that she gets the opportunity to be at the Met Gala. I mean, I’m still waiting for my invite.
Coming off a meaningless preseason, the Sky — who are not expected to be anywhere near a contender and will miss their No. 1 overall pick Camila Cardoso four to six weeks with a shoulder injury — is rightfully exciting for Chicago.
Reese brings light to the team. While No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark is the undisputed leader among the WNBA’s rookie celebrities — she graced her pre-draft appearance on “Saturday Night Live” — Reese also Favorably. That’s not why they drafted her seventh overall — she’s a ferocious rebounder and adept scorer in the paint — but for a team seeking a share of the attention economy in a crowded market , it doesn’t hurt to have some star power. The Sky lit up the city and won a WNBA championship in 2021, led by hometown legend Candace Parker, but that light faded quickly.
Now, this is a new team, a new era. Now it’s Reese’s time.
Her trip to New York on Tuesday raised eyebrows — how will she play? — and then Chicago Bears Caleb Williams, Roman Odunze and Keenan Allen showed up and sat courtside, making a game that was originally open only to season ticket holders a spectacle.
Love in Chi-Town is different🤝
Keenan Allen, Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze @Chicago Bears and Coby White @Chicago Bulls Pull up the skies for support! pic.twitter.com/UKgWiUY608
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 8, 2024
It’s normal for Chicago athletes to show up to Sky games — Williams, the Bears’ No. 1 overall pick, adds a little extra pop wherever he goes — but Reese always had big ideas. I predict that this will be a recurring story.
“Everyone will be on the sidelines,” she said. “Celebrities will be on the sidelines. Just know who’s who. I’m at the Met Gala, Usher (he said) is going to try to attend a game in Vegas, and Cardi B .
The big news around the league right now is Commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s surprise announcement (seriously, even the teams didn’t know this was going to happen) that the WNBA will begin traveling on charter flights. The money is coming, and it’s time for the WNBA to invest in its game. No more wasted rest days due to travel delays.
Of course, Reese quickly arrived in New York via private jet. Then again, she was different.
“I did all my hair and makeup on the plane,” she said. “My two daughters and a friend of mine got on the plane with me. We had our hair and makeup done on the plane, blow-dried and flat-ironed, which was crazy, but it turned out great, as you can see.
The presence of young celebrities like Reese and Clark in the league and the attention they bring may be one of the reasons the WNBA finally acted on players’ long-standing requests for charter flights.
“I’m glad the league is proactive,” senior Sky forward Elizabeth Williams said. “I mean, we’re in an era where we have 3 million followers. She has a spotlight that none of us have and we don’t have anything to compare to. I think it’s not about incidents happening, it’s about taking the initiative. action.
After all the hoopla, Reese said if she had a bad game against Liberty, she would hear her former coach at LSU, the ever-angry Kim Mulkey, in her head ’s voice, if not her current Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. So she made sure she was ready to compete, even if it was just a preseason game. Reese can make a serious living as a social media influencer, but that’s her career.
“I already know what’s expected of it, and it’s like I need to focus on my game,” she said. “I take my game seriously. I watched the movie on the plane. I want to come back. People at the Met Gala are like, ‘Are you going to party after this?’ “I said no, there’s a game tomorrow. I have to watch the movie. I prioritize everything. I’m still in school, so my schedule is busy and I have a lot to do. But like I said, you have to maximize Make use of your 24 hours.
Weatherspoon, one of the greatest women’s basketball players of all time, has yet to coach a real WNBA game, but she’s clearly happy to let her players be themselves. That bodes well for her, as she leads a mostly new roster with limited expectations of winning.
As for Reese’s trip, she loved it. Weatherspoon said Reese “earned the opportunity to leave, and I, as her head coach, am not going to take that opportunity away from her.”
“How do I know I can trust Angel Reese?” she said. “Angels do angelic things, so I know she knows how to prioritize.”
Speaking at Sky Media Day on Wednesday, Rees spoke about the duality of her life and her image on and off the pitch.
“I always felt like I wanted to be the cute, pretty girl on the court, but I also wanted to be a dog and have a dog mentality,” she said. “So I want to continue to empower women to understand and know that you can have both.”
It’s foolish to think that women’s basketball players reach their peak in college. At 22 years old, Reese’s career and life are just beginning. Her WNBA career hasn’t even started yet, but it’s foreseeable that we’ll be talking about her for a long time.
(Photo by Angel Reese: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for The Mark Hotel)
