GOOD FOLLOW - The Aces Win the Championship!! Angel Reese’s Motion is Undeniable, Ros Roses & More!

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We're listening to DraftKings Network.

Hey, what's up, everyone?

Welcome to Good Follow, presented by DraftKings.

I'm Ross Goldon Gwede, and that is five-time WNBA All-Star Angel McCautry.

Woo-woo.

Angel tried to bully me before the show, y'all.

I wanted to brush my teeth before the show, and I pulled out a mini toothbrush and toothpaste from my purse, and I was ridiculed for it.

Y'all don't travel with a toothbrush throughout the day?

No, we brush them in the morning.

So y'all are going from 8 a.m.

to 8 p.m.

One brush.

That's it.

No midday brush.

All the food, all the conversation.

There's a midday brush.

It's just at home.

You don't even have a brush to do your midday brush, but you coming at me.

That's crazy.

Let us know in the comments what you think about brushing rituals.

Are you a morning, afternoon, and night?

Hey, but we sparkling white, though.

Give them that crest smile.

Angel, you do have a crest smile.

You too.

There we go.

All right, guys.

We have a lot of reasons to smile.

And one of them is we're bringing the bells back out, baby.

Do you know why we have the bells out, Angel?

Why do we have the bells?

You're relatively newer to the show.

I bring the bells out.

When we got milestones or things to achieve or accomplish, we hit 4K subscribers on YouTube.

We're not good.

Hi, hi, number 3,997 and 3,998, 3,997.

So awesome, man.

Yeah, it is exciting.

We relaunched the show in January.

So it's not even a full year.

There's a whole quarter of the year left.

And we're not only just watched on YouTube.

It's people who download.

Most of our audience actually downloads and listens on podcast podcast streaming and things like that so everyone who chimes in who watches our clips on social who engages who follows we really appreciate you we try to put a great product out we really take a lot of pride in this i think we're finding our stride a little bit yeah and we're gonna keep working for you so we really appreciate it thank you thank you guys we it's a family so we love you and so actually that takes us to today's show yeah yeah here's the menu the aces

they kept receipts and they kept some receipts for good follow show they called out all the non-believers.

And Roz's Roses is back for Good Follow's favorite Aces Championship storylines.

And Angel Reese, my goodness, the aura queen, the motion queen, she continues to make money moves.

We're going to cover all of that in today's show.

Well, thank you guys.

You can like, comment, subscribe, follow us.

Thank you so much for all the love.

Tuesdays and Thursdays.

You can check out Good Follow right here.

Bam, baby.

I'm repping

Cameron Brink today.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We're going to got to start repping some of the girls on the show.

That'd be cool.

Absolutely.

We love Cam Brink.

Also, Stanford family.

What up, Cam?

Let's go.

I do want to say that speaking of Cam, speaking of all the things,

women's basketball, it never stops.

No.

And that's a really exciting time that we are existing in.

So WNBA season has come to an end, but guess what?

Unrivaled, Athletes Unlimited, college basketball, NCAA, it's all happening next.

And guess what?

Good follow, we will cover that for you.

We come to you two two times a week covering all of these women's basketball and bigger women's sports storylines for you.

So you can trust us.

Be here.

The conversation keeps going.

Yeah.

Receipts?

Receipts.

Friday evening,

shortly after the Aces won the chip.

Now we stand a prepared admin.

Yeah.

Okay.

They dropped.

and posted a video on social media with all the receipts of people who folded on them this season.

Let's take a look.

Let's take a look.

And I'm sorry, the Aces, your time is over.

You're a team that can beat the bad teams, but can't beat the good teams.

Maybe you're just not a good team.

Why are the aces right now?

I think what you just said, not a good team.

Bras, is the Aces dynasty over?

Honestly, probably yes.

I see them being at the middle of the pack at best.

No, the Las Vegas Aces may end up in a situation where they may have to consider trading AJ Wilson.

Come on now, y'all.

We wasn't, I wasn't in that.

Other teams got a lot better and the aces seem seem that they did.

Happy needs to have two cameos.

I am wow.

Rise, too?

You got, okay, I need you to explain this.

Nah, nah, nah, nah.

First of all, I woke up the next morning to text messages from some of my homegirls that cover women's basketball talking about not you in 4K.

