Angel Reese’s season-ending injury, which she described as a “small crack on her bone,” was a major hit for the Chicago Sky. If they lock down the eighth seed for the playoffs, missing out on her rebounding skills will be a tough blow. On top of that, her standout rookie season just makes it even harder. Additionally, in her post yesterday, she wrote, “Through it all, I have showed that I belong in this league even when no one else believed.” This left a lot of people scratching their heads.

Even the ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith tackled the issue on his namesake show, dropping some real talk for Angel Reese, who’s clearly feeling the sting from her fans and haters. “What the hell you mean nobody thought you could make it to the league? Who are these people? You a first-round pick, won a national championship at LSU,” Smith said, trying to boost her spirits. Despite the haters, Stephen A. emphasized that Reese has plenty of fans and support, a crucial reminder during these tough times.

“Don’t be the typical athlete out there that always leans on a bunker mentality, ‘the world was against me’—no they weren’t,” Smith said. The 56-year-old analyst basically told Angel Reese to get out of whatever drama she’s in and bring back her ‘dawg’ mentality. “Remember when you were waving your hand in Caitlin Clark’s face when you were beating her for the national championship? Everybody remembered then that you belonged in the WNBA,” Smith added. His words are a strong reminder for Reese to reconnect with her confidence.

To emphasize his point further, Smith brought up Reese’s ‘You Can’t See Me’ move from when LSU beat the Hawkeyes in the NCAA tournament finals. The sheer elation left Reese engaging in the classic John Cena wrestling catchphrase. Further, the Tigers queen even tapped her ring finger while looking pointedly at the Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark.

Moving on, this young lady’s been breaking basketball records left and right in her rookie season, and thinking she doesn’t belong in the league. That’s just not the mentality you need to crush it. She’s got a stellar career ahead, and she can’t let the haters drag her down with their negativity. Sure, doubts will pop up, but it’s on her to shut them down, time and time again. She can use these powerful words as fuel to power up her comeback after that season-ending injury.

A look into Angel Reese’s season-ending injury

Angel Reese fractured her left wrist in a game against the Los Angeles Sparks and opted for surgery to avoid long-term issues like arthritis. After the surgery, she’ll be rocking a hard cast for four weeks, then switch to a soft cast for two weeks before diving into rehab. This means she might not be back on the court until late November or December.

“Long term, I literally could have not played anymore because this is a very hard place to heal because the blood flow is little to none,” Reese said post-surgery. Reese is now the second top pick from the 2024 WNBA draft to hit a season-ending injury. The first one was Cameron Brink. Before this tough break, she was absolutely smashing it with her record-breaking rebounding stats.

With Reese out for the rest of the season, Caitlin Clark’s path to Rookie of the Year just got a lot clearer. But even with the advantage, Clark showed some serious sportsmanship and compassion, feeling genuinely bummed about Reese’s injury. “It’s definitely sad whenever you see anyone go down with an injury, especially people that you came into this league with … she’s had a historic year, and she’s done some incredible things,” Clark said. What are your thoughts on this?