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Angel Reese: A Basketball & Cultural Supernova
The Chicago Sky star is getting better and in the process is proving to be a cultural powerhouse for women’s basketball
In the last five years the interest and popularity of women’s basketball has exploded. A supernova of popularity that has led to a rapidly changing environment around the WNBA and how it’s covered. Much of this has been attributed to Caitlin Clark, who instantly became the sport’s most popular player after her record-breaking college career at Iowa.
Every great athlete needs an adversary and for Caitlin Clark (and her fans) that person is Angel Reese. Reese played collegiately at the same time as Clark and they both entered the WNBA in the same season — where Clark was selected first and Reese was selected seventh.
All along they have been pitted against each other, framed as a future rivalry for years to come. Reese has been characterized as hateful and resentful (if the musings of Robert Griffin III are to be believed) but has also proven to be a cultural needle mover. An argument can be made that some of the newfound interest in the sport is her doing as much as it is Clark’s. I can’t help but find myself rooting for Reese, because she is a needle mover in so many ways.
