Chicago Sky Star Angel Reese Opens Up About Being Role Model for Young Black Girls

During an interview with Kayla Webley Adler of Elle, WNBA star Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky opened up about being a role model for young Black girls.

Reese is one of the best players in the WNBA. She has a signature shoe with Reebok, is the WNBA cover athlete for NBA 2K26 and is a published model.

“It means everything,” Reese said. “If you can see it, you can be it. And being able to be that for the younger generation coming up means everything. I didn’t have a lot of that when I was growing up, so now to be one of the people that they can look to and know that they could do great things, is incredible. Being an inspiration is really important—when you see somebody that looks like you, you believe that you can do the same thing.”

Reese hasn’t played for the Sky since July 29 because of a back injury, but she still leads the WNBA in rebounds per game and total rebounds. The two-time All-Star is averaging 14.2 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks this season while shooting 44.4% from the floor, 20.0% from beyond the arc and 79.0% from the free-throw line.

A LSU product, Reese told Adler that she wants to win a WNBA championship and a gold medal with Team USA soon.

“I don’t really care about records—I just want to win a championship,” Reese said. “The two most important goals for me before the end of my career are winning a championship and playing on the Olympic team and winning a gold medal.”

In 57 career games with the Sky, Reese is averaging 13.8 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.5 blocks. Chicago, though, is only 19-38 when Reese plays.

Reese signed a four-year, $324,383 contract with the Sky last year after getting drafted in April. She also agreed to a multi-year endorsement contract extension with Reebok in October 2024.