Angel Reese made a bold move, opting to skip the opening night of All-Star Game festivities to attend an NBA Summer League game in Las Vegas. This decision drew some criticism, which Reese addressed with a tweet that she later deleted. In her response, Reese took a pointed jab, quote-tweeting the criticism with the caption: “It’s ok babe. I’m minding the business that PAYS me.”

 

Angel Reese chose to be in Nevada over Arizona.

Reese was shown during the broadcast.

Reese was shown during the broadcast.

It’s unclear how attending Thursday’s NBA Summer League game at the Thomas & Mack Center impacted Angel Reese’s finances, though it seems to underscore concerns about the WNBA’s relatively low salaries and the need for additional income.

Reese’s decision and her candid remark certainly caught attention. While other WNBA stars, including her rival Caitlin Clark, attended the All-Star events in Arizona (with Clark even praising Reese in an interview), Reese made it clear she planned to be in Las Vegas, reflecting her focus on opportunities beyond the WNBA.

Angel Reese posted this selfie to Instagram Thursday.

Angel Reese posted this selfie to Instagram Thursday.

She posted two selfies from the game on Instagram, one by herself and one with a friend, while she attended the Rockets-Timberwolves matchup, per a fan X account.

Reese also composed four tweets from the game, including the aforementioned tweet to a fan’s vulgar response to her not being here.

Angel Reese has 17 double-doubles this season.

“angel just pissed me off. your first all star event as a rookie and you still in vegas at a f–king summer league game?????? good f–king night man,” one user reportedly posted, per the Daily Mail.

One of Reese’s tweets included a quote tweet of a post mentioning how her friend was hiding her lips during a conversation, a reference to how lip readers figured out a chat among Reese, Celtics star Jaylen Brown and his girlfriend, former Sky teammate Kysre Gondrezick, about Bronny James.

“we done learned our lesson lmaooooo @nyliiee,” Reese posted while tagging her friend.

The cameras certainly captured Angel Reese during the NBA Summer League event, where she was featured while the announcer highlighted Saturday night’s All-Star game, as well as Friday’s 3-point Contest and Skills Challenge.

It’s not clear when Reese will join the All-Star festivities in Arizona, but her impressive performance this season earned her a spot in the game. She averaged 13.5 points and 12.8 rebounds per game in the first half of the season and recorded 17 double-doubles in the Sky’s first 24 games, including a remarkable streak of 15 consecutive games before it ended against the Liberty last Saturday.

Caitlin Clark on Thursday at the WNBA All-Star event.

Caitlin Clark on Thursday at the WNBA All-Star event.

Clark, while choosing to attend the events, expects a similar showing on the boards Saturday night.

“She’s certainly probably going to lead the game in rebounds,” Clark said of Reese. “I expect that out of her, that’s just what she does.”