Angel Reese Strutting Through Locker Room Before Sky-Fever Game Became an Instant Icon

June 1, 2024 Jimm Sallivan

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese made her case for being the most relatable player in the WNBA after dazzling in her pregame walkout ahead of the Sky’s matchup against the Indiana Fever on Saturday.

Reese, set to face off against collegiate rival Caitlin Clark for the first time in the big leagues, dropped a hilarious one-liner as she enlisted the help of a cameraperson while posing for pregame pictures.

“Can somebody hold my phone?” Reese asked.

Angel Reese needed help from the admin 😅 📲 pic.twitter.com/HJ1bdtLDe5

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 1, 2024

Later on, Reese candidly tells someone filming her, “Let me get these shoes off. A baddie can’t stay too bad too long.”

Can’t even front Angel Reese, we felt that 😂

Even the Barbie has a time limit on how long she can wear heels, but per usual she’s serving on the game day look pic.twitter.com/QikVVwulgX

— WNBA (@WNBA) June 1, 2024

Reese, the No. 7 pick in the WNBA draft, has averaged 11.0 points and 8.2 rebounds in six games this season, shooting 37.3% from the field. The former LSU standout lost to Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes, 94–87, in an Elite Eight tilt in this year’s NCAA tournament.

Chicago is off to a 3–3 start this season with Kamilla Cardoso set to make her WNBA debut on Saturday. The Sky are currently tied 31-31 with the Fever in the second quarter.

11 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

WNBA Announces Record TV Ratings, Highest Attendance in 26 Years

Business is booming in the WNBA, largely thanks to the highly coveted rookie class headlined by the likes of Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink and Angel Reese, among others.

With the first month of the 2024 season officially past, the league announced its TV ratings and attendance details for the month of May. It comes as no surprise that both are up massively compared to last year, with TV ratings reaching all-time highs and attendance at its highest mark in 26 years.

The league reported that approximately 400,000 fans attended WNBA games in May, the most the league has recorded since 1998. More than half of the league's games have resulted in sellouts, an increase of 156% over last season.

In terms of television viewership, the league noted that WNBA games have logged an average viewership of 1.32 million viewers per game across ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC and CBS. That figure is almost three times more than last season.

The season-opening matchup between Clark's Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun recorded an average of 2.12 million viewers on ESPN 2, ESPN+ and Disney+, making it the most-watched WNBA game on any Disney platform in history.

Six days later, the Fever's rematch against the Sun on ESPN drew the largest TV audience for any WNBA game on the network with an average of 1.56 millions viewers.

Furthermore, merchandise sales have skyrocketed. The WNBA reports that the WNBAstore website has received a staggering increase in transactions of more than 756% compared to this time last year.

5 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Angel Reese Ejected From Sky-Liberty Clash After Double Technical Foul

Angel Reese was sent back to the Chicago Sky locker room early during the team's 88–75 loss to the New York Liberty on Tuesday at Wintrust Arena.

Reese was ejected from the game with 2:31 remaining in the fourth quarter. She was whistled for a personal foul after trying to grab a rebound. Reese argued the call and was quickly given two technical fouls by WNBA referee Charles Watson and ejected from the game.

Angel Reese was ejected from tonight's game after being given a double technical on this exchange with the ref
(via @SkyMarquee)pic.twitter.com/cCmfEZZU11
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 5, 2024

The Sky trailed the Liberty 82–71 at the time of Reese's ejection and went on to lose 88–75.

Despite the early exit, Reese tallied the second double-double of her career, scoring 15 points on 3-of-12 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds in 24 minutes.

Reese and the Sky return to the floor Thursday to host the Washington Mystics at Wintrust Arena.

2 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Caitlin Clark Heaps Praise on Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso Before Sky-Fever Game

Over the last two years, the friendly rivalry between Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese has elevated two games—women's college basketball and the WNBA—to never-before-seen heights.

Like all truly great sports rivalries, however, Clark and Reese's rivalry is built on mutual respect. On Saturday morning, Clark demonstrated that by praising both Reese and Sky center Kamilla Cardoso before the Fever played Chicago in the afternoon.

"The thing about (Reese), she's been so dominant at what she does ever since we played in high school," Clark said via Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. "She's always had a knack for being able to rebound the ball and that's just translated immediately to the WNBA."

Caitlin Clark had high praise for Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso ahead of today’s game.
“(Angel) has been so dominant at what she does ever since we played in high school.”
“Kamilla is just scratching the surface of her potential.” pic.twitter.com/ur1dBNA93f
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) June 1, 2024

Reese entered Saturday averaging 8.2 rebounds per game, ninth in the WNBA.

"Kamilla caused us a lot of problems in the national championship," Clark said of Cardoso. "Kamilla is just scratching the surface of her potential... it's been a lot of fun to watch those two kind of evolve over their college careers."

Each of the trio had a role to play in Indiana's eventual 71–70 win. Clark scored 11 points, pulled down eight rebounds and gave out eight assists; Reese scored eight points and pulled down 13 rebounds; Cardoso scored 11 points and had six rebounds.

US Sports News

Angel Reese Strutting Through Locker Room Before Sky-Fever Game Became an Instant Icon

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