It’s become one of the most recogniSable looks in basketball, but Angel Reese’s full-leg wrap is far more than a style statement.

There were plenty of questions about how Angel Reese’s game would hold up in the Finals, but she answered every single one by putting the Atlanta Dream on her shoulders. When their offense bogged down, it was Reese outworking everyone on the glass and bringing a gritty energy.

You can argue about her shooting or the noise that surrounds her, but watching her scrap for every inch proved she’s a true franchise anchor.

However, the job is not done, with the Valkyries taking a 3-2 lead in the finals.

Angel Reese’s leg strap explained

Angel Reese’s famous single-leg sleeve actually started as a way to hide a painful setback. After breaking her tibia as a freshman at Maryland, surgeons placed a rod in her shinbone through an incision right by her kneecap, leaving behind a lasting scar.

“I had surgery two years ago on my shin,” she recalled, later opening up on the I Am Athlete podcast about how her “confidence completely dropped” so badly that she almost walked away from the game.

Once she got her groove back, the sleeve stuck around, partly to honor hoop idols like A’ja Wilson and Te’a Cooper who wore the same style, and partly because, as Reese put it best, “It’s swag.”

It’s just like Olivia Miles rocking her trademark goggles, every elite hooper finds their own thing, and for Reese, that sleeve is hers.