Angel Reese declares for WNBA draft via high-fashion Vogue shoot: ‘I didn’t want anything to be basic’

LSU basketball star Angel Reese revealed her plans to enter the WNBA draft through a photoshoot with Vogue.

“Of course, I like to do everything big,” the 21-year-old All-American forward told the publication in an interview released Wednesday. “I didn’t want anything to be basic.”

Normally, a collegiate athlete hoping to make it into the big leagues would opt to announce their draft eligibility through a traditional press conference or with a sports outlet, but that’s not who Reese is.

She has always been fiercely proud of what makes her unique, such as her affinity for colorful manicures and her bold sense of style, making Vogue a natural choice for the rising star.

During her photoshoot with the esteemed publication, Reese proudly posed in a high-fashion athletic outfit by Diesel paired with Reebok sneakers, a form-fitting multicolored knit dress by Zankov, a bright red Valentino dress that featured a super high slit and a set by Wales Bonner embellished with a geometric pattern.

She also dazzled in Christian Louboutin heels and Jennifer Fisher earrings.

Reese said she was ultimately inspired to announce her draft plans via Vogue by tennis icon Serena Williams, who confirmed her retirement in the September 2022 issue of the magazine.

The basketball player’s decision will see her dipping out of LSU before completing her senior year, which doesn’t seem to be phasing her. “I’ve done everything I wanted to in college,” she reasoned. “I’ve won a national championship, I’ve gotten [Southeastern Conference] Player of the Year, 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.”

The WNBA draft is scheduled for April 15. Although it’s a competitive draft — with only 36 spots open across 12 teams — Reese is expected to make the cut.

Even if she is chosen, though, she will have to prove herself as if she’s a freshman in college all over again (she was benched during her freshman year at the University of Maryland for months due to a foot injury).

“I want to start at the bottom again,” the NCAA record-holder assured Vogue. “I want to be a rookie again and build myself back up; I want to be knocked down and learn and grow at the next level.”

She also said she is looking forward to competing against and working with “grown women.”

“I’ll be working with women that have kids, women that have a family to feed. I’m going to have to work my butt off every single day and grind,” she noted.

“And who wouldn’t want that? I don’t want anything in my life to be easy.”

Reese announced that she’s going pro one day after her heartbreaking Elite Eight loss against Iowa, where she and her LSU teammates ended their bid to claim a second championship title in a row.

During a press conference after the loss, she reflected on the pressures that came with her rise to stardom after being thrust into the spotlight for taunting her opponent Caitlin Clark at last year’s championship game.

“I’ve been through so much. I’ve seen so much,” she said. “I’ve been attacked so many times, death threats, I’ve been sexualized, I’ve been threatened, so many things, and I’ve stood strong every single time.”

“I just try to stand strong for my teammates because I don’t want them to see me down and not be there for them.”

Reese added, “I’m still a human. All this has happened since I won the national championship, and I said the other day I haven’t been happy since then.”

“And it sucks, but I still wouldn’t change anything, and I would still sit here and say I’m unapologetically me.”