Angel Reese was very excited to announce her latest purchase on Instagram on Tuesday afternoon. The 22-year-old women’s basketball star recently became a homeowner, which is not something that most people her age can say.
Although it is very impressive for her to buy a house just one year removed from college, the way she approached the announcement was entirely inconsistent with reality.
Reese, drafted No. 7 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft, is set to begin her second season with the Chicago Sky at the beginning of May. She did not say exactly where she purchased her new home, but I would imagine that it is in one of the nearby suburbs of the Windy City. There is also a chance that it is located in her home city of Baltimore but I doubt it. My guess would be that Angel Reese bought a house in Forest Park, Vernon Hills, Lake Bluff, Highland Park or the surrounding area. I think most people would agree that is pretty cool. Good for her.
With that being said, Reese immediately killed some of the vibes by making the moment about her haters. And in doing so, she indirectly called out herself…
they said “she need to cover up” so i went cover on VOGUE
they said “she can’t afford her rent” so i went & bought a house
thank yaaaa💋
— @Reese10Angel
To be completely honest, I do not normally choose to engage with this kind of thing. To each their own. Some people are fueled by the people who doubt him. Some people love to say “I told you so.” I am not one of them, but I don’t judge those who are. Victories should be celebrated in all aspects of life!
That is essentially what is happening here… Except for one specific nuance that led me to raise an eyebrow.
When Angel Reese says “they” said “she can’t afford her rent,” she is the one who planted that seed in the first place! Nobody would’ve said (or even thought) that if she didn’t make a big deal about WNBA salaries in relation to her rent.
Reese revealed a monthly rental payment of $8,000 while live on Instagram back in October. That comes out to $96,000 per year. Reese made $73,439 as a rookie in the WNBA. Her salary fell more than $22,000 short of her rent. She also made the following comment:
I just hope y’all know, the WNBA don’t pay my bills at all. I don’t even think it pays one of my bills. Literally.
— Angel Reese
I get what Angel Reese was trying to say. The WNBA does not pay her enough money to pay her bills so she has to make ends meet through other entrepreneurial ventures and by playing in Unrivaled. (Although a starting salary of $73k is a dream for most first-year post-grads. I digress.)
Reese was the still one to bring up the whole rent conversation in the first place. She was the one who said that her extremely expensive apartment was not covered by her WNBA salary. Even if her comments were misunderstood, does she not see how that could be confusing?
To then turn back around and throw the “can’t afford her rent” comments back in the face of the people who doubted her only takes away from the accomplishment itself. Buying a house at 22 is cool. To brag about it in a way that lacks self-awareness about something she said is where Angel Reese loses me. Not everything needs to be about everyone else.
