Inaugural Unrivaled champions Rose celebrated without Angel Reese on Monday after beating Vinyl, but the injured star joined in via video call despite being on a flight.
Rose BC won the inaugural Unrivaled championship without Angel Reese on Monday night, but the Defensive Player of the Year still managed to join in the team celebrations.
Reese suffered a wrist injury in the regular-season finale on March 10, and missed the entirety of the playoffs as her first Unrivaled season ended in a similar way to her rookie WNBA year. Rose ended up beating the Laces 63-57 in the semifinals before beating Vinyl 62-54 in the championship game.
After winning the championship, Rose held a team-wide press conference and each player had a bottle of champagne to celebrate. While Reese couldn’t be there in person, she joined the conference via FaceTime, according to ESPN.
Reese did watch the finale, though did so in the air as she joined an Instagram Live while on a flight. After suffering another wrist injury, Reese was seemingly on a flight back to Chicago, where she currently plays in the WNBA.
While it meant she could not be there to watch the final, her gesture to join the celebrations on FaceTime showed her determination to still be involved in some way from afar.
In the second quarter of Rose’s regular-season finale, Reese was knocked off balance and hit her wrist after securing an offensive rebound. Reese then made a shot off the backboard on the next possession but clutched her wrist after feeling pain.
Reese attempted to continue, but quickly exited the game after returning for the third quarter wearing a wrist strap. Reese was evaluated in the days leading up to the semifinal, but was ruled out before facing the Laces and sidelined for the remainder of Unrivaled.
The WNBA star had surgery on her wrist back in September after a small crack in the wrist bone ended her rookie season. Reese confirmed that the surgery was successful and shared that a small screw had been placed in her wrist to prevent it from cracking further.
While it was a major blow for Reese, her team still stormed to the championship as Chelsea Gray was named Unrivaled Finals MVP. Gray had 18 points and eight assists in the finale, and Azura Stevens made up for Reese’s absence with 18 rebounds and 19 points.
In winning Unrivaled, all members of the Rose roster received a bonus of $50,000. With Unrivaled paying an average salary of $250,000, Reese has secured a total of $300,000 for participating in the 10-week league, which nearly matches her four-year, $324,383 rookie WNBA contract.