Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese walks the Met Gala red carpet after practice Monday

Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese made a surprise appearance on the red carpet at the Met Gala on Monday, the only WNBA player to attend the high fashion event.

Reese — who the Sky traded up to select No. 7 in this year’s WNBA draft — wore Marco Capaldo 16Arlington. The gala doubled as a birthday event for the rookie, who turned 22 on Monday.

This isn’t Reese’s first foray into the fashion world — she has devoted extensive time off the court to modeling, stepped out to her first preseason game sporting Chanel and Balenciaga, and announced her decision to declare for the WNBA draft in Vogue magazine.

The Met Gala is an annual charity event to raise funds for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This year’s gala was themed “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” with a dress code of “The Garden of Time.”

Reese attended a portion of Sky practice in Deerfield, Ill., on Monday morning before exiting early to hop on a private jet to New York City for the event.

Fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso took a similarly early exit from Monday’s practice to attend the Indianapolis premiere of the Netflix docu-series “Full Court Press,” which followed Cardoso, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and UCLA’s Kiki Rice throughout the 2023-24 NCAA women’s basketball season. But the Sky announced Monday night that Cardoso will be sidelined for four to six weeks due to a shoulder injury sustained in the May 3 preseason game against Minnesota.

The rookies will return to Chicago in time for Tuesday’s preseason game against the New York Liberty, which will offer the first opportunity for fans to see Reese play in Chicago (and on WNBA League Pass). But this hectic turnaround reflects a new reality for the rising stars of the 2024 WNBA draft class, who face unprecedented levels of fame on the heels of a celebrated collegiate season.

It’s a work-life balance that Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon hopes to support throughout the season for rookies and veterans alike.

“There were things that were in place for them that we thought were very important for them to be part of,” Weatherspoon said. “That’s something they earned and that’s never something we’d ever take away.”

Sky minority owner Dwyane Wade also attended the Met Gala event with his wife Gabrielle Union.