Angel Reese thought WNBA training would be harder: 'No surprises yet'

Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese has admitted she has not endured as many 'welcome to the WNBA' moments as she expected.  

The 22-year-old was the seventh overall selection in April's draft to the Chicago Sky as a 2023 NCAA champion with LSU.

And it's her championship-winning success with the Tigers - especially head coach Kim Mulkey - that Reese credits for her smooth transition to the WNBA. 

Reese claimed that life in the pros isn't the shock to the system that she was expecting.

'Kim Mulkey kind of prepared me for this moment,' Reese told CBS Sports HQ. 'At LSU, our practice was like four hours. We were ready, we were working.

'I thought training was going to be harder. I think I was really prepared. I didn't have any WNBA surprises yet.'

Reese's successful start to her WNBA career has flown relatively under the radar amid the headlines surrounding No. 1 Draft pick Caitlin Clark. 

But she has arguably played her way into contention for rookie of the year with an average of 12.4 points and 9.6 boards per contest in 10 games so far. 

During the Sky's loss to the Connecticut Sun Wednesday, the WNBA rookie put on her best display yet, collecting 10 rebounds and one assist to earn player of the game. 

It also marked her fourth straight game with a double-double, and she was 8 of 10 from the field to set another season high for makes.

However, despite her strong start, Reese admitted it hasn't all been plain sailing, particularly during her debut. 

 'I think l've had a lot 'welcome to the WNBA' moments... I was getting cooked the first game, I'm not gonna lie,' she said.

'Honestly, I think the speed is actually faster, of course,' she went on. 'But for me, coming into the league, I know defense and rebounds are something I always can take to the next level. I knew that was going to be my thing. 

'I think I've done a great job being great on defense and rebounding. I think I have a lot more room for growth offensively, but I think I've done a great job so far.'

While Reese credits Mulkey, the pair appeared to have a rocky relationship during her time at LSU. 

Towards the beginning of the Tigers' season last year, Reese mysteriously missed four games. 

'You want me to explain why?' coach Kim Mulkey said of Reese's absence at the time. 'It's very obvious Angel is not in uniform, Angel is a part of this basketball team, we hope to see her sooner than later. That's all you need to know.' 

It was heavily speculated that the absence was a pseudo-suspension from Mulkey on her star player. 

According to Outkick's Glen Guilbeau, a source close to the team said Mulkey is benching Reese to try and adjust the junior's 'attitude' problem. 

Reese's rivalry with Clark, which stems from their clash in the 2023 NCAA title game when LSU beat Iowa, has boiled over to the WNBA. 

Reese recently claimed that she's happy to play the role of the 'bad guy' but feels she's not getting the credit she deserves for helping to bring eyeballs to the league.

'It all started from the [2023 women's] National Championship game, and I've been dealing with this for two years now. And understanding, yeah, negative things have probably been said about me, but honestly, I'll take that because look where women's basketball is,' Reese said in a recent press conference. 

'People are talking about women's basketball, but you never would think that we're talking about women's basketball. People are pulling up to games. 

'We got celebrities coming to games, sold out arenas, just because of one single game. And just looking at that, I'll take that role. I'll take the bad guy role, and I'll continue to take that on and be that for my teammates.

'And if I want to be that, and I know I'll go down in history, I'll look back in 20 years and be like, Yeah, the reason why we're watching women's basketball is not just because of one person. It's because of me, too, and I want you all to realize that.'