WNBA superstar offers key advice to Madina Okot on elevating her game

Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) superstar Angel Reese says her conversations with Atlanta Dream teammate Madina Okot are mostly about how she can use her size to dominate the league.

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Reese, who is in her third year in the American professional league, says the talented Kenyan is in a good place in Atlanta, where she will continue to grow, even as a rookie.

“She is like my little sister,” Reese, who was the seventh pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, said last week, when asked about her influence on Okot. “Being able to see her, and her journey; only playing basketball six years ago, and then being so good already.”

Resse’s words came moments after Okot, the only Kenyan to be picked in the first round of the WNBA Draft, logged her first double-double in the WNBA, racking 14 points, and a team-high 11 rebounds, in a narrow 85-84 defeat to defending champions Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, 17 May.

Known to be a close ally of Okot on the locker room, Reese, who also shares the same position with the former South Carolina Gamecock, spoke of the words she has been sharing with her since she joined the team.

“She is literally so raw, so I continue to tell her to just be focused and hungry,” Reese, a former member of the Chicago Sky, said of her advice to Okot. “Anybody in front of you beat them - because you’re bigger than everybody, and you’re a lot more skilled than a lot of people were in their rookie year. So just maximize on that.”

Having only picked up a basketball in 2020 aged 16, Okot is gradually taking in the WNBA experience with lots of maturity, slowly living up to the hype around the league.

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Earlier this month, Dream coach Karl Smesko said he was excited by the level of competitiveness Okot brought in at daily practice, adding that her future, once dialed in with the flow of the WNBA, would be “really off the charts.”

Reese, who led the league in double-doubles in her first two seasons, was of a similar opinion, given the talent and experience around her, and also what she added to the team.

“She has me, and she has Bree (Brionna Jones),” Reese said. “Bree is a post player in this league that has done so many things, has dominated at her size, set great screens and done a lot of the dirty work. So having me, who is more versatile, and also having Bree and Naz (Naz Hillmon) that are able to shoot threes, she is spoilt with everything.”

Having endured tumultuous times before in her young WNBA career, Reese, who was traded away from Chicago in exchange for two future first-round picks, knows how important the formative years can be for Okot.

“I didn't have this experience in my rookie year, so I think its cool to be able to give back to her, and help as much as I can,” she added.

Okot, who has not missed a single game this season, will look to keep taking advantage of her situation, to reach the pinnacle many believe, is destined for her.

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