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Tag: Angel

Angel Reese gets advice from Lisa Leslie on how her game can improve

Lisa Leslie, a three-time WNBA MVP, directed some blunt advice at Angel Reese during a recent sitdown with the Chicago Sky forward.

Leslie joined Reese for the latest edition of the “Unapologetically Angel” podcast. At one point during the conversation, the WNBA legend answered a question about which part of the 2024 All-Star’s game she could improve heading into season two.

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Lisa Leslie, former american basketball player, attends the Women’s Gold Medal game between Team France and Team USA on day sixteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on August 11, 2024 in Paris, France. (Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)

“The biggest advice I have for you is going to be how you shoot your layups, period. We’re going to fix that. That’s fixable for you,” Leslie responded.

The two-time WNBA champion then pointed out some of Reese’s strengths when she is on the hardwood.

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“I think your shot from the outside is improving. I love that your ball handling is good, your defense is improving. I love the fact that you were like putting so much pressure on them defensively. And just the idea that you want to get better. I love that.”

Leslie continued to praise Reese’s willingness to put in the work, which she believes will ultimately allow the Sky star to reach her full potential.

“Hearing you, and like… yes ‘I want to learn. I want to work hard. I want to be better,’ my heart melted.” Leslie added. “The fact that you already have that attitude, you’re going to get better. And I can help you get better. I’m positive.”

Chicago Sky player Angel Reese during the WNBA All Star Game at Footprint Center. (Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

Reese delivered a memorable rookie WNBA season, as she broke numerous league records. The former LSU standout finished 15 consecutive games with a double-double, marking the longest streak of games that a player accomplished the feat in league history.

Reese’s scoring efficiency in the paint did come under some scrutiny, with the Sky forward making 42.2% of her layup attempts last season.

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) looks to pass the ball against the Las Vegas Aces during the first half at Wintrust Arena. (Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports)

Reese averaged 13.6 points, 13.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in 2024. Her overall field goal percentage stood at 39.1% last season.

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The Sky finished the 2024 campaign with a 13-27 record and failed to qualify for the WNBA postseason. The franchise parted ways with Teresa Weatherspoon, and later named Tyler Marsh as the team’s next head coach.

In a clip posted to her podcast’s Instagram, Reese said Weatherspoon’s dismissal left her “heartbroken.”

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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

February 18, 2025
Nike unveils Caitlin Clark billboard in city where Angel Reese’s team is based, inciting mockery from fans

The Caitlin Clark marketing machine has expanded into enemy territory.

Nike unveiled its latest Clark billboard in Chicago this week at 157 W. Chicago Ave. The billboard is 3½ miles away from Wintrust Arena, home to the Chicago Sky and Clark’s rival, Angel Reese.

The placement of the billboard, taking up real estate in Reese’s city, sparked reaction from fans on social media due to the contentious history between the players.

Many of Clark’s fans have used the new billboard as an opportunity to mock Reese.

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Clark and Reese have been linked to one another since they first met in the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball championship. Reese mocked Clark at the end of that game when her LSU Tigers defeated Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes for the title, pointing to her finger in a taunting fashion to remind her who was getting a ring.

This sparked outrage from Clark’s fan base, including Bartstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who called Reese “a piece of s—” in a widely circulated X post after Reese’s gesture in the championship game.

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Caitlin Clark (22) of the Indiana Fever and Angel Reese (5) of the Chicago Sky during a game June 1, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)

They carried their rivalry into the pros this year. Their four matchups included a series of controversial flagrant fouls against Clark by Reese and other Sky players. Reese smacked Clark in the head with her arm while trying to block a shot in their first WNBA meeting June 1.

One of Reese’s teammates, Diamond DeShields, posted screenshots of hateful comments she got after knocking Clark to the floor in their last meeting of the season Aug. 30.

Clark and Reese have never acknowledged there is a feud between them. They’ve only made respectful comments about one another to the media. But the fans are a different story. The two groups have been notorious for attacking one another and the two players on social media since the 2023 NCAA championship game.

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Reese has said Clark’s fans have sent her death threats and made explicit AI images of her and sent them to her family.

