Angel Reese made a confident statement about her impact on the WNBA on Monday. The Chicago Sky’s rookie has been making headlines in recent days, mostly due to negative factors. The No. 7 pick in April’s draft has seemingly embraced a villain role, contrary to what Caitlin Clark might mean for the league.

Angel Reese talked about the surging interest in the WNBA. The young player acknowledged that she’s been dealing with bad comments since LSU won the national championship game against Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes, where she taunted the guard and went viral, in April 2023.

“It all started from the national championship game,” Reese said. “And I’ve been dealing with this for two years now. And understanding, like, yeah, negative things have probably been said about me, but honestly, I’ll take that because look where women’s basketball is. People are talking about women’s basketball that you never would think would be talking about women’s basketball.

“People are pulling up to games. We’ve got celebrities coming to games, sold-out arenas. Just because of one single game. And just looking at that, I’ll take that role, I’ll take the bad guy role and I’ll continue to take that on and be that for my teammates.

“I know I’ll go down in history. I’ll look back in 20 years and be like, ‘Yeah, the reason why we watching women’s basketball is not just because of one person. It’s because of me, too.’ And I want y’all to realize that.”

Not only she but teammate Chennedy Carter have been portrayed as villains after recent incidents involving Caitlin Clark.

Angel Reese fined $1,000 by the WNBA for not talking to reporters

In the wake of Chicago’s loss to the Fever on Saturday, the WNBA fined Angel Reese $1,000 for failing to make herself available for postgame interviews. They also punished the Chicago Sky with a $5,000 fine.

Reese isn’t a stranger to controversy, but it doesn’t seem like she’s been affected negatively. Her words confirm she’s ready to make an impact and help her team win, whatever it takes.