Angel Reese was under a microscope when she took two weeks off last November during her final season at LSU.
The Sky rookie’s mysterious absence, which LSU head coach Kim Mulkey kept quiet, stirred speculation that she was suspended due to poor grades and a bad attitude at the time — as it followed Reese’s benching for the entire second half of the Lady Tigers’ 30-point win over Kent State on Nov. 14.
During the debut episode of her “Unapologetically Angel” podcast Thursday, Reese explained that she took time off for her mental health so that she wouldn’t become a cancer in the locker room — with Mulkey’s approval.
Reese explained she wasn’t herself when there was an uproar on social media about her not being focused after LSU lost its first game to Colorado after winning the national championship in 2023.
“Coming back to practice, the vibes was kind of weird,” she said. “Obviously, the energy was pretty weird in practice because everyone was like ‘we just lost our first game, we don’t know what to do’ and then our next game wasn’t for another two weeks.
“I didn’t feel like it was in a good mental space for my own team and myself and just being able to give my best self… Me and Kim Mulkey kind of got into about something [in the Kent State game], which is normal, and I respectfully sat the second half.
“Then after that game me and her had a conversation and we talked about what’s moving forward and it was just best for me to take some time off. I didn’t go to the Cayman Islands with the team [to play in the Cayman Islands Classic] and it wasn’t because of everything else. It was me and coach Mulkey being able to have that kind of relationship.
“People were saying I was suspended, wasn’t playing because of my GPA, I was pregnant, all these crazy things. Everything they could think of and they didn’t even know what was going on.”
Reese explained that she wasn’t in a good place and didn’t want her attitude to impact her team.
“I never had no 1.1 GPA,” she said. “No kids… I had a lot going on and it became contagious to other people. I felt like I was moody and I wasn’t in a good place within myself and I didn’t want it to become a cancer in the locker room.
“I didn’t have a break that summer. I was doing photo shoots. I was in the gym. I was doing everything… I went to USA Basketball. I had no time to do anything else. It was a time that was hard for me but it was a time I needed for myself.”
Reese went on to defend Mulkey and deny the narrative that she didn’t protect her at the time.
“That was probably the hardest time in my life just because I never took a break from basketball and I didn’t realize mental health was important and I didn’t really realize that,” she said. “… While [the team] went to the Cayman Islands, my mom came down for Thanksgiving dinner and it was just a reset.
“Got back with the team, practiced with the team. They missed me, they texted me the whole time… When I came back I felt like myself again. And just being able to have that realtionship with my coach, Kim that’s something I really love.
“… She didn’t come out and say I was suspended, she didn’t say anything. People made assumptions about what was going on. And just being able to have a coach like that that protected my brand. A lot of people thought she didn’t protect me. She protected me in the best way she could and I will always respect that from her.”
Mulkey refused to share any further information aside from telling reporters that Reese is a part of the LSU women’s basketball team amid her absence.
Reese added that she’s not as close with her former teammate, LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson, whom she won an NCAA championship with in 2023.
Johnson, who is entering her junior year at LSU while juggling a budding rap career, became one of the faces of the name, image and likeness era with Reese and LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne.
“I still support Flau’jae. We aren’t as close as we used to be,” Reese said. “And there’s no hard feelings or anything, but we aren’t as close as we used to be.”
Reese added that she’s going to back to LSU “soon” to support the team.
“There is no love lost but we aren’t as close as we used to be,” she said.
The Sky selected Reese out of LSU with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft.
The All-Star forward is averaging a double-double in her rookie season.
