Angel Reese Won’t Apologize for Wanting to Become an Icon On and Off the Court

Basketball player. Model. Influencer. Businesswoman. Fashion girlie. Podcaster. Billionaire.

In February, Angel Reese shared those personal goals on an Instagram Stories post that would have slipped into the doomscroll abyss if Kevin Love of the NBA’s Miami Heat hadn’t commented that he’d “take the under” on how many Reese would achieve.

The post quickly went viral as Reese’s supporters condemned Love for his dismissiveness while others piled onto the narrative that Reese cares more about her brand than her game.

Being one of the most recognizable names in sports comes with a price—scrutiny, negativity, criticism—but Reese has the mental toughness to tune out the noise. Why shouldn’t she strive to dominate on the court and become an icon off it? The naysayers don’t know who Reese is or understand what drives her relentless pursuit of greatness.

Besides, Reese, a Baltimore-area native, has already achieved most of her aspirations. During the 2024 WNBA season, she averaged 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Chicago Sky and was named to the All-Rookie Team. She has endorsement deals with Reebok and Reese’s Pieces and a signature meal at McDonald’s (BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with cheese, medium fries, and a drink that Mickey D’s says is inspired by Reese’s boldly original style and swag).

She graced the cover of Vogue and celebrated her 22nd birthday at last year’s Met Gala. She isn’t a billionaire, but don’t bet against her reaching that exclusive club now that she’s been publicly called out.

“The more people talk about her, the more she wants to prove them wrong,” says Jimmy Price, CEO of Baltimore-based Shot Ready Elite Basketball Player Skill Development Program and Reese’s longtime trainer. “If you talk trash, you’re giving her exactly what she wants. It wakes up the beast in her.”

Reese has always been interested in improving both her Q Score and stat line, even as doubters believe she should focus more on basketball. Ron James, Reese’s coach when she played for the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League’s Team Takeover program, was one of them.

He remembers pulling a near all-nighter while obsessively preparing for an important playoff matchup when he noticed Reese start an Instagram Live broadcast at 3 a.m. He immediately texted her a not-so-subtle reminder that she’d be going up against an All-American in a matter of hours.

The next morning before the game, Reese approached her coach with a reminder of her own. “She said, ‘Don’t mess with my vibe. I’m global and trying to get to 10,000 followers,’” says James. “She told me to relax—that she was going to get 25 points and 20 rebounds. And that’s exactly what she did. After that, I left her alone.”

Today, Reese has 4.7 million Instagram followers. “When you look at what Angel has done with her own marketing, it’s incredible,” says James. “She understood the power of her brand from the beginning. She’s always going to keep her name coming out of people’s mouths, whether that’s good or bad. It’s genius.”

“SHE’S ALWAYS GOING TO KEEP HER NAME COMING OUT OF PEOPLE’S MOUTHS.”

But Reese’s brand-building persona is not the full picture of who she is and what shaped her personality and game. She grew up in Randallstown and comes by her hoops skills naturally. Her father, Michael Reese, played for Boston College and Loyola University Maryland before playing professionally overseas.

After her parents divorced, her mother, Angel Webb Reese, raised Reese as a single parent and influenced her game the most. Angel Webb Reese was a standout player at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She’s in the school’s hall of fame and finished her career in the program’s top five in scoring and rebounds. Reese has worn jersey no. 10 throughout her career, the same number as her mom, to honor the woman who continues to inspire her on and off the court—and who first introduced her to the game they both love.

When Webb Reese coached a youth basketball team, a young Reese would tag along to practices, dribbling along the sidelines and watching her mom in action. Reese joined the league and, at five years old, showed a hint of the skills and competitiveness that would eventually define her game.

“Even at a young age, she had the skill to handle the ball well for her size,” says James. “You knew she was going to grow and develop even more. Above all, she was a competitor. She wanted to win. She was willing to battle, to fight, to do whatever it  took to succeed. That drive, that determination—it was clear every time she stepped on the court.”

Price used to run in the same Baltimore hoops circles as Webb Reese and remains a close family friend. He says Webb Reese was known for her aggressive play in the post and fighting through double-teaming defenders. It’s clear to him that Reese’s fire and win-at-all-cost attitude comes from her mom.

When Webb Reese was looking for someone to mold her daughter’s natural talent, she turned to Price. “I could tell right away there was something special about Angel,” he says. “She was raw but had so much potential. She also had that aggression and competitiveness from the start. Angel hated to lose.”

