In the four games competing against Kamilla Cardoso and South Carolina while she was at LSU (and at Maryland before that), Angel Reese performed well. She averaged 16.5 points and 8.8 rebounds, and blocked 2.3 shots per game.
But Cardoso had a negative impact on Reese’s performance—she shot only 38.2% in the four games and, in the stat she would probably prefer to forget, went 0-4 in the matchups. For her career, Reese was a 49.8% shooter whose teams had a 97-15 record when she was playing against anyone except Cardoso.
It's fair to say that, instead of continuing to compete against Cardoso in the Southeastern Conference, Reese is pleased to now be Cardoso's teammate on the Chicago Sky. The two, with three NCAA championships between them, were selected with Top 7 picks in the WNBA draft in April, with Cardoso going third and Reese seventh.
As noted to her by the Chicago Tribune by the Chicago Tribune, it was less than two months ago that Reese and Cardoso were battling head-to-head in a contentious SEC final game. Reese downplayed it.
“It’s literally just basketball,” Reese said. “We’re just here to compete. Me and Kamilla competed hard all these years. Everybody has known that. But we’re just competitors and that’s just what we do.”
Angel Reese a Future Centerpiece for Chicago Sky
Reese has brought new excitement to the Sky, who have revamped the team that made a surprising run to the 2021 WNBA championship under former coach James Wade. But Wade left to join the Raptors last summer, and the team brought in legendary guard and coach Teresa Witherspoon to replace him, overhauling the roster with Reese and Cardoso as future centerpieces in the process.
Reese is expected to start immediately while Cardoso is expected to be more of a long-term project.
“I think I am very competitive and have a winning mentality,” Reese told reporters last month. “Being able to go into practice and want to win every drill, want to do everything to perfection, I am kind of a perfectionist—I want to do everything at a high level and not really take any time off. Because you don’t get these opportunities. …
“I want to dominate. I’m super-competitive. I want this team to go to amazing places, I came to Chicago to make an impact and I am super-excited.”
Kamilla Cardoso Competition Will Help Both Players
Regarding her relationship with Cardoso, Angel Reese mentioned to the Tribune that there will continue to be challenges, and that the competition the two have established over the years should only make them better.
“We’re going to be fighting over rebounds, I know that,” Reese joked. “I love that though. Being able to go in and battle, being able to have a teammate where every day I know she’s going to work hard and do whatever it takes at the basket. I’m a competitor and I know she’s a competitor too.”
Reese particularly admires the way that Cardoso drives to the rim on cuts, and to showcase that, she fed Cardoso with a high-post pass for a highlight-reel play in the preseason opener on Friday.
“Having a post player who can sprint to the rim as fast as she can and keeping up with her,” Reese stated. “If I make a defensive mistake, she will cover for me. If she makes a defensive mistake, I'll cover for her.”
