WNBA rookie sensation Angel Reese has a history of gruesome injuries that once made her question whether basketball was worth it.
“Freshman year [at the University of Maryland], I broke my foot,” Reese said on a 2023 episode of the “I Am Athlete” podcast, hosted by former New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall and Ashley Nicole Moss.
This broken foot required surgery to insert a screw into Reese’s foot, which took 12 weeks of recovery.
“Eight months from my first foot surgery, I had to get another surgery. So I had to get a rod put into my leg,” Reese recalled. “I had a rod going through my leg because I had a shin splint. My confidence completely dropped. I was like, do I wanna play basketball anymore?”
Reese also revealed during the podcast that she always wears a leg sleeve on her left leg to hide the scars stemming from this tibia surgery.
“Like, I had high expectations,” Reese continued. “Everybody thinks I’m gonna do this. But I didn’t even believe I could do it anymore. Because I thought I gained my love for the game back and then I lose it again.”
Reese went on to note how she made a USA women’s amateur basketball team the summer before her sophomore season at Maryland. But because she was dealing with the shin issue, she had to choose between surgery and fulfilling her dream of playing for Team USA.
She chose surgery. After recovering, Reese a successful sophomore season at Maryland, averaging 17.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.
After that season, she felt, “This was my time to go. I think I’ve done everything I could do at Maryland, and I’ve grown mentally as a woman. Now where can I go?”
She then made the, “scariest decision of her life,” and transferred to LSU. The rest is history.
Angel Reese’s Recent Interview Suggested Mental Health Struggles
Angel Reese, who now plays for the Chicago Sky, was interviewed by Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times for an article released on June 18.
“A few questions in, it was clear that one- or two-word answers were the order of the day,” Greenberg wrote. “And that something was wrong, even though Reese had essentially ignored a couple of questions by saying, dismissively, “I’m good.””
“I know how y’all like to twist my words, so I’m just keeping it short and sweet,” Reese said.
“I can’t trust any of y’all,” she added to Greenberg, speaking about WNBA media members. “So I’m just letting you know — short and sweet.”
Greenberg also spoke with Chicago Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon about the “Chi Barbie”.
“I think sometimes we fail to realize what the athlete might think,” Weatherspoon said about her rookie. “What is she thinking? How does she feel?”
“She’s fine,” Weatherspoon said when asked about Reese’s current mental state. “She’s going to be fine. I mean, she’s fine.”
Angel Reese’s Rookie Season With the Chicago Sky
Angel Reese is excelling in her rookie season with the Sky. Through 14 games, the “Chi Barbie” is averaging 12.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Her 10.8 rebounds per game is second best in the entire WNBA, and her 4.9 offensive rebounds per game leads the league.
The player with the second most offensive rebounds after Reese averages 3.2 per game.