Reese began working with Price in the eighth grade, running through countless drills to refine every aspect of her game. Face-up moves. Dribble pull-ups. Fadeaways. The work continued when she starred at Baltimore’s St. Frances Academy, where she led the team to three-straight IAAM championships while averaging 18 points, 20 rebounds, and five assists. Reese was named to the McDonalds All-American Team in 2020 and was USA Today Maryland Player of the Year in her junior and senior years.

Price used to meet Reese in the St. Frances gym at 5:30 each morning for “Breakfast Club” practices and resumed the workouts after school. She knew from an early age that reputation and past success weren’t enough to excel at the next level. If she wanted to dominate at college and in the pros, she had to put in the work.

Reese practiced against boys to hone her skills and competitiveness, and battled her younger brother, Julian, who just finished his career on the University of Maryland men’s basketball team. The two would go at it hard, refusing to give an inch in the sibling rivalry.

During the workouts, Price tried to fix the mechanics of Reese’s awkward shooting motion. She’s double-jointed in her right elbow, which prevents her from extending the arm fully as she shoots. Price decided to rebuild her shot as a lefty, a monumental task that required countless hours of drills and thousands of jumpers.

It was done with an eye toward the future. Reese’s lefty shot was more effective, and the mechanics looked smoother, something college coaches would study during the recruiting process. The willingness to strip down her game and build it back up after enjoying success shows Reese’s unwavering dedication to excellence.

“THAT DRIVE, THAT DETERMINATION—IT WAS CLEAR EVERY TIME SHE STEPPED ON THE COURT.”

Over the next couple of years, Reese kept growing, adding size and strength. She stands 6’3” today with the ballhandling skills of a guard, allowing her to play all five positions on the court. James believes Reese’s extraordinary physical abilities overshadow her best trait.

“Angel’s greatest strength is her basketball IQ,” he says. “She’s a strategist, always thinking one step ahead of who she’s playing against. She has an instinct for making winning plays, often without needing direction. It’s just how she sees the game.”

When her career at St. Frances ended, Reese was recruited to play at the University of Maryland and excelled, helping the Terrapins to the Sweet 16 her freshman and sophomore seasons while leading the team in scoring and rebounding. She often played with her back to the basket, but also wanted to become a versatile forward, believing that role would prepare her game for the WNBA.

After her sophomore season, she transferred to LSU for a chance to develop those skills under head coach Kim Mulkey. It was in Baton Rouge where she skyrocketed to fame after leading the Tigers to a win in the 2023 national championship over Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes.

In the final minutes of the game, Reese stood near Clark and flashed the “you can’t see me” hand gesture inspired by pro wrestler John Cena, who used it to let his opponents know that they weren’t on his level. She then pointed to her finger, where she’d soon slide on her championship ring.

The taunts went viral and shined the national spotlight bright on Bayou Barbie, Reese’s nickname that celebrates her model looks. (She more recently has gone by Baltimore Barbie.) Her put-together appearance began at an early age, when she played with her mother’s make-up and her grandmother applied mascara before youth league games.

It was Price who convinced Reese to lean into her femininity. “Most girls who play basketball go for the athletic look, and that’s fine,” he says. “But I told her to add a little flair, something unique. She gets her lashes and nails done before every game and always makes sure her hair looks good. It was never about changing who she was. It was about standing out from  the crowd.”

Reese has turned herself into a fashion icon, but hasn’t lost sight of the hard work that serves as the foundation for her growing fame. Anyone who believes Reese’s off-the-court pursuits diminish her passion for basketball should look at the rebound column in her stat line. Points are indicative of skill. Rebounds reflect effort.

With the Chicago Sky, who drafted Reese with the 7th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, Reese set the all-time single-season records for rebounds per game and total offensive rebounds. She also became the fastest player to snag 400 rebounds in league history.

“Angel never has fewer than 10 rebounds in a game,” says Price. “Do you know how difficult that is to do? But rebounding is just one of her strengths. She hasn’t begun to scratch her full potential. She’s making big strides and on her way to greatness.”

Shimmy Miller, Chicago Sky television analyst, has been pleasantly surprised by how well Reese’s game has translated to the WNBA.

“She remains a dominant rebounder, but beyond that, it’s the intangibles she brings each day,” says Miller, who coached women’s collegiate basketball for 24 years. “Angel is a winner, fiercely competitive, and works incredibly hard. She’s a relentless player.”

Reese’s competitive fire is contagious and was on full display during her first practice as a member of the Sky.

“Angel was the loudest one in the gym—she didn’t care that she was a rookie,” says Miller. “She was calling out defensive schemes, talking, encouraging teammates. Rookies are typically quiet, observing and taking it all in. Not Angel. She was leading from day one.”

Miller is most impressed by Reese’s ability to quickly move past mistakes. “Some players get their shot blocked and hang their heads,” she says. “If Angel gets her shot blocked, her immediate reaction is to get the ball back. That response is as elite as I’ve seen, and I know how hard that is to teach.”

