Source: Scott Taetsch / Getty
Women basketball players aren’t given much time to figure out their future.
Those participating in Women’s March Madness end their season in early April; the draft is on April 15, and the season begins on May 17.
Still, Angel Reese, one of the biggest and most popular personalities in the NCAAW, made sure to make her announcement memorable by doing an entire interview and shooting with Vogue to alert the world that she’s declaring for the WNBA draft.
Her reason for going to Vogue with the announcement rather than a SportsCenter interview or Woj tweet was apparent: She wanted to go all out. Oh, and she got the idea from Serena Williams, who announced her retirement from tennis similarly.
“Of course, I like to do everything big,” Reese told the magazine. “I didn’t want anything to be basic.”
Reese had an impressive college career, averaging 18.6 points, 13.4 rebounds and two assists this season alone. She also helped LSU win a championship in 2023, and now she’s ready to take her game to the next level.
“I’ve done everything I wanted to in college. I’ve won a national championship, I’ve gotten (Southeastern Conference) Player of the Year, I’ve been an All-American,” she added. “My ultimate goal is to be a pro — and to be one of the greatest basketball players to play, ever. I feel like I’m ready.”
Like any player making that jump, pundits are excited (but worried) to see how she’ll perform with people who are bigger, stronger and more experienced than her. But Reese knows there’s some work ahead of her, and she’s ready to commit to spending those hours in the gym.
“I’ll be working with women that have kids, women that have a family to feed,” Reese said of the WNBA. “I’m going to have to work my butt off every single day and grind. And who wouldn’t want that? I don’t want anything in my life to be easy.
She’s projected to go between the seventh and eighth picks in the draft, the former being the Minnesota Lynx and the latter being the Chicago Sky, which might be more plausible.
See how social media’s reacting to Reese’s Vogue shoot and WNBA draft announcement below.