Oh, the Aces, put you in 4K.

So

the one comment about trading Asia is absolutely insane.

But

entertain that.

But to address my commentary,

first of all,

full stop, Aces proved all of that wrong, right?

So congratulations to the champions.

And I deserve the smoke for sure.

At the time that I was making that comment though, like it absolutely was a very commonly held

analysis of the way the Aces were playing.

I mean, objectively, they weren't playing well.

And we said that.

Yeah.

I think that clip was like from June or something like that.

So, I mean, remember in August 2nd, they were staying lost by 52, 52 or three points to Minnesota.

And that's when they went on that winning streak.

So you're talking about they were really struggling.

But so I stand on that.

Yep.

But I mean, if we keep it real.

I even had the Mercury winning the championship, remember?

You did have that.

So I deserve all the aces smoke.

I deserve, I deserve the ace of smoke.

And that actually, it means that they deserve all the flowers.

You know what I'm saying?

They deserve all the flowers.

Yeah.

So that actually brings me to, we're bringing back an old segment.

Those old school, good follow fans might remember.

Rozes, Roses.

Oh, you got that graphic.

I love that.

Okay.

So now with the 2025 WNBA season being over.

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Limited time offer angel i want to include you in roz's roses i'm ready let's go let's get it thank you some roses oh man these smell amazing yes they do smell good and so angel and i will be handing out roses and giving them out to where we're going to highlight our favorite moments from the aces championship uh celebration and just throughout the season like things that really took them over the top okay right okay so let's start off with a rose for aces resiliency and just that it the testimony of their season let's check this out yeah I love being their coach I love being their coach I love being their friend I love being a phone call for them I'm invested in their greatness and getting that out of them every day I know I've shared tears with all of them just when it's different because it was different

there was

probably a lot more adversity than any of us anticipated.

And at the end of the day, we're all human.

But we're humans that wanted to get it right and get it right together.

They're stuck with me.

I mean, wherever they go, they're going to be stuck with me.

Oh, my gosh.

Ross.

Can we just wipe our teeth right now?

Like, just, I felt that.

You know, the first thing you want

as a player is a coach that you know that cares, a coach that you know that you can call on.

A coach that you know that you'll go out there.

and play your hardest for.

You know what I mean?

Just through the adversity of the season.

To me, this is the best championship the Aces have.

Why?

Why?

The other two seasons, it was expected, right?

They were on top.

They were maybe number one, number two.

We expected them to win a championship.

Just like this year, we expected Phoenix or we expected the Lynx.

We did not expect the Aces at all.

They had a 53-point loss.

People had counted them out.

We just, we were just like, wow, what a season for them.

We kind of was just like, we wrote them off.

This is the kind of championship.

This is the kind of championship that deserves a documentary

because that's what makes it that

adversity where everybody counted you out.

You were an underdog in a way.

Yeah.

And then here you come out of nowhere.

Yeah.

And you win a championship.

Yeah, I feel that completely.

I actually think within the dynasty, so of the three championships that they've now won in four years, Angel,

this might be one that was

the most difficult path or at least certainly the craziest turnaround.

I believe it might have been Becky's hardest coaching job or most difficult coaching job.

And they've often said it, it was different this year.

This was a different path.

And there was also different cast and crew.

Think about it.

Different assistant coaches, a lot of different rosters.

People came in during the year, movement within the starting lineup, movement

to the bench, just a lot of change up.

But this was a season of flexibility.

And I find that there's, I use the word testimony because I find this season really relatable.

Like this is something you could tell to an AAU team one day.

Like, hey, we didn't start the season strong, but it's not ever over.

Never forget that ACES team that, you know, was 500 and then won the championship.

We still have time to turn this around.

Yes.

Even personally to hold on to that.

Like you can be in a season of struggling and still turn it around and come out on top.

I think there's a lot of resilience there.

And one thing I want to point out too, is that at some point this season, it really felt like Asia Wilson, you know, was dragging dragging this team with her to the top, right?

Yeah, this championship, and certainly towards the end of the win streak into the playoffs and all the way to the championship, this was about team improvement and team success.

The Aces got better as a unit.

Like, I think obviously Asia Wilson was great, but their defense got better.

They got more serious about rebounding.

