Last updated: October 24, 2026
Angel Reese is a 24-year-old forward for the Atlanta Dream. She is the WNBA’s 2026 Defensive Player of the Year, was named to the All-WNBA Second Team on Saturday, and is leading Atlanta in its first-ever WNBA Finals against the Golden State Valkyries. Known as the “Bayou Barbie” since winning a national title at LSU, she is one of the most marketable athletes in women’s sports. Forbes estimates she earned $9.4 million in 2025, almost all of it off the court, while her WNBA salary this season is about $350,000. This year’s awards make her eligible for a much bigger contract.
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Quick facts
Full name: Angel Reese
Born: May 6, 2002 (age 24) in Randallstown, Maryland
From: Baltimore area; Saint Frances Academy
Role: Forward, Atlanta Dream (WNBA); Rose BC (Unrivaled)
Known for: 2023 NCAA title and Final Four Most Outstanding Player at LSU; WNBA rebounding records; the “Bayou Barbie” brand
2026 season: 16.4 points, a league-leading 12.1 rebounds, a record 32 double-doubles; Defensive Player of the Year; All-WNBA Second Team
Family (public): Mother Angel Webb Reese played at UMBC and professionally in Luxembourg; brother Julian Reese plays in the NBA
Contract: 2026 salary $350,692; Atlanta holds a 2027 option; now eligible for a max extension
Who is Angel Reese?
Angel Reese grew up outside Baltimore. She learned the game from her mother, a former college star, and played against her younger brother in the family driveway. She was a McDonald’s All-American at Saint Frances Academy and became the highest-ranked recruit in the University of Maryland’s history. After two seasons there, she transferred to LSU in 2022 to play for Kim Mulkey.
At LSU she became a national celebrity almost overnight. In 2023 she set an NCAA record with 34 double-doubles and led LSU to its first national championship, beating Caitlin Clark’s Iowa in the final. She was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. In the final minutes of that game she flashed John Cena’s “you can’t see me” taunt at Clark, which started a culture-war debate and kicked off the Clark–Reese rivalry that has helped drive record ratings for women’s basketball ever since. Her Instagram following passed 1 million during that tournament.
The Chicago Sky drafted her seventh overall in 2024. As a rookie she broke the WNBA single-season rebounding record and made the All-Star team. Her second season brought another All-Star selection and a league rebounding title, but it ended badly. She publicly criticized the team, the Sky suspended her for part of a game, and Chicago missed the playoffs again.
In April 2026, Atlanta traded two first-round picks for her. It was the best season of her career. She became the fastest player to 1,000 career rebounds, set the single-game record with 26 rebounds, set single-season records for total rebounds (521), offensive rebounds (206) and double-doubles (32), and won Defensive Player of the Year. She also won gold with Team USA at the 2026 FIBA World Cup.
Career timeline
2020 — McDonald’s All-American at Saint Frances Academy; enrolls at Maryland as its top-ranked recruit ever
2022 — Transfers to LSU
April 2023 — Wins the NCAA title with LSU and is named Final Four Most Outstanding Player; sets the NCAA single-season record with 34 double-doubles
October 2023 — Signs with Reebok, Shaquille O’Neal’s first signing as its president of basketball
April 2024 — Drafted seventh overall by the Chicago Sky
September 2024 — Breaks the WNBA single-season rebounding record as a rookie
2025 — Second All-Star selection; leads the league in rebounding; launches her first signature shoe, the Reebok Angel Reese 1
April 6, 2026 — Traded to the Atlanta Dream for 2027 and 2028 first-round picks
August 2026 — Sets WNBA records for rebounds in a game (26) and in a season, and for double-doubles in a season
October 2026 — Named Defensive Player of the Year and All-WNBA Second Team; leads the Dream to their first WNBA Finals win
Notable deals & projects
Reebok: Reese signed with Reebok in 2023 after being recruited by Shaquille O’Neal. Her first signature shoe, the Angel Reese 1, launched worldwide in September 2025 at $120.
Food brands: She has a sponsorship with Hershey’s Reese’s that includes an apparel line, and in February 2025 McDonald’s launched the “Angel Reese Special.” She was the first female athlete to have a McDonald’s meal named after her.
Other deals: Her sponsors have included Amazon, Bose, Coach, Discord, Outback Steakhouse, Sonic, TurboTax, Wingstop and Xfinity.
