Angel Reese is no stranger to jeers, and this past week, she heard WNBA fans shaming her prior to an Atlanta Dream-Indiana Fever game. This time, Reese drew strength from a song that played moments after the Indiana crowd started raining boos.
After the Dream defeated the Fever 113-96 on Saturday, Reese was asked about a viral clip from two nights ago (also an Atlanta win over Indiana), in which she belted out “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Reese responded by explaining the significance of the “Black National Anthem” to her personal and professional life.
“My ancestors walked so I could run…I haven’t heard ‘Lift Every Voice’ in a while, and being where I was, hearing the loud boos when I was at the arena…it just made me feel like, this is for the ones that walked for me.”
The performance of the song came at a poignant time and place, as Thursday happened to be the eve of Juneteenth, a U.S. federal holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in the country. On top of this, there’s no love lost between Reese and the Indianapolis crowd, who are firmly behind her longtime rival Caitlin Clark.
After the back-to-back contests between the Fever and the Dream, it’s Reese and her squad who have the upper hand in the season series. Atlanta’s performance on Saturday was especially impressive, as they outrebounded Indiana 35-30 and forced the Fever to commit 19 turnovers.
Angel Reese Sets WNBA Rebounding Record After Latest Win Over Fever
There was no shortage of reasons for Angel Reese to be upbeat Saturday night. One particularly strong one was the fact that she’d just set the record for fastest player to reach 1,000 career rebounds in WNBA history.
A clearly pumped up Reese, who achieved this feat in just 79 games, can be heard saying her favorite line “Dubs in the chat” in a viral post-game clip.
Now in her third year as a pro, Reese leads the WNBA with 11.9 rebounds per game.
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