Angel Reese stunned fans by revealing she almost quit her basketball career before being picked up by the Chicago Sky in the WNBA, meaning her rivalry with Caitlin Clark was almost over before it even began.

The ex–LSU Tigers ace, who became a national champion in 2023 whilst being mentored by Shaquille O’Neal, is now one of the biggest names in American sports and one of the biggest in professional basketball but how did she almost give up?

The first make or break point came when she fractured her foot whilst playing for the University of Maryland, leaving her facing setbacks after surgery and a 12-week rehabilitation period after a screw was inserted.

Then, it didn’t get too much better as the 6ft3in ace shattered her tibia and needed a rod to be able to walk again, much less step back on a court, but it was the mental toll that almost made her retire, not the physical wounds.

“My confidence completely dropped,” Reese told I Am Athlete. “I was like, ‘Do I wanna play basketball anymore?’

“Like I had high expectations. Everybody thinks I’m gonna do this [make it to pro]. But I didn’t even believe I could do it anymore. Because I thought I gained my love for the game back and then I lose it again.”

Reese bounces back

But she did continue on and got the fruits of her efforts in 2023 when she won the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball national championship game by dunking on Caitlin Clark‘s Iowa Hawkeyes, which was the birth of their rivalry.

And in 2024 things got even sweeter as she announced her intention to enter the WNBA Draft, where she was selected as the sixth pick overall by the Sky to realize her destiny of making it to professional basketball, which she’s settled into quite well too.

She now looks to continue her journey as a pro, after going through what sounded like hell to get there, by taking on the Indiana Fever on July 23 at the Wintrust Arena. The game begins at 16:00 ET/13:00 PT.