Angel Reese is dunking on criticism about making her Met Gala debut the night before a Chicago Sky game.
“A lot of people told me I shouldn’t have went to the Met Gala, I wasn’t gonna be focused playing against the runner-ups,” Reese, 22, said in a press conference earlier this week, referring to her team’s match against the New York Liberty on Tuesday, May 7. “And I went to the Met Gala, slayed at the Met Gala in New York, came back, slayed against New York. Like, it’s what I do.”
The Chicago Sky’s victory against the 2023 WNBA runner-ups came one night after Reese attended fashion’s biggest night at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday, May 6. Drawing inspiration from the Costume Institute’s “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” exhibit and the night’s “Garden of Time” dress code, Reese glittered on the Met red carpet in a mint green 16Arlington by Marco Capaldo gown.
Her dress’ V-neck bodice and sheer skirt featured intricate floral designs, while the waistline was covered in fluffy feathers. In addition to rocking a matching pair of mint green Stuart Weitzman heels, Reese completed her look with several pieces of silver jewelry, natural glam makeup and a slicked-back ponytail.
“22nd birthday at the MET GALA?! I think YES,” she captioned Instagram pics of her look on Wednesday, May 8. “Thank you to Anna Wintour & @instagram for inviting me to this amazing event! 💋.”
Her ability to jump from attending the Met to dominating on the basketball court is something Reese said she shouldn’t be criticized for. “I give a lot of confidence to so many different people, and knowing, like, I’m not one-dimensional. Women don’t have to be one-dimensional. They don’t have to do one thing,” she said during this week’s press conference, adding that she thinks the league’s multifaceted players are “what’s growing the game.”
She continued: “People love me off the court, too. They love me because I am who I am, and I speak on things that a lot of people may be scared to speak on or stand up on. So, [I’m going to] just continue to do that, even on the bad days, even on the days that people may hate me. I’m just going to continue to keep being me.”
Reese declared for the WNBA draft last month following a successful college basketball career at Louisiana State University. “I’ve done everything I wanted to in college,” she said in an April interview with Vogue. “I’ve won a national championship, I’ve gotten [Southeastern Conference] Player of the Year, I’ve been an All-American. My ultimate goal is to be a pro—and to be one of the greatest basketball players to play, ever. I feel like I’m ready.”
She was selected by the Chicago Sky at the WNBA Draft on April 16, ranking as the No. 7 overall pic. The team’s Tuesday game against the New York Liberty marked one of Reese’s first games with the team before the 2024 WNBA regular season kicks off on May 14.
