LSU athlete Angel Reese has caused quite a stir lately, after having two moments on the court go viral this year amidst her team winning the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. In January she served up a savage block during a game while trying to put her shoe back on, and her taunting of the University of Iowa’s star at the end of the title game had everybody weighing in on the roles gender and race play in our opinions of athletes. Now Reese can add a third moment to her banner year, as the LSU forward is going viral in her bikini pics for Sports Illustrated.
Angel Reese, aka Bayou Barbie, was a SportsCenter highlight reel regular during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. However, she became a controversial figure, when she trolled Iowa guard Caitlin Clark — who is also known to taunt opposing players — by tapping her ring finger in the waning moments of their game to indicate that she was about to win the championship ring. Reese leaned into that shining moment when she posed for Sports Illustrated in an LSU-purple bikini. The magazine shared the photo on Instagram with the caption:
This is what our kind of game day looks like! LSU forward and NCAA women’s basketball champion [Angel Reese] traded in her uniform for a swimsuit and will be featured in this year’s 2023 SI Swimsuit issue. This Bayou Barbie took the world by storm after having two viral moments within just months of each other and being named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. 🏀 Despite her quick rise to fame, Angel has continued to stay unapologetically herself and allowed her confidence to always shine through, which is why we applaud her for the inspiration she has become both on and off the court.
The LSU hoopster was named the Most Outstanding Player of the championship game, after recording her NCAA-record 34th double-double in the championship game against Iowa, which the Tigers won easily 102-85. The biggest takeaway from the game, however, was the response to Angel Reese waving her hand in front of her face in John Cena’s “You can’t see me” fashion — a move that many celebrated when done by Caitlin Clark — and pointing to her ring finger.
However, as the Sports Illustrated post pointed out, Reese refused to apologize for being herself, and in the press conference following LSU’s championship win, she told reporters:
All year, I was critiqued for who I was. I don't fit the narrative. I don't fit the box that y'all want me to be in. I'm too hood. I'm too ghetto. Y'all told me that all year. But when other people do it, and y'all don't say nothing. So this is for the girls that look like me. For those that want to speak up for what they believe in. It's unapologetically you. And that's what I did it for tonight. It was bigger than me tonight.
The Tigers star showed that same confidence when talking to Sports Illustrated about what it was like to be asked to don a swimsuit for the magazine, saying:
I probably feel the sexiest in a bathing suit, actually. I just feel like, I’m 6'3", my body is nice, I work out a lot, so I mean, why not show it?
Before going viral for her trash-talking and finger-tapping, Angel Reese began drawing national attention to herself and her Tigers team back in January, when — during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks, she delivered a huge block while in the process of trying to put her shoe back on. Check it out below:
It’s not hard to see how Bayou Barbie fits the sports magazine’s theme of empowering and inspirational women this year. Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi also rocked a bikini for Sports Illustrated recently, after clapping back against online body-shamers by proclaiming: “I have nipples!”
We love to see this body positivity, as well Angel Reese spreading a message of confidence for girls to embrace their true selves.
