CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 Bayou Barbie is back in Chicago. With her own Barbie, too.<\/p>\n
Angel Reese is playing in her third WNBA All-Star Game<\/a> on Saturday at the United Center. This time, she is representing Atlanta in her first season with the Dream following a messy split with the Chicago Sky.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so crazy, full circle,\u201d Reese said, \u201cI\u2019m back here in Chicago, again, where it kind of all started. … Coming to Atlanta, I mean it\u2019s been a dream come true, literally. It\u2019s helped me in so many different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n Reese, 24, is on \u201cTeam Coop\u201d for this weekend\u2019s showcase event, alongside Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and four-time MVP A\u2019ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces headline \u201cTeam Spoon.\u201d<\/p>\n WNBA greats Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon drafted the All-Star teams<\/a> from players that were either voted as starters by fans, media and fellow players<\/a> or chosen as reserves by the league\u2019s coaches<\/a>. Las Vegas\u2019 Becky Hammon is coaching Cooper\u2019s team, and Minnesota\u2019s Cheryl Reeve is in charge of Weatherspoon\u2019s squad.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly I\u2019m just really happy to be here and be surrounded by so many amazing women and All-Stars and Hall of Famers and people that I\u2019ve looked up to my entire life,\u201d Bueckers said. \u201cI never want to take these moments for granted and just really soak it up and enjoy building relationships with people.\u201d<\/p>\n Minnesota guard Olivia Miles, part of \u201cTeam Spoon,\u201d is the only rookie picked for the All-Star Game in the WNBA\u2019s 30th season. The No. 2 pick in this year\u2019s draft is averaging 19.3 points and 5.9 assists in 26 games for the Lynx.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely weird being the only rookie, but I know I belong and I\u2019m happy to be here,\u201d Miles said. \u201cIt\u2019s an honor. Definitely grateful, and yeah, just soaking it all in.\u201d<\/p>\n Reese starred at LSU before she was selected by Chicago with the No. 7 pick in the 2024 draft. The 6-foot-4 forward earned the nickname \u201cBayou Barbie\u201d while helping the Tigers win the 2023 national championship.<\/p>\n Fast forward to Friday, when Mattel unveiled a Reese Barbie doll<\/a> with a pink Angel No. 5 jersey and special Reebok basketball shoes.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember, I think it\u2019s been three years now, since the Bayou Barbie came about when I was in Baton Rouge, and I used to put Barbie stuff on merch and stuff, and I wasn\u2019t really supposed to,\u201d Reese said. \u201cSo I told them I really wanted to have a Barbie doll one day, and to have Barbie is like, you got to be iconic.\u201d<\/p>\n Reese averaged 14.1 points and 12.9 rebounds over his first two seasons with Chicago. But the Sky won just 23 games in her two years with the team.<\/p>\n Reese was critical<\/a> of Chicago\u2019s play at the end of last season. She apologized to the team for her comments and was suspended<\/a> for the first half of a game against Las Vegas.<\/p>\n She was shipped off to her new home in April, traded to the Dream for two first-round draft picks.<\/p>\n \u201cThe double-doubles, they don\u2019t matter unless we\u2019re winning,\u201d Reese said. \u201cSo I\u2019m just really happy to be with Atlanta. They have welcomed me with open arms. It feels like a really safe place for me. It\u2019s the safest I\u2019ve ever felt, the most loved I\u2019ve ever felt. And I\u2019m really happy be with them.\u201d<\/p>\n Atlanta is 16-10 at the break, and Chicago has a 9-18 record. Reese is one of three All-Stars from the Dream, joining Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray.<\/p>\n Reese left Sunday\u2019s 93-91 victory<\/a> over the Sky after her left knee buckled<\/a> on a jump stop under the basket in the fourth quarter. But she said Friday that her knee is good.<\/p>\n While Reese is suiting up for \u201cTeam Coop,\u201d Howard and Gray are playing for \u201cTeam Spoon.\u201d Weatherspoon coached Chicago during Reese\u2019s rookie year.<\/p>\n \u201cI love her. Like you see her, she\u2019s so positive,\u201d Reese said of Weatherspoon. \u201cShe comes in every day and just is always just happy. And you just want somebody in your life like that. And she\u2019s a legend. She\u2019s a legend of the game. She\u2019s done a lot of amazing things that I want to do as well.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n