Media and ownership: She hosts the podcast Unapologetically Angel on the Playmaker network. She is a part-owner of the USL Super League soccer team DC Power FC and, since 2025, of Togethxr, the women’s sports media company founded by Sue Bird, Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim and Simone Manuel.
The next contract: Under the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement, a player still on her rookie deal who makes an All-WNBA team or wins a major award can negotiate a maximum-salary extension early. The rule is called EPIC, short for “Exceptional Performance on Initial Contract.” Reese has done both this year. That puts her in line for a contract worth up to $1.4 million a year, about four times what she makes now. Some headlines have called it a “supermax.”
Want the full story? Read our Profile coverage of her biggest rival — The player re-defining the game of basketball (Caitlin Clark) — then subscribe free.
What she’s known for
Rebounding at a historic rate, with records in college and the pros
The Clark–Reese rivalry, which helped turn women’s basketball into a TV ratings draw
The “Bayou Barbie” image of lashes, long nails and fashion, paired with a physical, combative style of play
One of the biggest social media followings in the WNBA, which she has turned into one of the sport’s biggest endorsement portfolios
In the news
Oct. 24–26, 2026: Reese was named to the All-WNBA Second Team on Saturday, her first All-WNBA selection, just before the Dream hosted the Valkyries in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals. Atlanta came into the game leading the series 2–1. Reese has had a double-double in every game of the Finals so far, including 30 points and 16 rebounds in Game 2, Atlanta’s first-ever Finals win, and 21 points and 12 rebounds in a 97–71 Game 3 rout. Game 5 is Monday, October 26, at Chase Center in San Francisco. The Finals are also drawing big audiences: Game 1 averaged 2.1 million viewers on NBC, a record for a Finals opener. Atlanta has announced it will move all of its home games to the 17,000-seat State Farm Arena starting in 2027.
Quotes
“I put the work in for this moment and I’m just happy I could lead the team to a win.” — Angel Reese after Game 3 of the WNBA Finals (October 2026)
“Y’all not taking this from us.” — Reese to the Atlanta crowd after Game 3 (October 2026)
Controversies / criticism
The 2023 taunt: Her “you can’t see me” gesture toward Caitlin Clark at the end of the 2023 title game drew criticism, along with a defense that she was being held to a different standard than male players and white athletes. She also clashed with Jill Biden over the then first lady’s suggestion that runner-up Iowa be invited to the White House.
Chicago exit: In 2025, after she criticized the Sky’s performance in a Chicago Tribune interview, the team suspended her for half a game for “statements detrimental to the team.” She also picked up an automatic suspension for technical fouls. The Sky traded her the following April.
Rookie fine: In 2024 she was fined $1,000 for skipping postgame media availability after a game against Clark’s Indiana Fever.
Net worth & money
There is no reliably audited public net-worth figure. Forbes estimated her 2025 earnings at $9.4 million, about $9 million of it from endorsements and other off-court work. Her 2026 WNBA salary is $350,692 under the new CBA’s rookie scale, and she is now eligible for a maximum extension worth up to $1.4 million a year. She has publicly disputed a widely circulated $2 million net-worth estimate as “way off.” Treat celebrity net-worth sites as unverified.
FAQ
Who is Angel Reese?
Angel Reese is a WNBA forward for the Atlanta Dream and the league’s 2026 Defensive Player of the Year. Before turning pro, she won the 2023 NCAA championship with LSU.
How old is Angel Reese?
She was born on May 6, 2002, so she is 24.
What team does Angel Reese play for?
The Atlanta Dream. The Chicago Sky traded her there in April 2026 for two first-round draft picks.
Is Angel Reese eligible for a supermax?
She is eligible for a maximum-salary extension under the new CBA’s EPIC rule because she made All-WNBA and won Defensive Player of the Year while on her rookie contract. That could pay her up to $1.4 million a year. Some headlines call it a “supermax.”
Why is Angel Reese called the “Bayou Barbie”?
The nickname came from a fan after she transferred to LSU in Baton Rouge. It refers to the school’s Louisiana bayou location and to her on-court look of eyelash extensions and long nails.
Who is Angel Reese’s brother?
Julian Reese, who played college basketball at Maryland and now plays in the NBA.
Further reading
The player re-defining the game of basketball (Caitlin Clark) — The Profile
The WNBA rising star asking lots of questions (Olivia Miles) — The Profile
Who Is Saquon Barkley? — The Profile, on another athlete who treats endorsements as equity
USA Today: How the WNBA’s new CBA affects Angel Reese’s Dream salary
Angel Reese — overview biography
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