Angel Reese shares ‘welcome to the WNBA’ moment

For the most part, Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese has made her transition to the pros look smooth, but as all rookies do, she had a few bumps as the season got started. Joining CBS Sports this week, Reese revealed her top “Welcome to the WNBA” moment, which came in her first game against Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx.

“I feel like I’ve had a lot of moments, Welcome to the WNBA moments,” Reese said. “… So I think my first game was against Minnesota, and I played Napheesa (Collier), and, of course, she’s a great player. And I was getting cooked the first game, I’m not gonna lie.”

The Chicago Sky opened the preseason against the Minnesota Lynx, and lost 92-81. Collier, a veteran and Olympic team member, dropped 17 points in 19 minutes. She also had three rebounds, two steals, a block and an assist.

Meanwhile, Reese had 13 points in 24 minutes. She did pull down a team-high nine rebounds with two steals and a block, but she had two turnovers and five fouls.

Reese: ‘My transition has been great’

Overall, the former LSU national champion is adjusting to the big leagues well. She credited her coaching with the Tigers for preparing her for what she’s now experiencing with the Sky.

“I think my transition has been great,” Reese said. “It hasn’t been a super big, huge surprise because Kim Mulkey kind of prepared me for this moment. At LSU, our practice was, like, 4 hours. We were ready. We were working. I thought training camp was going to be harder, so I think I was really prepared.”

Through 11 games, Reese is averaging 12.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals while shooting 38.5% from the field. The Chicago Sky are currently 4-7 and fourth in the Eastern Conference Division’s standings.

On Wednesday, Reese had another memorable game. The 6-foot-3 forward exploded for a career-high 20 points and 10 rebounds on 8-10 shooting. Despite Reese’s excellent performance, the Sky fell 83-75 to Connecticut Sun.

Despite putting up double-double performances, Reese’s first few months in the pros haven’t been without its headaches. The rookie opened up about the negativity she endures, and has endured, since winning the title with the Tigers in 2023.

“It all started from the national championship game and I’ve been dealing with this for two years now,” Reese continued. “Understanding that, yeah, negative things have probably been said about me. But honestly, I’ll take that because look where women’s basketball is. People are talking about women’s basketball that you never would think would be talking about women’s basketball.”

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