Angel Reese Journey from Baltimore to Basketball Stardom

She's one of the biggest and most marketable stars in women's basketball history. A tenacious rebounder and ferocious defender with a swagger that rubs critics the wrong way. From Baltimore to the Bayou to Atlanta. This is the story behind Angel Reese. This episode of The Story Behind is brought to you by Pays, checkout offered by banks and credit unions. When you're shopping online, Pays makes checking out easy. Your eligible debit and credit cards appear in one place, ready to use. And because Pays is offered by banks and credit unions, there's added security at checkout. Your actual card number isn't shared with merchants. You simply sign in, confirm, and you're ready to go.

Pays, it checks out. So, head to pays.com to learn more. Now, let's get back to today's story. Angel Reese was born May 6, 2002 to Angel and Michael Reese in Randallstown, Maryland. Angel senior was a collegiate basketball star, a UMBC Hall of Famer, and a pro baller in Luxembourg. While Michael also enjoyed a pro career overseas. Raised by her mother and grandparents in the Baltimore area, Reese proved a natural on the court. Whether it was in the same rec league her mom played or in driveway battles against brother and future NBAer Julian. Reese, who grew up a Washington Mystics fan, began her organized basketball journey as a skilled point guard and

playmaker before growth spurts turned her into a forward capable of playing virtually any position on the court. By the time she arrived at St. Frances Academy, the oldest running black Catholic high school in America, Reese was already becoming a local legend. She started on the St. Francis varsity team as a freshman, averaged a double-double, and helped lead her team all the way to the national semifinal, where she sent the game to overtime with a putback at the buzzer. As a sophomore, she led St. Frances in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks. During her junior year, she averaged roughly 23 points and 19 rebounds, and led her AAU team to a Nike EYBL championship. However, Reese's

junior year of high school began with controversy. While there was no doubt the youngster was an otherworldly talent, she was also an extremely competitive, physical, trash-talking star whose hard-nosed play pushed the boundaries. For example, she was suspended to start her junior season after punching an opponent in the face during a preseason scrimmage. When she was keeping her cool on the court though, no one could stop her, and that frustrated envious opponents. During Reese's senior year, an opposing coach was fired after DMs emerged in which the coach criticized Reese's lack of humility and impulse control while chalking her success up to nothing more than genetics. The notion that Reese's success boiled down to genetic

advantages was rife with racial overtones. But, the teenage phenom let the hate slow her down. Reese dominated again throughout her senior year, became the first female to have her jersey retired by St. Frances, and even helped the school's volleyball team to a conference championship. Reese was named Baltimore's female high school athlete of the year, then committed to nearby Maryland as a five-star recruit. Reese walked into Maryland as the nation's number two ranked recruit as part of a historic class that included Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Cameron Brink, Haley Van Lith, and Kamilla Cardoso, among others. Reese announced

her arrival on the college stage with a 20-point, 9-rebound, 2-block performance in a debut win at Davidson. While her freshman campaign was interrupted by a Jones fracture in her right foot, Reese hit the ground running upon her return, leading Maryland to the Sweet 16. The Terps couldn't build on that success in Reese's sophomore season, once again falling in the Sweet 16 despite the star's efforts. Reese became the first Maryland player to average double-double in 47 years, but she sought greener pastures on a team level. Reese entered the transfer portal midway through her college career and eventually decided on LSU. Led by flamboyant head coach Kim Mulkey, Reese was already a star among

observers of the women's game. But, with one of the sport's most controversial coaches behind her and a powerhouse team around her, Reese, or rather the Bayou Barbie, became a household name. A 31-point 13-rebound performance in her Tigers debut didn't hurt, but it wasn't even her best game of the season. Some of Reese's stat lines from her junior year read like video game numbers. 32 and 15 with five stocks. 34 and 15 with six stocks. 36 and 20. 26 and 28. 25 and 24. Reese wrecked just about every opponent in her path with LSU dropping just two games all season. However, she was being overshadowed by a rising star 900 miles away. While Reese was dominating in Baton Rouge, Caitlin Clark

was rewriting the record books at the University of Iowa. Clark emerged as the best of the bunch from that star-studded 2020 recruiting class with her limitless shooting range drawing comparisons to a young Steph Curry. As a junior in 2022-23, Clark looked destined to lead the Hawkeyes to glory scoring more points in a single NCAA tournament than any man or woman had before. The only thing standing in Clark's way by the time the 2023 NCAA championship game rolled around was Reese. The legacy of Clark's 2023 run was the unprecedented attention her performances commanded from a national audience. However, there were questions as to whether Clark's growing fame was a product of racial

bias. And that tension boiled over in the 2023 title game. Though the game had the makings of a tight back-and-forth affair early on, LSU eventually pulled away for a comfortable 17-point victory with Reese's impressive work on the defensive end and on the glass a big factor. Clark scored a game-high 30 points, but Reese and the Tigers secured the only thing that mattered, the win. The result was not what people remember about that 2023 title game though. With a Tigers victory all but sealed, Reese mocked Clark by imitating the same John Cena style you can't see me celebration that Clark herself had performed earlier

