Angel Reese celebrated the start of her new life with her old coach.
An emotional Reese walked off stage after being drafted by the Chicago Sky with the seventh pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft to be greeted by LSU coach Kim Mulkey.
Reese and Mulkey shared an emotional hug after spending two dominant years together in Baton Rouge.
Reese led the Tigers to a national championship in her first season after transferring from Maryland, and the team reached the Elite Eight this season before being taken down by Caitlin Clark and Iowa.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do. Obviously, coming back would have been amazing for me. But I want more from myself. I want to start over,” said Reese, who had one year of college eligibility left with LSU.
“I feel like I’ve been in the high since the national championship. I want to hit the rock bottom. I want to be a rookie again. I want to be knocked down by vets. I want to be able to get up and grow and be a sponge. I am just super excited to play with amazing players and against amazing players. This league is really competitive – and I’m a competitive player so I wanna play against a lot of players.”
Reese had a tumultuous start to the season, being pulled from an early-season game against SE Louisiana at halftime and then being absent the next four games as she dealt with the increased scrutiny that winning a national title brought to her and the basketball program.
Mulkey never revealed the specifics as to why Reese was away from the team.
“When she came here, she said she wanted to be here for two seasons and she has lived up to that,” Mulkey said of Reese after she declared for the WNBA draft. “What a remarkable two years it has been. We are all indebted to Angel Reese for the contributions she has given to this program, helping us win our first National Championship, and the contributions she made on our university as a whole.”
“She not only helped grow our program but had an impact on growing the game of women’s basketball across the country. We wish her good luck as she moves to the WNBA and look forward to see all that she accomplishes. We will miss her but will always cherish the two years we got to spend with her. Forever LSU.”
Reese, 21, will now team with former SEC rival Kamilla Cardoso, who was drafted No. 3 by the Sky after leading South Carolina to an undefeated season and national championship this season.
The two went to war in the SEC Championship Game, including Cardoso pushing Reese’s teammate, Flau’jae Johnson.
“We battled,” Reese said “Now, being able to be teammates is going to be amazing.”