There’s room for improvement in Reese’s game, and that’s to be expected. Miller says she’s strong at taking opponents off the dribble, but needs to develop her face-up game, release the ball higher on jumpers, and become a better finisher at the rim by pushing off with her legs instead of relying on her upper body strength to power the ball toward the hoop.

“There are mechanical flaws in Angel’s offensive game that can be fixed,” says Miller. “But you cannot teach motor. You cannot teach heart. You cannot teach the innate qualities and instincts she brings to the game. And you can’t judge a player by what they did during their rookie season in the WNBA. Angel’s true measure as a player will be known after her third year in the league.”

Early this year, Webb Reese joined her daughter on her “Unapologetically Angel” podcast. They discussed her upbringing and fame’s double-edged sword. Reese talked about having the means to buy her mom Chanel bags and stays at the Four Seasons, but said she misses going unrecognized during mother-daughter trips to the mall when she comes home to Baltimore.

She’s not complaining, just wistful about how things used to be before the fame and money. Reese and her mom reminisced about “tagging”—standing with buckets alongside Randallstown’s intersections, hoping to collect enough money from passing motorists to cover Maryland Shooting Stars’ travel expenses. They were long, hot days that embarrassed Reese. But they also taught her to appreciate her humble beginnings, the beauty of a community’s support, and what it takes to accomplish your goals.

On the podcast, Webb Reese said her daughter has always been headstrong, but also someone who could be counted on to meet her responsibilities. When Team Takeover hit the road, most of the girls acted like typical teenagers, sleeping in until the last possible moment. Not Reese. She was up early, collecting breakfast orders and debit cards and heading out with James to bring back the food.

“She’d make sure everyone paid the right amount and grabbed the condiments they requested,” says James. “She took care of the little details for her teammates.”

In 2019, Reese was asked to join the Women’s U19 National Team but declined the invitation. It was her final season with the girls of Team Takeover, and she stuck around to help lead them to the Nike EYBL championship.

“She told me, ‘You’re always talking about commitment and sacrifice for the team, so that’s what I’m going to do,’” says James. “Her dedication to the program and her teammates shows you the kind of person she is. I don’t think people hear enough about that.”

“BALTIMORE BALLERS HAVE A COMPETITIVE EDGE. IT’S ABOUT TOUGHNESS. IF SOMEONE SCORES ON YOU, YOU GOTTA GET THEM BACK.”

Jacara Spencer hears plenty about Reese’s team-first mentality. In February, the wing forward completed her sophomore season at St. Frances by capturing the school’s 14th IAAM A Conference title in girls basketball. Spencer is coming up through the same programs that Reese played for and is part of the next generation of Baltimore ballers she continues to inspire.

“The main thing I admire about Angel is how aggressively she wants to get rebounds,” says Spencer. “I love how she never backs down from anybody. That’s something I model my game after.”

At St. Frances, Spencer plays under Reese’s retired jersey banner, a literal and figurative reminder to look up at her accomplishments.

“She’s definitely a role model for our team,” says Spencer. “The coaches constantly remind us of the way Angel practiced, how she always pushed her teammates to be better. They want us to have the same mindset.”

Reese once surprised Team Takeover during a practice, visiting her former squad to offer words of encouragement—and a glimpse into her off-the-court persona as she led the girls in a dance routine that was posted on her TikTok. Spencer took center stage at the end of the video, dancing with another teammate in front of Reese. Although Spencer tends to shy away from the spotlight—her impromptu TikTok performance notwithstanding—the Baltimore Barbie has shown her the importance of thinking about life beyond the court.

Spencer was recently named to the National Honors Society and wants to maintain her high GPA while achieving enough personal and team success to play hoops at a D1 school.

“I don’t have the same personality as Angel,” says Spencer, “but I admire how she’s given herself a platform and made a brand for herself outside of basketball. She’s been able to get herself multiple connections that set her up for when basketball is over.”

As Spencer saw, Reese is welcoming off the court, especially when it comes to giving back to the local community that helped form who she has become as a player and person.

“Baltimore ballers have a competitive edge that you don’t see everywhere,” says Price. “It’s about toughness, the mentality that if someone scores on you, you gotta get them back. It’s personal—every matchup, every game.”

That toughness is what makes Baltimore players stand out. They don’t just play to win. They play to dominate at all costs. It’s what fuels Reese. Get onboard with what she wants to accomplish or get out of the way.

“Angel ain’t for everybody, and everybody ain’t for Angel,” says James.

She’s unapologetic. Bring it on and watch what she becomes.