WNBA DRAFT

April 15, 2024

Angel Reese

Chicago Sky

Q. What have your conversations been like leading up to this moment with the Sky, with Teresa if at all? And I'm curious if you were paying attention to some of these mock drafts that had you going to the Sky.

ANGEL REESE: My conversations were great with T Spoon. As you know, she was coached by Coach Mulkey, so I kind of thought maybe I'll go there. Knowing like the conversations were so good and she felt like a mother to me. Being able to be a Black woman and as a head coach, and everything she's done at the NBA level, I just knew everything they were bringing to the table.

Jeff [Pagliocca], the GM, was amazing, too, and player development is something that I was looking for and they looked for in me. I'm super excited for this move, and I'm just looking forward to getting to Chicago.

Q. You've talked in detail about how much intensity, effort, competitiveness you bring to the floor. Specifically, we got to see you and Kamilla battle for years against each other, now you're going to be on the same team. What are you looking forward to about combining both of your talents and playing together instead of against?

ANGEL REESE: My first time playing Kamilla was on one of the biggest stages in my life, when she played for Hamilton Heights and I played for St. Frances in high school and we battled. Now being able to be teammates is going to be amazing.

I actually talked to her earlier, was congratulating her. I know she came off an amazing run, an amazing college career. I'm looking forward to playing with her in practice and in games, just bouncing off of each other. So I'm excited for this.

Q. What motivational quote do you live by, and also, if you could pick a movie that describes how you're emotionally feeling right now, what movie would it be and why?

ANGEL REESE: Okay, so the quote I live by is "Every day the sun don't shine but that's why I love tomorrows." Every day the sun don't shine but I love tomorrow. Every day is not going to be a great day and a lot of times in my life I felt like I was down, but I always looked to the next day because I knew something else was great or something greater was going to happen. That's the quote I live by.

I don't know. I don't know what movie right now. I don't know what movie right now.

Q. What are you looking forward to most in Chicago?

ANGEL REESE: Ooh, summertime Chi-town. To be cute on and off the court. I've always been to Chicago. The shopping is great. Just the lifestyle. I'm excited. I feel like I'm a Chi-town girl.

Q. Wanted to ask you when you're introduced on game day, what song will be playing for you if you could pick it?

ANGEL REESE: Something Megan Thee Stallion. I love Megan Thee Stallion. Megan Thee Stallion or Beyoncé.

Q. You've obviously seen the impact here in America that this Draft class has had on everybody over the last four years. I'm wondering if you've had a chance to reflect on the global impact, particularly in places like Asia and Australia.

ANGEL REESE: I have had so many people reach out to me from so many different places. Understanding our impact isn't just within our school, within just the U.S., but it's worldwide. It's amazing to see.

Going out of the country when we go out of the country with my team, with LSU, it was like so much fun because they all recognized us and they knew us and it felt like home. I feel like anywhere we all go, and this draft class is amazing, anywhere we go, we're known. This is super cool because women aren't usually recognized around the world like how we are, and it's not even just basketball. It's the impact we've left on people's lives outside of there. It's super cool to see.

Q. You are very talented and you're also part of a really talented Draft class. Who are you most excited to play off against?

ANGEL REESE: I think our duo, me and Kamilla versus Cam and Rickea is going to be cool to see. That's going to be fun.

Q. What message do you have for those high school girls in Baltimore who are looking up to you?

ANGEL REESE: Just be you. A lot of people may just tell you that you can't do certain things, and you're going to get more yeses and nos, and I had to realize that. Just being able to be authentic, and people love me because of who I am. I had those tough conversations. I say things that a lot of people are scared to say, and take that scary step. I took a scary step of faith going to LSU, not knowing what could happen, and look how my life has completely changed.

Being able to just believe in yourself, trust in yourself and have an amazing team behind me is great.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about that emotion going from the last few months to having your name called a few moments ago?

ANGEL REESE: I mean, I didn't know what I was going to do. Obviously coming back would have been amazing for me, but I wanted more for myself. I wanted to start over. I feel like I had been at a high since the National Championship, and I want to hit rock bottom. I want to be a rookie again. I want to be knocked down by vets, and I want to be able to get up and grow and be a sponge.

I'm just super excited to play with the amazing players and against amazing players. This league is really competitive and I'm a competitive player, so I want to play against a lot of great players.

Q. Can you talk me through all the emotions you were feeling when you heard your name called?

ANGEL REESE: Well, my mom was crying before the show even started, so it started there. Then my brother was like agitating me, I bet you $100 that you cry, I bet you $100 that you cry. He kind of got me, too. And I had a great conversation, like she was saying, with Chicago, so I kind of knew -- if it wasn't the Mystics, I knew it was going to be Chicago that was going to be calling me home.

Q. First and foremost, to be in this class, one of the most highly anticipated classes, considered to be the game changers, what does that mean to you?

ANGEL REESE: It means everything. I mean, like I said, on and off the court, we're amazing. We're not just basketball players, we're super impactful to the community, the people around us, the little kids that look up to us, and being able to also be nationwide, everybody knows us everywhere we go. Our lives aren't normal. We might get a little bit of normalcy going into the league now, but I'm just excited to be a trailblazer. I'm excited to be a part of history, and just continue to see the future, and I know it's bright.