‘Everything Is Not Great’ —  Gets Candid on the Toll of Navigating Negative WNBA Media Coverage

Angel Reese opened up on Michelle Obama’s IMO podcast about the personal toll of navigating negative WNBA media coverage.

Angel Reese spent two years in Chicago under a spotlight that never dimmed. The noise was constantly following her, through her double-doubles, her viral moments, and her offseason trade. That noise has completely reshaped her career.

Now in Atlanta, Reese speaks about the weight of that kind of scrutiny, as she joins Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson on the IMO podcast this week.

Angel Reese Opens Up on the Wins, the Losses, and the People She Cut Off

Reese has been anything but vocal. She is one who never shies away and sugarcoats anything. Her comments about the last two years of her career weren’t softened either as she spoke with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson.

For Reese, the last two seasons were more like a turning point. It was a character-building stretch that tested her even as her accolades were piling up. She told the hosts that she was consistently pulled in different directions, between public wins and private losses.

“I think it was a really pivotal point in my life. I think it was a character builder for me to be able to go through what I was going through, especially at a time where I won, but am I losing at the same time where I’m feeling like I’m getting pulled by the wins, but I’m also getting pulled by the losses and how do I find a medium where I’m able to just cope with both?”

Figuring it all out for Reese meant she had to cut some people out off her life. She stated how she had to take a hard look at her surrounding circle to really find who she was outside of her public persona.

“And figuring that out, and like I’ve had to eliminate people out of my life, eliminate people out in my circle, being able to find people that genuinely just outside of Bayou Barbie, Chi Town Barbie, outside of everything like Angel, who’s Angel? And just being able to enjoy great company. I think that’s really important for me and just continuing to just to be confident, I think.”

Obama even praised how Reese has handled the scrutiny so far. “You are handling yourself beautifully. It’s not just what you do, it’s the way you carry yourself.”

For Reese, the most telling stretch came when people in conversation with her started checking in on her.

“Everybody always asks me, like, are you all right? Like, yeah, I’m as all right as I can be. And everything is not great, but I try to wake up every day and just be grateful for every moment. Every moment hasn’t been great, but I wouldn’t change this life for anything because I have had some really good moments and I don’t want bad moments to outshine the good… I try not to let the negative outshine the positive.”

Angel Reese Gets A Fresh Start With The Atlanta Dream

The comments on the IMO podcast come soon after Reese was traded from the Chicago Sky to the Atlanta Dream for two future first-round picks. She has described this move as a “breath of fresh air“, with her early sessions in Atlanta backing it up.

Head Coach Karl Smesko has gone out of his way to highlight her versatility beyond rebounding. She can create transitions, work out great pick-and-rolls, and can handle the ball well.

Reese never hid the reasons she wanted out of Chicago. “I enjoyed being able to grow within my first two years, but I wanted more. I love to win, I love to compete and I wanted to be surrounded by people that can make me better.”

The Dream went 30-14 last season, that’s more wins in one year than Chicago managed across Reese’s two seasons combined.

She was averaging 14.1 points and 12.9 rebounds across 64 games with the Sky.

Reese will now earn over $350,000 with the Dream this season, which is up from just under $75,000 in 2025.