Angel Reese declares for 2024 WNBA Draft after LSU’s loss to Iowa
Angel Reese is going pro.
The LSU All-American forward declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft in an interview with Vogue.com, which was released Wednesday.
Reese, 21, also confirmed the news in a post on X and wrote: “BAYOU BARBIE [to the] WNBA. All that rah-rah never was the icon issue. Magazines, i’m covering the icon issue…VOGUE, I got REAL issues.”
Reese, part of LSU’s NCAA championship team last year, announced her decision just hours before the 48-hour window for her to opt-in expired.
The decision came two days after LSU’s season-ending loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Players whose teams make it to the Elite Eight have up to 48 hours after their last game to make a decision, per WNBA rules.
“I think it’s my time to move on and grow,” Reese said in a behind-the-scenes video with Vogue. “It’s a very competitive league and I’m excited to just learn, grow and try to dominate as much as I can as a rookie.”
Reese shared her decision with the magazine in mid-March, when the interview was conducted via Zoom from her off-campus apartment in Baton Rouge.
“Of course, I like to do everything big,” Reese said of her decision to announce the news with a fashion photo shoot with Vogue. “I didn’t want anything to be basic.”
Reese said she was inspired by retired tennis icon Serena Williams, who announced her retirement in the September issue of Vogue in 2022.
“I’ve done everything I wanted to in college,” Reese said. “I’ve won a national championship, I’ve gotten [Southeastern Conference] Player of the Year [in the 2023-24 season], I’ve been an All-American.
“My ultimate goal is to be a pro — and to be one of the greatest basketball players to play, ever. I feel like I’m ready.”
Reese is projected to be a top pick in the draft, which will take place on April 15 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music — where fans can attend the WNBA draft for the first time.
Reese teased her future plans in a social media post on Tuesday.
“Heavy is the head that wear the crown & that crow is heavy,” she wrote in the post, which included a photo of her sitting on the court. “You never stay down too long.”
She concluded, “What’s next 10?” referencing her No. 10 LSU jersey.
A day later, Reese reflected on her four years of college basketball in a social media tribute video, where she thanked her family, LSU, her former alma mater Maryland and fans.
In what was her final game with LSU on Monday, Reese recorded 17 points and 20 rebounds in 36 minutes before she fouled out with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of the 94-87 loss.
In a postgame press conference, an emotional Reese wiped away tears while explaining how she was “attacked so many times, sexualized and [received] death threats” since she rose to fame after last year’s title game.
The 6-foot-3 Reese made an immediate impact since transferring from Maryland in 2022.
The Baltimore native led the Lady Tigers to the first championship in program history in a 102-85 victory over Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes.
Reese was named the 2023 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, averaging 23 points, 15.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
Clark declared for the 2024 draft ahead of the NCAA Tournament and is a consensus No. 1 pick, which is owned by the Indiana Fever.
Reese and Clark are both faces of the NIL era, reportedly making millions.
