Angel Reese is eager to see women’s basketball, which has received record attention over the past month, spill over into the WNBA.
The former LSU standout, who is expected to be a top-10 selection in the 2024 WNBA Draft on April 15, was announced Friday after this year’s NCAA Women’s Tournament drew record-breaking viewers. “It’s great to be able to grow women’s sports,” she said. This month, 12.3 million broadcast viewers watched the Tigers and Caitlin Clark’s Hawkeyes square off in an Elite Eight showdown.
“I think I’ve done a lot in college and so many different players have done the same thing. Being able to bring this to the W is what I want to do at the W. And those guys, especially the veterans, I think they deserve it. They’ve done a great job and laid the foundation for us,” said Reese, 21, who worked his pre-draft “shift” with the Raising Canes at Astor Place in Manhattan. ”, he said while performing.
Less than a week after Clark and the Hawkeyes defeated the reigning champion Tigers 94-87, a record-setting average of 18.7 million people watched Sunday’s championship showdown between Iowa and South Carolina, and the Shamcocks They ended the season undefeated with 87 wins. -75 win.
That number of viewers was the same as any other basketball game, men’s, women’s, college or pro, since 2019, watching the men’s final between Purdue and eventual champion Yukon the next day. It overwhelmed the 14.8 million people who watched the game.
“It’s crazy how the game is playing now and being able to outdo the guys. It’s exciting and our game is a lot more interesting now and so many people are watching us and paying attention. I think we do,” Reese said. “I love it. Being a part of this, I want to be a great player, but I always want to make an impact and I think I’ve done that.”
Reese, who declared for the WNBA Draft through a photo shoot for Vogue, was an All-American at LSU, a national champion in 2023 and SEC Player of the Year in 2024.
Some WNBA veterans He warned that “reality” was waiting for him. In a star-studded rookie class that includes projected No. 1 pick Clark, South Carolina’s Camila Cardoso, Stanford’s Cameron Brink and UW’s Aaliyah Edwards, Reese has a legacy at the professional level. eager to learn in order to build
“I’m going to be a rookie in the big leagues, where there were a lot of great women before me and they set the tone. I’m going to respect what I’ve done…” Reese said. “I know the games are going to be crazy. I know the ratings are going up and if we can give those veterans that visibility, even if it’s the rookies, that’s going to increase the ratings. We’ve seen it on social media that it’s going to uplift our veterans, because they deserve it.”
The Indiana Fever, who own the No. 1 pick, are seeing a “surge” in ticket sales as part of the Clark craze, but she is not yet an official member of the team.
With so much talent in the class, Reese is excited to see what kind of impact she and her peers can make on the league.
“I want to be a great player and make my mark within the league. And also have that influence that I have,” she said. “So many things have changed within the league, and I think the league can only continue to rise…Women are leading the way right now.”
