Angel Reese somehow manages to rebound right into the center of every hot debate. Her headline-grabbing “rivalry” with Caitlin Clark has already turned her into a media magnet. And most of it is only working in Reese’s favor. With over 10 million followers across social media in 2025, she’s got endorsement deals with Reebok, Beats by Dre, and Hershey’s, reportedly pulling in over $1.5 million last year. That’s more than 20 times her WNBA paycheck. That sounds familiar? It’s because LeBron James has done it before.
He entered the league with a fan favorite already on the throne (MJ). Moreover, despite entering the NBA as the No. 1, he didn’t enjoy financial dominance immediately either. As a rookie, his salary was standard, and his first major deal came with Nike. It was worth about $90 million after he turned down a $10 million offer from Reebok. Now, as another athletic Reese steps into the spotlight alongside LeBron’s Lakers, some old comparisons of Angel might be catching new attention.
Turns out that on her podcast Unapologetically Angel, the former LSU standout once got compared to the G.O.A.T. It was on an episode where rapper and reality television personality Chrisean Rock joined her. “Like, cuz you’re doing exactly what LeBron is doing… so what’s the difference?” Rock asked. It wasn’t in a disrespectful way and although Angel Reese laughed that one off, she knows that she has got the same kind of magic. We have seen her perform and show signs of great potential.
The bigger question now is can Julian Reese match that energy? or maybe even outshine his sister on basketball’s biggest stage? With the Terrapins in 2024-25 season, he was averaging 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and shot 55.5% from the field across 36 games. For now though, Angel Reese is just focusing on celebrating her brother’s future. ADS Sports posted a congratulatory poster of Juju, and within minutes, Angel had it up on her Instagram story. Along with it, she added the most Angel caption ever: “OPPORTUNITY. COME ONNNNN.”
Not just that, she later even snapped out of the celebration mode and posted the proud moment on Instagram stories. Quoting “Proud is an understatement. TIME TO WORK.” The journey that accidentally started for Julian Reese is now concluding (or beginning) on the biggest stage. “At first, I really wanted to play anything,” Julian once said. “I played football a little bit, but my mom is the one that introduced me to basketball. She played in high school and college and was really good. She passed that down to us.” So for him, it’s definitely the time to work. Will he be able to earn the same veteran comparisons as her sister?
Angel Reese, LeBron, and the Comment That Wasn’t…
The internet loves drama, and Angel Reese got caught in the middle of it when a fake comment under her name started going viral. It all began when LeBron James posted photos with Caitlin Clark in a moment fans had been waiting for. The post racked up nearly 1.3 million likes and instantly became one of basketball’s biggest talking points.
But while most were busy liking the post, a parody account called NBA Centel tweeted that Reese had commented “Michael Jordan never lost a Finals BTW,” and deleted it, a clear dig comparing LeBron to MJ. Even though NBA Centel is a parody account, many took it seriously. This dragged Reese into yet another online firestorm. Once again, she found herself at the center of controversy. Not because of anything she actually said, but simply because her name alone sparks debates.
The twist was that this fake drama unfolded on a post featuring LeBron and Caitlin Clark (Reese’s so-called rival), thanks to their heated matchup earlier this season. That Fever vs. Sky game went viral after Clark was called for a Flagrant 1 foul for knocking Reese down, leading to an on-court exchange. “It’s just a good take foul,” Clark told ESPN afterward. “That’s not the type of player I am.”
Angel Reese kept it calm. She said, “Basketball play. Refs got it right. Move on.” But the internet didn’t move on, especially after technical fouls were called on both Aliyah Boston and Reese. Even though both players downplayed the incident, the “rivalry” narrative stuck. Now, with LeBron, Clark, and Reese’s names tangled up in social media buzz (real or not), Angel once again found herself trending, far beyond just basketball conversations.
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