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Los Angeles Lakers Legend, 69, Makes Opinion of Angel Reese Extremely Clear

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated Jun 18, 2025 7:18 PM ET

The Chicago Sky selected Angel Reese with the seventh overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft out of LSU.

Since then, Reese has established herself as one of the top players in the WNBA.

Through 45 career games, Reese is averaging 13.0 points and 12.8 rebounds. She has 32 double-doubles and one triple-double and made the All-Star team as a rookie.

Reese is averaging 11.0 points and 11.7 rebounds for the Sky this season. She's shooting only 37.8% from the field, 22.2% from beyond the arc and 71.4% from the free-throw line, so the 23-year-old needs to improve on her shooting skills.

Even though Reese is struggling to shoot the ball this season, Los Angeles Lakers legend and former Los Angeles Sparks coach Michael Cooper likes what he sees from the Sky forward.

"She can get to the basket," Cooper told Brandon 'Scoop B' Robinson. "She can get flamboyant about it — look at A’ja Wilson. She’s another one that’s just like a very dominant back-to-the-basket center with a face-up game.

"She gets out on that wing and runs the floor hard. She plays hard and she plays with an heir of determination that you don’t see or haven’t seen in a while."

The Sky are only 3-8 on the season, but Reese leads the WNBA in total rebounds, rebounds per game, offensive rebounds and offensive rebound percentage.

Reese will likely make the All-Star team again this year.

“(I’m) trying to get back to being super versatile,” Reese said after the Sky beat the Connecticut Sun on Sunday. "And (coach Tyler Marsh) made that emphasis early on in the season. And I didn’t understand it, and I really was kinda confused and trying to figure it out. I’m still figuring it out. But I have patience."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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