Even Angel Reese sometimes struggles to walk in heels.
The 22-year-old WNBA star, a.k.a. “The Bayou Barbie,” hilariously shrugged off the fashion faux pas when she was seen limping in a pair of strappy sandals ahead of her team the Chicago Sky’s game against the Indiana Fever on Saturday, June 1.
In the clip, posted by the official WNBA TikTok account, Reese seemingly grimaced as she strutted in the footwear, which she paired with a cropped hoodie and a miniskirt.
She accessorized with squared sunglasses and a sparkly silver Balenciaga Hourglass bag. When a reporter tried to ask her a question, Reese hilariously said, “Let me get these shoes off. A baddie can’t stay a baddie too long.”
After slipping out of the shoes, Reese threw on her blue-and-yellow uniform to take on Caitlin Clark and the Fever. The Sky lost to the Fever 71-70. The Fever’s win, however, was outshined by drama between Clark, 22, and the Sky’s Chennedy Carter.
@wnba Can’t even front @angel, we felt that 😂 Even the Barbie has a time limit on how long she can wear heels, but per usual she’s serving on the game day look #wnba #angelreese
Carter, 25, made headlines for forcefully knocking Clark to the ground, sparking a debate about whether players are intentionally targeting Clark — who has been hailed for bringing the WNBA and women’s sports more recognition.
Reese shared her two cents on the conversation in a Monday, June 3, press conference, pushing back on the idea that Clark is being treated unfairly by other WNBA stars.
“When we go out there and play super hard, compete every single day, it’s not personal,” Reese said on Monday. “I promise you it’s based off of our stories and where we’ve come from. We’ve come from so many places that you guys have never seen or would never understand, so just being able to go out there and play with that chip on our shoulder every single night, that’s just what we do and that’s just who we are.”
Reese also noted that Clark is not the only reason women’s basketball has gained popularity — she is too.
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“I think so many people are watching women’s basketball right now. It all started from the [2023] national championship game,” Reese said, referring to the game where her LSU Tigers defeated Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes. “I’ve been dealing with this for two years now. And understanding, like, yeah negative things have probably been said about me, but honestly, I’ll take that, because look where women’s basketball is. … I’ll take that role. I’ll take the bad guy role, and I’ll continue to take that on and be that for my teammates, and I know I’ll go down in history.”
She added: “I’ll look back in 20 years and be like, ‘Yeah, the reason why we’re watching women’s basketball is not just because of one person, it’s because of me too.’ And I want y’all to realize that. Like it’s just not ’cause of one person. A lot of us have done so much for this game. Chennedy has been here before obviously, but there are so many great players in this league that have deserved this for a really, really long time, and luckily, it’s coming now.”
Caitlin Clark gets T for being ‘disrespectful to the game.’ She says WNBA salaries are as well
Getting snubbed by the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team turned out to be just what Caitlin Clark needed — a month off to refresh her game, refuel her temper and remind everyone she says stuff that grabs attention.
Sure, the Olympic team won a record eighth consecutive gold medal without her, but it didn’t take long for Clark to regain the spotlight. On Sunday, the Indiana Fever point guard set a WNBA record, thanked a referee for assessing her with a technical foul and cried poor-mouth over her salary even though she makes millions in endorsements.
Best known as a scoring machine with almost limitless three-point range, Clark set a WNBA mark for assists in a season by a rookie, notching nine to increase her total to 232. The 22-year-old is on pace to break the overall record of 316 set by Alyssa Thomas a year ago.
She also was handed her fifth technical of the season after punching the base of the basket when she missed a shot in the third quarter. Two more technicals and she’ll be suspended for a game.
The referee “told me it was disrespectful to the game of basketball,” Clark said. “Had nothing to do with my team, had nothing to do with the reffing, had nothing to do with the other team. It’s just because I’m a competitor, and I felt like I should have been making more shots.
“But I think he fired me up to continue to play a lot harder. I thought we got a lot better after that. I want to thank him for that.”
Now, if only Clark could scrounge up enough cash to buy season tickets for loved ones.
Fever teammate Lexie Hull was asked if she would buy her family season tickets after she scored a career-high 22 points in the win over the Seattle Storm with her twin sister and grandma sitting courtside. Clark jumped in and answered, saying, “Those are pretty expensive. It’s like our entire salary to get those. I’m not kidding. We need people to help.”
It’s true that Clark’s base wage of $76,535 as a WNBA rookie and four-year contract worth $338,056 are paltry compared to her male counterparts in the NBA. Salaries are limited by the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement, which was negotiated in 2020 and doesn’t expire until 2027.
Blame supply-and-demand economics, which at least are trending in the players’ favor in large part because of Clark’s popularity. But don’t expect a GoFundMe page any time soon. Ponying up for a $1,600 Fever season ticket for every Clark from Indy to Iowa wouldn’t dent her portfolio.
She was paid an estimated $3 million in name, image and likeness money while at Iowa, and before playing a WNBA game signed eight-figure deals with Nike (for signature shoes) and Wilson (for signature basketballs). She also has partnerships with Gatorade, Panini, Xfinity, Gainbridge and State Farm.
Back-of-the-backboard calculations of her estimated career earnings exceed $400 million.
Why? Keep in mind that her final college game drew 24 million TV viewers — more than three times larger than the audience for Serena Williams’ final tennis match. More than 3 million ESPN viewers watched her simply get drafted.
So for Clark to bemoan WNBA salaries is best interpreted as her going to bat for teammates and league-mates such as Hull, a Stanford product who will be paid $77,669 this season. Endorsements for most WNBA players are few.
Clark, in fact, was exuberant in her praise of Hull’s performance, joking that her entire social media account “will be about Lexie. I’m going to change my bio to Lexie Hull Fan Page.”
More likely is that Clark will continue to set records, rake in dollars and generate headlines. Remarkable what a month off can do to refresh a person.
