Angel Reese said she and Paige Bueckers are friends off the court, but not when the ball is tipped. Before the Atlanta Dream played the Dallas Wings on Tuesday night, Reese said she expected a little trash talk and plenty of competition when the two took the floor.
“We’re obviously friends off the court, but between the court, we’re not friends,” Reese said. “So we’ll talk a little trash tonight, but I’m just excited to see her journey through adversity and everything she continues to thrive through. She continues to take Dallas and put Dallas on the map. So I’m excited for her.”
Reese’s comments carried extra weight because this is more than a routine pregame exchange between opponents. She called both herself and Bueckers “two marketable players” and said young girls look up to them because their paths have been different, but both have become faces of the league. “We do a lot of great things. A lot of young girls look up to both of us. Our journeys obviously have been different, but people can rely and relate to both of us,” she said. “So it’s really cool to see us continuing to be pioneers in this league.”
That connection was visible last week in New York, where Reese and Bueckers were both at the Met Gala. Reese said she knew Bueckers was going with Coach, and that her friend had changed how she approaches fashion. “A lot of people didn’t know she was going to the Met,” Reese said. “I knew she was going with Coach and just being able to see her step into another world of fashion. When we sat down and talked, she said she used to just wake up and put anything on and now she’s thinking about it a little bit more.”
Reese added that Bueckers is still the same person she has known, even as her profile keeps growing. “But yeah, that’s my girl,” Reese said. “I’m just really happy to see her step into different things. A’ja [Wilson] was there as well. To normalize women’s basketball players in these spaces and athletes in general is really cool. I’m really happy and excited for her.”
The Dream-Wings matchup also came at a time when Reese is settling into her new team after being traded by the Chicago Sky to Atlanta in the offseason. Bueckers, meanwhile, has become one of the league’s most watched young players in Dallas, and Reese said she wants to see her continue to thrive. The meeting put two of the WNBA’s best players on the same court, with a friendship that stops at the sideline and a rivalry that still leaves room for respect.
For the league, that matters. Reese said the two understand the spotlight that comes with being visible, marketable and watched by young fans. That kind of reach has helped make them role models around the world, and it gives Tuesday night’s game a little more than ordinary regular-season weight. No matter how the score turns out, Reese made clear that the next chapter for both players will keep drawing attention far beyond Atlanta and Dallas.