“I think it’s really just the fans, her fans, the Iowa fans, now the Indiana fans, that are really just, they ride for her, and I respect that, respectfully. But sometimes it’s very disrespectful. I think there’s a lot of racism when it comes to it,” Reese said in the first episode of her podcast Sept. 5.

Now, Clark has notched an off-the-court win in the rivalry with her new billboard.

LSU’s Angel Reese reacts in front of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark during the second half of the NCAA national championship game April 2, 2023, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

In April 2024, Caitlin Clark signed an eight-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Nike. The deal includes a signature shoe and is the most lucrative shoe deal in women’s basketball history.

The new billboard is a continuation of Nike’s advertising campaign it launched with its first Super Bowl ad in 27 years Sunday.

The one-minute “So Win” spot is an all-female commercial that celebrates nine high-profile women athletes, including Clark, Jordan Chiles, Sha’Carri Richardson, JuJu Watkins and A’ja Wilson.

However, the campaign has also drawn criticism. Critics were quick to call out Nike for its company stance supporting transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.

February 14, 2025
Angel Reese becomes first player ejected from Unrivaled league and then calls coverage of it ‘clickbait’

Controversial women’s basketball superstar Angel Reese became the first player to be ejected from a game in the startup Unrivaled league on Saturday. She then called a Sports Illustrated article covering the incident “clickbait.”

Reese was ejected during the Rose Basketball Club’s matchup against Vinyl Basketball Club in the second quarter. She was called for a foul against Tiffany Hayes, then she earned a technical foul after making an offensive gesture toward a referee. When she started arguing that foul, she got a second technical, and refs tossed her from the game after that.

Reese wasted very little time after the historic ejection to vent her feelings on social media, firing off a series of posts on X. One was a re-sharing of the Sports Illustrated article covering the ejection, which she captioned with her criticism.

“Clickbait. Everything I do keep going viral,” Reese wrote over the article.

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Reese and Rose Basketball Club were already in last place with a 1-4 record going into Saturday’s game, but things got worse after the star’s ejection. Rose lost 79-73 as Vinyl’s Rhyne Howard dropped 33 points on Reese’s squad amid the ejection.

Reese has been one of the most controversial stars in women’s basketball ever since her infamous late-game showboating in the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball championship game. Reese led LSU to a 102-85 victory over Caitlin Clark and Iowa that March and bragged about it by pointing to her finger in front of Clark’s face to remind her rival who was getting the ring.

It was a moment that Reese says “changed my life forever,” in the first episode of her podcast.

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Angel Reese of the Rose takes a moment against the Vinyl during a timeout at Wayfair Arena. (Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)

“I think it’s really just the fans, her fans, the Iowa fans, now the Indiana fans, that are really just, they ride for her, and I respect that, respectfully. But sometimes it’s very disrespectful. I think there’s a lot of racism when it comes to it,” Reese said.

Reese even alleges that some fans have made AI-generated images of her, depicting her without clothes on, and sent them to her family members.

The two renewed their rivalry the following season in the 2024 Elite 8, as Clark got her revenge by defeating Reese and LSU 94-87. After the game, Reese cried at the post-game press conference as she recounted the harassment she received following the previous season’s controversy.

INSIDE CAITLIN CLARK AND ANGEL REESE’S IMPACT ON MEN’S BASKETBALL

Sky forward Angel Reese walks on the court at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Aug. 25, 2024. (Kamil Krzaczynski-USA Today Sports)

In four head-to-head WNBA matchups this past season, Clark’s Indiana Fever beat Reese’s Chicago Sky three times. In just two of those contests, Reese put up more points than Clark, while pulling down more rebounds than Clark in all four meetings. Clark registered more assists in all four meetings.

Reese’s Sky also committed several controversial fouls against Clark in those meetings, including one from Reese herself when she slammed her arm into Clark’s head in a game in June, resulting in a flagrant-1.

The two won’t be bringing their rivalry to Unrivaled, at least not this year. Clark declined to join the league despite an aggressive push from its ownership group.

But even with Clark not in that league, Reese is still finding ways to stir trouble.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.

February 2, 2025
Angel Reese set for LSU homecoming with WNBA preseason game

Angel Reese will be back on her old stomping grounds later this year.

