When her little brother received the call to the NBA, Angel Reese did not waste a second in showing her support.
Julian “JuJu” Reese signed a two-way contract with the Washington Wizards on February 28, 2026, and the moment hit Angel Reese like a wave before she could even process it. The Chicago Sky forward was flooded with emotion from the jump, and she was not shy about sharing how she felt when the news broke.
Angel Reese’s Request to Brother Juju
“As soon as I heard he was going to be on the team, I was like… I need a jersey,” she said.
The jersey request was just the beginning. When Angel joined the broadcast during JuJu’s second NBA start on Tuesday, March 3, against the Orlando Magic, she let the world know exactly how deep this moment ran for her and her family.
Angel Reese said she couldn’t stop crying when she heard her brother, Julian, got called up to the Wizards ❤️ pic.twitter.com/BPuXqfMaD8
— espnW (@espnW) March 4, 2026
“I was emotional when I found out I was crying, I was just so happy, because my mom was able to raise me and my brother. We were able to go to Maryland and play in front of our family,” she said.
“As soon as I heard he was going to be on the team, I was like… I need a jersey.” 🫶
Angel Reese is in attendance for her brother Julian Reese’s second career NBA game! pic.twitter.com/W6WGr9Udij
— NBA (@NBA) March 4, 2026
Angel made the trip to Orlando to sit courtside for Juju’s second career game, wearing his No. 15 Wizards jersey in the stands. Cameras caught her wiping tears away as she watched her younger brother take the floor, and the moment quickly went viral.
It has been quite the journey for Juju to get here. After four years at Maryland, he went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft. He got a look with the Los Angeles Lakers during Summer League before signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Toronto Raptors, but sustained NBA action was not guaranteed.
That changed when Washington came calling, and he made his league debut on March 1. In his second start against Orlando, he turned in a 33-minute performance that showed exactly why the Wizards gave him his shot, finishing with nine points, eight rebounds, and three assists in a 126-109 loss to the Magic.
Angel has not had a quiet offseason herself. She made a surprise return to Unrivaled on February 20 after missing time and, over three appearances with Rose BC, made 13.0 points and 10.3 rebounds that game. Rose BC also clinched a playoff berth in the Unrivaled league, giving Angel something to compete for while she counts down the days to the WNBA season.
Still, none of that overshadowed Tuesday night in Orlando. For a moment, Angel Reese was not a WNBA star or a public figure. She was a big sister sitting courtside in her little brother’s jersey, crying because the kid who grew up alongside her was living out his dream in real time. That is a moment no stat line can measure.
