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WNBA Legend Lisa Leslie Reveals How She Wants to Help Angel Reese

WNBA icon Lisa Leslie spoke out about Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese in a recent podcast episode.

Grant Young

Aug 11, 2024; Paris, France; Lisa Leslie looks on before the women's gold medal game between France and the United States during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
Aug 11, 2024; Paris, France; Lisa Leslie looks on before the women's gold medal game between France and the United States during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Before missing the last few games of the year due to a wrist injury, Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese put together a fantastic first season in professional basketball.

She set the WNBA record for consecutive double-doubles with 15, nearly set a record for most rebounds in a season (before Aces superstar A'ja Wilson surpassed her), and proved that she was the steal of the 2024 WNBA Draft.

Yet, if there was one constant criticism of Reese, it was her finishing ability around the basket.

However, if there's one person who could Reese with her bucket-getting in the paint, it's Lisa Leslie.

Leslie is a two-time WNBA Champion, two-time WNBA Finals MVP, three-time WNBA MVP, eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-WNBA First Team honoree, and perhaps the best post player in the history of women's basketball.

And during a recent episode of the "Fast Friends" podcast from Just Women's Sports, Leslie spoke about how she wants to work with Reese in the future.

"What [critics] are saying is that she's getting a lot of her own missed shots as rebounds," Leslie said. "Which is true. However, she's still amazing. And if you are playing defense on her, and you know she's going to do that, do your job.

"So the fact that she's able to shoot it and get her rebound back, that's your fault," Leslie added.

She later said, "I told Angel day one, she's going to be amazing. I knew she was going to have this type of season. She has a whole ceiling of space to improve on.

"I hope to work with Angel one day in the gym. Really just to help her get to that next level, because I believe that she really can," she concluded.

With Leslie's wisdom, Reese could quickly turn into an MVP candidate like her rookie peer Caitlin Clark.

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Grant Young

GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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