The annual Harper’s Bazaar “Icons Issue” features 14 people who are helping to shift narratives, open doors and reshape the culture, according to the magazine’s website. One of the icons is at LSU.
Women’s basketball star Angel Reese is one of the icons, the magazine revealed.
Quotes from her interview, published online Wednesday, a part of a piece titled “Angel Reese Is a New Kind of Basketball Star.”
Reese breaks down her personal goals for her final collegiate season, the growth of women’s basketball and stories of how she has inspired others.
“I’ve always been confident. I am unapologetic. I stay firm on what I believe in, and, being a Black woman, I can do whatever I put my mind to,” the 21-year-old says.
Her confidence has influenced other people, she said. Reese shared how little girls to grown adults come up to her and say how much she’s inspired them.
“Even older women saying, ‘You’re speaking out about things that I was scared to speak out about,’ ” she said.
Also known as “Bayou Barbie,” Reese explained in the past how she likes having her hair and lashes done while playing. She shared how she wants “to push that new narrative of being able to be cute off court but when you get on the court, just being able to ball.”
Reese averaged a double-double in her first year as a Tiger. She broke Sylvia Fowles’ record of 20 double-doubles in 20 straight games and later broke the NCAA record for double-doubles in one season with 34. Reese averaged 23.0 points and 15.4 rebounds per game. With those numbers, Reese could have a promising career in the WNBA.
“My goal is to play in the WNBA, but I also have aspirations to be a model, just being able to tap into both sides. A lot of people don’t see women’s basketball players being able to do both,” she told the magazine.
“That’s my biggest thing (with) college, just walking out national champion and getting a degree. Then going into the WNBA. I hope that there will be more teams so that everybody has an opportunity, because there are so many great players and they currently only have 144 (roster spots) in the league. I want the WNBA to grow.”
For now, Reese said, she is focused on being herself. She said that she does not get much sleep these days and does not get much free time.
The article will appear in the September print edition of Harper’s Bazaar, hitting newsstands on Aug. 29.
