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Kevin Durant praises Angel Reese, calls her favorite female athlete

Chandler Vesselsby:Chandler Vessels•03/04/25•

ChandlerVessels

kevin durant
Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Angel Reese has garnered a lot of fans through her time at LSU and last year as a WNBA rookie, including Kevin Durant. The Phoenix Suns forward gave a shoutout to Reese in a recent video posted by the team on X, formerly Twitter, as he called her his favorite female athlete.

Other players gave answers such as Serena Williams, while Grayson Allen of course named his wife, Morgan Reid Allen, who played soccer at Duke. But Durant’s answer stood out to many fans and you can view the clip below.

Reese certainly was fun to watch this past season with the Chicago Sky as she played a big part in helping interest in the WNBA to grow. She averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds in addition to setting the rookie record for double-doubles in a single season with 23, including a WNBA-record 15 in a row.

Prior to her pro career, Reese was a standout player at the college level, beginning her career in her home state at Maryland before transferring to LSU ahead of her junior season. She would go on to lead the Tigers to a national championship in 2023 while averaging 23.0 points and 15.4 rebounds per game, both of which led the SEC.

Reese’s hometown is Baltimore, while Durant was raised in Washington DC, so they are also both from the same area of the country. That could also explain why he has come to be such a fan of her game.

The feeling is mutual, too, as Reese has previously spoke on her podcast about looking up to Durant.

“KD has literally been my favorite player since I was literally a kid and is still my favorite player,” Reese said. “He’s from the DMV. I love his mom. She comes out and supports the games.”

That in mind, it has to feel good from Reese’s perspective to receive such high praise from a player of Durant’s caliber. The latter is a two-time NBA champion and considered one of the elite scorers in league history, leading the league in points per game four times.

Reese will hope to follow a similar trajectory in her pro career as she prepares for her second season with the Sky in 2025. She’s already reaping the benefits of her early success with a shoe deal with Reebok as well as her own signature meal at McDonald’s and numerous other sponsorships.