Angel Reese, who was not selected for the US team at the Paris Olympics, is not looking forward to Los Angeles 2028 yet.
The WNBA rookie congratulated the women’s basketball team that won the gold medal on Saturday after recording their eighth consecutive Olympic victory.
“Let’s just congratulate these women and let them enjoy this moment,” she wrote in a post on X Sunday.
“Leave me out of this until my time comes,” she added, accompanied by an angel emoji.
Reese wrote the post in response to an ESPN article speculating which players would likely make the Olympic roster in four years.
WNBA rookie Angel Reese not yet looking forward to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles
“Let’s just congratulate these women and let them enjoy this moment,” she wrote on X Sunday
The article read, in part: ‘Yes, the U.S. women’s 67-66 victory over France is still sinking in. But … who will play for Team USA in the 2028 Olympics? Caitlin Clark? Angel Reese? Paige Bueckers? JuJu Watkins?’
It came just hours after Team USA posted a thrilling 67-66 victory over the Olympic hosts, with a roster that notably did not include Reese and her rival, rookie superstar Caitlin Clark.
The duo, both of whom have already put in impressive performances in less than 30 games of their careers, are seen as the major boost they have given the WNBA in 2024.
The league has experienced unprecedented increases in television ratings, as well as huge increases in merchandise sales and match attendances.
Fanatics, the official retailer of the league, saw sales in the first half of the season increase by 500% compared to the first half of 2023.
The US has maintained its grip on Olympic basketball after the women’s team won
No team has ever won eight consecutive Olympic events, making history for the women’s team
The rise in popularity is paying off in more ways than one, however, with the competition signed a new media rights package last month worth approximately $2.2 billion over 11 years, The Athletic reported.
This generates approximately $200 million annually, about four times the WNBA’s current media contracts with Disney, Ion, CBS and Amazon, which are estimated at $50 million annually.
This WNBA season alone has broken several records. Last month, the league announced that more than 400,000 fans attended games in May, the highest attendance in 26 years.
Additionally, the competition’s viewership has increased significantly since Clark and Reese arrived.
On ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and CBS, an average of 1.32 million people watch WNBA games, nearly three times as many as last season, when 462,200 people watched.
A superstar rookie class, led by Caitlin Clark and Reese, has given the WNBA a boost in 2024
The WNBA has even signed a new media rights package worth approximately $2.2 billion over 11 years