People understood their roles and like chipped in that way.

And ultimately, they really became a championship team by the end.

So, roses for y'all.

Roses.

There you go, guys.

Like, ugh.

Attestament.

Beautiful.

Our next rose is to

Asia Wilson.

Of course.

Asia, roses for you, baby girl.

Now, so this is a quick one because we already, I mean, hello.

Hello.

So Asia Wilson had a historic season.

She is the.

2025 league scoring champ, also the blocks champ, co-defensive player of the year.

She is the league MVP, the finals MVP, and led her team to a championship.

So, I mean, just

she almost won every single thing you could win in a WNBA season.

I mean, the main thing is do not get tired of her greatness, guys.

Don't have the, what did you call it?

Greatness fatigue?

Fatigue.

Don't get fatigued with her greatness, please.

The next rose, which is a combo rose that we're giving to Jewel Lloyd and Becky Hammond, a combo rose.

Let's look at this clip between Becky and Jewel.

Never a doubt.

Never a doubt.

Oh my God.

What a lifesaver you are.

And you're the best.

You're the best.

You're about winning.

You're about all the right things.

It's Becky Hammond holding Jewel Lloyd in her arms,

sobbing.

Their faces are in each other's necks.

I think we get lucky because Becky's mic'd up from the game.

Yeah.

And so we like have this moment that I'm not even sure that they're aware we have, right?

And

all Jewel can even muster out because she's sobbing is, thank you.

Thank you, you know?

Yeah.

And I want to also give the context that post-game, Jewel Lloyd had a couple of moments, whether it was at the podium or on the court with Holly Rowe.

But she said,

I needed to go someplace where I could heal, where I could play free.

And actually, we do have it on tape.

Jewel also post-game saying this.

You know, Becky was definitely the person that believed in me from the start.

You know, I was kind of written off in exile, but I ended up in the promised land.

Just to to give some more context on Jewel's season,

she averaged 13.8 points, so about 14 points, five and a half blocks, one and a half steals in the four games of the WNBA finals.

Like, absolutely stepped up, was a huge X factor to get the aces to the championship.

Um, so, Angel, like, what do you make of all of the emotion you're seeing?

Yeah, first, let me say for the comment: um,

her being felt feeling exiled, I hope she didn't never felt that way from the fans or because because I never felt that she was written off.

I always, she's one of them once to me.

And I feel like the fans feel the same way.

So I don't know who could have ever made her feel.

So I appreciate that perspective because I think it comes from you as a, as a fellow player and someone who has played years against Jewel Lloyd.

It's nothing but respect.

She was absolutely being publicly ridiculed.

She was also her, she was having poor seasons in comparison to her body of work.

Numbers were down, points were down.

And like, again, like super vulnerable.

Like her performances are all on public display to be, you know, judged.

And she was coming in for Kelsey Plum for the Aces.

And like at first, the production just did not match the expectation.

And I would say.

it was hard for her.

I'd also say, don't forget, she just went through a season where she had to leave the Seattle storm because she said, in her words, she was being, there was bullying going on.

Like it's been really traumatic for her the last couple of seasons.

And that's, we don't even know how long that's been going on in Seattle when she was there, but she was really

hurting.

And Jewel has been very public about

the loss of joy and the loss of confidence that she had had over the last couple of years now in the WNBA.

And I actually think in the playoffs, as the playoffs progressed, you started to see more activity from her, more joy, and more confidence.

By the time the finals came around, Jewel was bouncing around and getting offensive rebounds.

I was like, God damn, Jewel Lloyd is athletic.

Where the hell did she come from?

Like on top of her hitting big threes and big shots.

But

I found myself watching that clip with her and Becky and I was like, yeah.

I was just like, yeah, Jewel, like sometimes you need the right voice.

And that was Becky's.

The right coach and leader to breathe some life into you, to believe in you.

And it takes time sometimes to get out the mud.

To get out of that.

And it's a testament to the ACEs.

she could start anywhere she's a star we know what she's done but for her to just put her ego to the side and come off the bench you know many people don't do that i i can't stress enough um how happy i am for jewel loyd to break through she broke through

a rose for you jewel yeah okay angel our next rose is For Nelissa Smith.

Oh, yeah.