in the tournament. Reese also pointed to her ring finger to emphasize which young woman would soon be wearing a championship ring. The public backlash to that seemingly harmless competitive ribbing only reinforced the narrative that Clark's whiteness aided her reputation as a media darling. As Reese stated after the game, "I'm too hood. I'm too ghetto. Y'all told me that all year, but when other people do it, y'all don't say nothing. So, this was for the girls that look like me, that speak up on what they believe in. It's unapologetically you. It was bigger than me tonight." Clark herself came to Reese's defense, but in the court of public opinion, on social media, and the media at large, a line in the sand had

been drawn between hero and villain, unfair as that was. Reese, who had a national title and tournaments most outstanding player honor to her name, seemed unbothered. She was a rising superstar with the WNBA a year away, NIL money rolling in, and a burgeoning model career that already included Sports Illustrated's famous swimsuit issue. The budding rivalry between Clark and Reese proved marketing gold for women's basketball. Such fame made every headline and sound bite louder though. So, when Reese was benched for the second half of an early season game during her senior year and was then missing in action for the next

few contests, it became national news. During the absence, Reese's mother and teammate Flau'jae Johnson's mom appeared to trade barbs on social media. At one point, Johnson's mother referenced Reese's GPA, telling Reese senior to take responsibility for her daughter's actions. Mulkey never confirmed that she suspended Reese, citing only locker room issues for her star player's absence. But, reports swirled that the unofficial punishment had to do with poor grades, a poor attitude, or a combination of both. Years later, on her own podcast, Reese said her and Mulkey had agreed she would take some time off to focus on her mental health and to avoid becoming a locker room cancer.

Meanwhile, Johnson said in 2025 that her and Reese were no longer friends. In any event, following her early season absence, Reese returned to lead the Tigers through another successful season, averaging roughly 19 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks. Meanwhile, Clark broke the NCAA's single-season three-point record previously shared by Curry and left college with the highest scoring average of any woman in history. By the time the 2023 NCAA Tournament rolled around, fans were frothing at the mouth for another clash between LSU and Iowa, which they would get in the Elite Eight. That rematch broke the all-time women's viewership record that the

Iowa-LSU final had set just a year earlier. 12.3 million Americans watched as Clark poured in 41 points, 12 assists, and seven rebounds to vanquish Reese and the Tigers. With that, one of the most fascinating careers in women's college basketball came to an end. But, Reese was just getting started. The Chicago Sky made her the seventh overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, which was headlined by Indiana taking Clark first overall. Just a few weeks into their professional careers, the first Reese-Clark matchup in the W saw Reese's teammate, Chennedy Carter, hit Clark with a flagrant foul that Reese appeared to be applauding and celebrating on Chicago's bench.

Afterwards, Reese was fined for ducking her postgame media responsibilities. The rookie let her game do the talking on the court. While Reese's inefficiency was a story, her overall production was undeniable. Reese averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds before a fractured wrist cut her debut season short. Still, the youngster finished second to Clark in Rookie of the Year voting, made the All-Star team, set a new mark for the longest double-double streak in WNBA history, and broke the W's single-season rebounding record. Not bad for a rookie. After taking part in three-on-three league on rival's inaugural 2025 campaign, Reese returned to the W for what proved to be a turbulent sophomore season. She was still a walking

double-double and defensive terror, but her shooting woes and trouble finishing around the basket became the stuff of social media and meme lore. Critics dubbed her a rebound merchant, more Dennis Rodman than traditional lead star. Those Rodman comparisons proved fitting when Reese openly criticized the Sky during her sophomore campaign, which led to a half-game suspension for statements deemed detrimental to the team. That came just days after Reese was forced to sit due to a league-mandated one-game suspension for accumulating too many technical fouls. A back injury later cut her season short, with the Sky missing the playoffs for a second consecutive year. A month before Reese's third season was set to tip off,

Chicago traded her to the Atlanta Dream for a pair of draft picks. The Dream were coming off a 30-win season and three straight playoff appearances, giving Reese the opportunity to play meaningful basketball again. Reese's first season in Atlanta has been an up-and-down one. She's averaging roughly 15 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks on a winning team, and earned a third straight All-Star selection. However, she's also shooting worse than 43% from the field and found herself at the center of another controversy, though through no fault of her own.

During a game against the expansion Toronto Tempo, the broadcast picked up Toronto coach Sandy referring to Reese as a quote-unquote protected species while addressing the refs. In Brondello's native Australia, the term is used to describe a player or team who receives preferential treatment from officials. But Reese and others around the W, a predominantly black league, weren't having it. Brondello, who was suspended one game by the league, apologized and acknowledged that her words carried an impact beyond what was intended, particularly for black women. Reese responded by stating she appreciated the coach's apology, with many praising the way the three-time All-Star carried herself throughout the ordeal.

Reese's on-court impact continues to be a source of debate. Her dominance on the glass and her defensive versatility bring obvious value, but her offensive limitations are impossible to ignore. Among 246 players who have attempted at least 1,000 shots in the WNBA, Reese's effective field goal percentage ranks 234th. Her off-court impact remains undeniable. Reese has countless endorsement deals with major brands and her own signature shoe with Reebok. She's the most followed WNBA star on social media, was an NBA 2K26 cover star, and she's a

fashion icon who's already graced the cover of Vogue. Whether you love her or hate her, whether you see her as a hero or a villain, and whether you view her as a basketball superstar or a rebound merchant, you can't deny Reese's relevance and her impact on growing the women's game. If there's one thing Angel Reese has made sure of, it's that we're going to continue talking about her for years to come.