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Hall of Famer Vows to Help Angel Reese Fix Her Lay Up
Angel Reese is currently competing in Unrivaled where she's averaging 10.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game for the Rose Basketball Club. Reese's rebounding has translated from college to the WNBA where she led the league in rebounding as a rookie, a skill that has again carried over to Unrivaled where she is fifth in the league in rebounding behind Alyssa Thomas, Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart and Dearica Hamby who all play more minutes per game.
Already an elite rebounder at 22 years old, Reese can only improve on offense. She shot just 39.1% from the field in her rookie season and wasn't much better when you discount the few three-pointers she attempted.
She's a 74% free throw shooter and is willing to take an open jumper even if she's not a great shooter, but right now her main problem is scoring around the basket. She shot 25% from the field between 3-10 feet as a rookie and was just under 50% right at the hoop.
The good news is that there's someone ready and willing to help her fix that issue. Not only was she the latest guest on Reese's podcast, but she's also a four time Olympic gold medalist who won two WNBA titles, two WNBA MVP awards and was voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame: Lisa Leslie.
Lisa Leslie gives Angel Reese advice ahead of her sophomore season:
— Angel And Kamilla👯♀️ (@AngelAndKamilla) February 13, 2025
“The biggest advice I have for you is going to be how you shoot your lay-ups. We’re going to fix that - it’s fixable for you. You’re going to get better, and I can help you get better.”#WNBA pic.twitter.com/cqapgte0MF
"I can't wait to work with you some more," said Leslie. "The biggest advice I have for you is gonna be how you shoot your layups. Period. We're gonna fix that. That's fixable for you and I think that's probably the biggest... I think your shot from the outside is improving."
Leslie praised Reese for working on her shot and playing hard on defense before getting down to the most important part—wanting to work hard.
"The idea that you want to get better. I love that," Leslie continued. "And again, I didn't know you well. Just talking to you and just giving you some love. But then hearing you like yes I want to learn, I want to work hard, I want to be better. Like that is, just my heart melted."
Leslie told Reese that she could get better and she would be the one to help. If Leslie is right, Reese is going to be a problem, which will be great for the WNBA, but very bad for the other players in the WNBA.
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Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.