Angel Reese announces new nickname before joining Chicago Sky: ‘I’m the Chi Barbie’

Reese’s popularity soared after leading LSU to a national championship in her first year with the Tigers after transferring from Maryland. She then took on the nickname “Bayou Barbie” and later filed a trademark for it. However, that request was declined.

Still, Reese put together an impressive NIL portfolio during her time at LSU. She inked NIL deals with Topps, Reebok, Beats by Dre and SI Swimsuit over the last two seasons, and left college with an On3 NIL Valuation of $1.8 million. That put her No. 8 in her final appearance in the On3 NIL 100 – the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation – before her college career ended.

But heading to Chicago as the No. 7 pick and joining forces with No. 3 overall selection Kamilla Cardoso as a dynamic duo, Reese thought it was time to move on from the “Bayou Barbie” moniker, in a way. She’s not getting rid of it entirely, though.

“I want y’all to know I’m still gonna be the Bayou Barbie, but like, I’m going to Chicago now,” Reese said. “They’ve basically already been inheriting me into Chicago. So many people done reached out to me, the love from Chicago is running deep and going crazy.

“So I’m the ‘Chi Barbie,’ I’m the ‘Baltimore Barbie’ and I am always gonna be the ‘Bayou Barbie.’ See y’all when I get to Chicago soon.”

Angel Reese’s ability to crash the boards made her an instrumental part of the LSU attack over the last two seasons. Her 13.4 boards per game ranked second in the nation as she brought home the SEC’s Player of the Year award in 2023-24.

In Chicago, Reese will form quite the duo with the 6-foot-7 Cardoso as the Sky rebuild their frontcourt. They will make their respective WNBA debuts next month when Chicago heads to Dallas to take on the Wings May 15.