For Angel Reese, playing in the DMV could never feel like a road game.
The 22-year-old Chicago Sky star suited up for Thursday’s game against the Washington Mystics wearing the Maryland flag on her sneakers, a custom paint job for the Randallstown native who was filling Capital One Arena with friends and family from all over the region.
“It’s a lot of people: from St. Frances [Academy], from Baltimore, from my family, from my school, middle school, elementary school, hairstylists — everybody,” Reese said pregame. “I had to pay for a lot of tickets, but it’s OK. It’s worth it.”
Reese has the pocketbook to buy tickets in part because of her sponsorship with Reebok, which outfitted her black sneakers. Custom artist Marvin Baroota painted them with a Maryland flag on the toes and “Baltimore Barbie” — a variation of Reese’s “Bayou Barbie” trademark — on the sides.
Reese, who played at St. Frances and the University of Maryland before going on to national stardom at LSU, is a member of the high-wattage WNBA rookie class that is drawing enormous attention to the league. She entered Thursday’s game averaging 10.9 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.1 steals per contest for the Sky.
Reese said the rare opportunity to play close to home is a welcome respite, and she wanted to signify the importance of the event.
“Just being able to rep where I’m from is something I take pride in,” she said.
