Sky’s Angel Reese thanks Alyssa Thomas for ‘sending a message’ after veteran was ejected for flagrant foul

Thomas grabbed Reese by the neck and threw her to the ground

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Prior to the Chicago Sky’s 86-82 loss to the Connecticut Sun on Saturday, rookie forward Angel Reese spoke about how excited she was to play against Alyssa Thomas due to their Maryland connection. Thomas, it seemed, did not feel the same way.

Late in the third quarter, the two were battling for a rebound under the basket when Thomas grabbed Reese by the neck and threw her to the ground. Reese smacked the back of her head on the floor but was uninjured on the play and remained in the game. The referees immediately went to the monitor to review the situation and upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 2 on Thomas, which comes with an automatic ejection.

Reese, for her part, harbored no ill will toward Thomas. In fact, she even thanked her during her postgame press conference.

“It’s not just cause I’m a rookie,” Reese said about the foul. “I’m a player. I’m a basketball player. They don’t give a damn if I’m a rookie. I mean, I want them to come at me every day, I want them to come at everybody. I mean, they’re not supposed to be nice to me. I hope you all know that. They’re not supposed to be nice to me or lay down because I’m Angel Reese or cause I’m a rookie.

“Like, thank you A.T. for sending a message to me because I got back up and kept going and kept pushing. Like, me and A.T. have been cool since we were in Maryland, so I know it’s not no hard feelings. I appreciate her for going at me every day.”

Reese, who is off to a solid start since being selected No. 7 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft last month, finished with 13 points and five rebounds in the defeat. For the season, she is averaging 12.3 points and 7.8 rebounds, which rank second and first among rookies.