Aug 28, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) reacts against the Phoenix Mercury at Phx Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Lakers Legend Gets Real About Angel Reese Comparison

Originally posted on Women's Fastbreak on SI
By Grant Young | Last updated Nov 21, 2025 11:27 AM ET

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese has impressed a lot of people with her performance to this point in her WNBA career.

While Reese was an elite college player with the LSU Tigers, some had questions about how her skill set would translate to the professional game, given that she isn't a shooter. However, Reese has already proven any doubters wrong, as evidenced by her averaging 14.1 points and 12.9 rebounds per game across her first two WNBA seasons, along with notable improvements in her ball handling, playmaking, and field goal percentage from her rookie 2024 season to her 2025 campaign.

Reese's success reminds at least one person of what Lakers legend, three-time NBA champion, and NBA Hall of Fame inductee James Worthy could do on the court. This person is reporter Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson, who asked Reese's head coach, Tyler Marsh, about similarities between these two in an interview earlier this year.

“That’s a little before my time. But yeah, I’m familiar with James [Worthy], but I’m more familiar with Angel," Marsh said, per an article from Robinson. "I think that there’s a lot of players that possess that type of versatility, and I think that’s that word that it always comes back to [with] Angel. Because there’s so much more room for growth and there’s so much progression that she’s shown from year one to Year two.

"I think that what she’s able to do now, and what she’s continuing to be able to do in this league, she’s going to be one of the top players in this league for years to come. I think she’s realizing all the other aspects of her game in real time to be effective, and she’s showing it night in and night out," Marsh added.

James Worthy Addresses Angel Reese Comparison

Robinson interviewed James Worthy on November 20 and asked him about whether he sees the comparison to Reese.

“She has tremendous footwork. Her ability to bypass players, I do see a little bit of familiarity in that [to my game]," Worthy said of Reese, per a video from Robinson's YouTube channel. "I haven’t seen enough to say she’s exactly like [me]. But she does have tendencies of evading, and making her game stretch out a little bit to avoid defenses. So, I do like that about her game.”

It doesn't sound like Worthy was completely on board with his game getting compared to that of Reese, but perhaps the Sky standout can continue to prove that Robinson's belief is accurate as her career progresses.

This article first appeared on Women's Fastbreak on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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