Angel Reese Wins ESPY Award for Best Breakthrough Athlete, Stuns in Gold Gown Featuring Thigh-High Slit

The LSU basketball champion is having an incredible year.
Angel Reese.

Angel Reese.


LSU basketball player Angel Reese has had a fantastic, award-filled year—and it just keeps getting better. The 21-year-old, who was featured in the 2023 SI Swimsuit Issue after being photographed by Yu Tsai in Los Angeles, led the Tigers to their first NCAA women’s basketball championship in April.

Reese, who was also named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player, received the ESPY Award for Best Breakthrough Athlete at the ceremony in Los Angeles on July 12. Caitlin Clark, Brock Purdy and Julio Rodriguez were among the fellow nominees.

Angel Reese.

Angel Reese.

Reese arrived on the red carpet in a stunning gold scoop neck gown with thick straps and a thigh-high slit on one side. Her hair was slicked back into a high ponytail with her edges perfectly laid, and the Bayou Barbie accessorized with thin black stilettos and chunky gold earrings.

The honor shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to anyone—Reese dominated the 2022–23 season and broke the NCAA record with 34 double-doubles. Additionally, she set the SEC single-season record with 555 rebounds throughout the season. The Baltimore native was also a unanimous first-team All-American selection.

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Ananya Panchal
ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a writer on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit, where she covers fashion, beauty, pop culture and the internet’s favorite personalities and trends. She joined the brand in 2022 after roles at Bustle, the San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. Panchal loves to write about fashion in all its forms—from standout runway moments and evolving street style to the best accessories to elevate each season’s wardrobe (she rarely goes anywhere without a stack of jewelry and a coffee in hand). A self-proclaimed beauty fanatic, she’s always on the hunt for must-have products and loves breaking down viral trends. Her favorite series at the moment is spotlighting female founders and the stories behind the brands they’ve built—especially those shaping the future of fashion, wellness and tech. She is based between New York City and San Francisco and, when she’s not writing, can be found rewatching One Tree Hill, playing sudoku, trying new restaurants or ranking her favorite Disney Channel Original Movies. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and journalism with a minor in criminal justice from Boston University.