As part of the WNBA preseason, Reese and her Chicago Sky will be headed to Baton Rogue to face the Brazilian National Team.

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The game will take place at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, where Reese spent two college seasons.

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LSU Lady Tigers forward Angel Reese celebrates after defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes during the final round of the Women’s Final Four NCAA tournament at the American Airlines Center. (Kevin Jairaj-USA Today Sports)

“It will be amazing to return to Baton Rouge, a community that means so much to me,” Reese said in a statement. “LSU was instrumental in preparing me for the WNBA, and I can’t wait to hit the court in front of both Tigers and Sky fans.”

Reese made her mark in LSU lore after carrying the Tigers to the 2023 national championship over Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

“We are excited to host a WNBA game in May featuring the Chicago Sky and Angel Reese,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said. “Angel played a major role in establishing our program at LSU, and I know our fans are going to be excited to have her back in the PMAC. She had such a great rookie season, and we can’t wait to continue to watch her thrive in the WNBA.”

That title game featured Reese’s now-infamous taunt of Clark, which drew much criticism and started an unofficial rivalry between the two.

LSU’s Angel Reese reacts in front of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark during the second half of the NCAA Women’s Final Four championship basketball game Sunday, April 2, 2023, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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Clark dismissed any notion that Reese “should be criticized at all” after the fact, but the two have gone hand-in-hand in conversations surrounding women’s basketball, both on and off the floor.

Reese’s teammate Kamilla Cardoso will go against her home national team. She was the third pick of the draft, behind Clark and Cameron Brink, after completing an undefeated season with South Carolina.

“I am so excited to play against my former Brazilian national team,” Cardoso said. “Brazil has played such an important role in my life and has shaped the person I am today. Playing for the Sky against my former team gives me a wonderful opportunity to connect with my roots and play in front of old friends and teammates back home.”

LSU’s Angel Reese celebrates after an NCAA Women’s Final Four semifinals basketball game against Virginia Tech on Friday, March 31, 2023, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

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In her two seasons at LSU, Reese averaged 20.9 points and 14.4 rebounds and was twice a First-Team All-American.

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January 31, 2025
Angel Reese pays off mother’s mortgage in surprise birthday gift

Angel Reese surprised her mom with a birthday gift that nearly brought her to tears.

Reese’s mother, Angel Webb Reese, was a guest on the WNBA star’s “Unapologetically Angel” podcast.

At the end of the episode, Reese let her mother know that she had paid off her mortgage as part of her gift.

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Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) looks on during the first half of a basketball game against the Las Vegas Aces at Wintrust Arena. (Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports)

“You said that if your mortgage was paid off that you would retire, or you won’t work, or you can pick if you want to work still, so your mortgage has been paid,” Reese said.

Webb Reese nearly dropped the cake she had been given, in disbelief.

“What?” Webb Reese said, flabbergasted.

“Today, your mortgage has been paid. You ain’t gotta worry about your mortgage no more. And if you want to still work and keep yourself busy, you can keep yourself busy,” Reese continued.

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LSU Lady Tigers forward Angel Reese takes a photo for senior night with former LSU player and NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal, LSU Lady Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey, and Reese’s mother Angel Webb against the Kentucky Wildcats at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. (Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports)

“Are you serious?” Webb Reese said, overwhelmed by Reese’s gift.

“And when I move to Chicago this year — actually I’m getting a house, y’all — you can come stay with me whenever you want to,” Reese added.

“That was my biggest goal in life, to retire you. To pay your mortgage or whatever you wanted for you not to work.”

Webb Reese started to tear up and then Reese came over to her and sang “Happy Birthday.”

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Angel Reese (5) of the Rose takes a moment against the Vinyl during a timeout in the first half of the Unrivaled women’s professional 3v3 basketball league at Wayfair Arena. (Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)

Webb Reese played for the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and was inducted into the UMBC Athletics Hall of Fame.

Reese wore #10 at LSU once it became available to honor her mother, as Webb Reese wore #10 in her playing days.

Now with the Chicago Sky, Reese dons #5.

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Ryan Canfield is a digital production assistant for Fox News Digital.

January 31, 2025