“I’m going to protect my players, always. They are more important,” Kim Mulkey told reporters in March this year. It was in the midst of the Angel Reese GPA drama when she got left off the Wooden Award list. There had been some perceived tension between the LSU Tigers head coach and her star player then. But it seems like their amicable relationship is further strengthened after Mulkey spoke vehemently in favor of the Sky rookie yesterday.

Speaking with media members for the 2025 SEC Basketball Media Days, Mulkey was asked about the hate that Reese has dealt with, both at college and pro level. “Society just loves to sit behind those computers and anonymously write what they write,” Mulkey began. “And when you’re in the spotlight when Angel was and is and any athlete is or was, everybody just sits down and decides what they want to write. Whether it’s the truth doesn’t matter. Truth matters none in this world anymore.”

Her cutting words were not aimed at anyone specific but just the general state of online fans. But it should be noted that on her podcast Unapologetically Angel, the Sky forward has explicitly spoken about the critics she faces online. According to her, a majority of them are Caitlin Clark fans. But Mulkey continued, “I don’t have social media. I don’t see that unless it’s brought to my attention. I deal with truth, I deal with realness, I deal with trying to be a better basketball coach.”

College athletics has changed a great deal in the last decade or so, and Mulkey wants to ensure that the LSU staff is equipped to deal with every change and help her players. “Being a better basketball coach isn’t just teaching them X’s and O’s. It’s helping them manage the things they have to deal with as student-athletes now,” she said. Certainly, the Hall of Famer pointed out how the NCAA athletes aren’t just playing the sport to represent their school but also building their own popularity for NIL.

“And obviously I can’t help them in that area but I make sure that we have people on staff that can. I make sure that there are people within our program that can help them deal with all the things that come with a popular or a visible person.” 

Angel Reese was certainly a visible person in the last two NCAA tournaments and then throughout her rookie season in the WNBA. LSU is getting ready for its first season without Reese but it has a number of other players to pull the school forward. Either way, Mulkey is proud of the impact she has created on women’s basketball.

Kim Mulkey felt “indebted” to Angel Reese

After Angel Reese transferred to Louisiana from Maryland in 2022, her first major achievement for the college was to lead them to the 2023 NCAA Championship against Clark’s Iowa. Two seasons went by in a blur, and although she had the option of choosing a fifth year in college, Reese opted to go pro. And on the day of the Draft, Kim Mulkey was present in the audience.

“When she came here, she said she wanted to be here for two seasons and she has lived up to that,” Mulkey said of Reese, per the NY Post. “What a remarkable two years it has been. We are all indebted to Angel Reese for the contributions she has given to this program, helping us win our first National Championship, and the contributions she made on our university as a whole.”

Wishing her good luck for the W, Mulkey also said that she would miss Reese and her impact on the sport would be unforgettable. The two even shared a sweet hug after the Sky announced their selection, and with that, Kim Mulkey and Angel Reese put the hard times behind them, looking to a brighter future ahead. Hopefully, just as we did in the WNBA, where Mulkey made her debut on the sidelines this season for Reese, we will see the 3x National Champion coach in the Unrivaled league as well, cheering on her mentee.