Sky's Angel Reese Opens Up About Back Injury
Being on the court isn’t exactly fun for Chicago Sky star Angel Reese nowadays. There are a few reasons why.
For starters, the Sky have lost any momentum they had before the All-Star break and are currently in the midst of a six-game losing streak. Prior to last night, the Sky were forced to play without Reese as she’s dealt with a back injury.
The pain etched on her face when she sits on the sidelines is apparent whenever she can’t get on the court, but last night, she made her return.
In terms of the actual outcome of the game, her being out there didn’t exactly help as the Sky were destroyed by the Washington Mystics by 17 points. But placing her in a box and looking at her individual statistics, it was clear that she was as good as ever.
After dropping 22 points, grabbing 13 boards, and sending two shots to the rafters, Reese was asked about her injury and how she was able to look past it and play a great game.
"When I am out there, I don't think about an injury. It can happen anyway, anytime. If I'm thinking about it too much, it's gonna happen again," Reese said in her post-game interview. "So, just trying to fight through contact as much as I can and do whatever I can for the team.”
For the Sky, they need to find a way to stop the perpetual bleeding. At the moment, they’re 12 games below .500, and making the postseason has become a laughable thought. Still, that won’t stop Reese, if healthy, from going out there and playing.
As for how she performed last night, the surface-level numbers look terrific, but she made just six of her 16 shots, missed her lone 3-point attempt, had five fouls, and was a minus-11 in the plus/minus category.
Yet, despite it all, Reese knows she can be better. And as long as her body allows it, she believes she will be.
“It was ugly, ugly for me, but I tried to push through as much as I could for my teammates because I know they need me out there."
A graduate of Queens College, Hans has covered practically every sport you can think of. The NBA, NFL, Boxing, UFC, Tennis, MLB, even Rugby! His work has appeared in various places such as Bleacher Report, USA Today, Fox Sports, and FanSided. When he isn’t reporting or writing on sports, he’s watching it. He also enjoys boxing, lifting weights at the gym, and debating anything sports-related.