I mean, there's so many testimonies and journeys that happened during this ACES season.

It's really crazy crazy when you think about it.

That pink tambourine made a lot of sense, right?

Okay, so Melissa Smith, we got a rose for you.

Talk about a journey.

She started the season with the Indiana fever.

Then she was traded to the Dallas Wings.

And then traded again to the Las Vegas Aces.

And if you remember in both of those stops, like they weren't triumphant with the fever, with Dallas, the entire team was really struggling.

And like, it just wasn't a great situation.

She got traded to the Aces and many people were like, huh?

What does that do?

And like all of those people, you know, would be wrong because she excelled with the aces.

And, you know, for me, what I see in Alyssa Smith's story is like, girl, how often is it about right situation, right fit?

You've got to, you, sometimes you can be lucky.

It could change the trajectory of your career, like finding the right.

fit of a team for you to find a role to belong to.

The aces needed someone who could bring energy, rebound, defend,

finish efficiently around the rim, what she was doing.

Someone to compliment Asia inside, you know, not only help defensively, but offensively.

And she brought that energy.

And I also think the right placement, like the right challenge, being next to Asia Wilson, I think was really positive for Nelissa Smith.

It forced her to level up and to come and be consistent and see what greatness looks like because she's always had the potential.

So kids.

If you ever feel like your situation is bad, you never know what can turn around.

Call Nelissa Smith.

Call these girls and ask them what they did.

And Alyssa, tell them the price just went up, baby.

Here's a rose.

Guess what?

Free agency for

hello.

Um, all right, all right, we got another rose to give out.

Our next rose is actually to Bam.

It's the Bam in Asia, it's the Bam out of bio.

Um, he really has stepped up as the supportive boyfriend.

Like, really, he did his big one.

Think about it.

Okay, so let's check out Bam and Asia during the finals.

People were joking around.

Is Asia gonna get a second ring this year?

Here it says.

No, no, no, no, no.

We joke here.

Whatever's the right timing.

But listen, you've seen Pops got the Pops hug, and then Bam got the baby hug.

And look, I've actually, I've kept receipts.

Look, Bam has been showing up.

He rocks Asia's sneakers.

Like, we've seen that,

him watching the A1s, rocking them.

Remember when Asia had

shared the Defensive Player of the Year award with Atlanta Smith?

And so he's on Twitter,

just like any old regular person, emo sub-tweeting about the Defensive Player of the Year being a co-remember.

He presented her her MVP award.

Sure did.

You know, the way he's holding her up.

He's at the games.

He's holding her after the championship.

Like,

there's a lot of y'all still waiting for a text back.

You know,

I know I am.

Hey,

like, for real, man.

Some of y'all,

some of us, Asia, you have done everything right.

Yeah.

We love the loving basketball image.

And that'll do it for Roz's Roses.

And I guess Angels roses, too.

Oh, let's go.

We'll be right back.

Welcome back to Good Follow.

Today's episode is presented by DraftKings.

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We got to get to the motion queen, the aura queen, Angel Reese.

Her WNBA season might be over, but she is always making money move.

Okay, so I mean, she did a lot this season.

And let me take you through all she's done this year so far.

And this is what we could get off the top of our heads.

If we miss anything, let us know.

But I mean, just to name a few.

Angel Reese, she was named global ambassador and creative collaborator with Juicy Couture.

Also, like, she's taken some brands that have had huge brand equity and maybe have like had great storytelling of the past and like brought them to the right now to gen z to the current culture like she can make anything cool um

okay she's going to be the first pro athlete to walk the victoria's secret runway

She has a signature sneaker with Reebok.

Now, back in the day, the girlies was wearing Reebok, right?

She's wearing Reebok now.

But it's been some time since it's really been at the forefront of the culture.

It's been a while, but she's popping it again.

Boom.

Right.

And so she's got her own signature sneaker.

The new AR1 colourway drops this month, Charm City.

Okay, she's a cover girl for NBA 2K26, WNBA edition.

Pow, pow, pow.

Unapologetically, Angel, her podcast, is back with new guests like Common.

Okay, she's an actress.

What can't she do?

So she's making her debut in A House of Dynamite.

She's literally starring next to Idris Elf.

That's Every Girl's Dream.

I think so.

Now,

Angel don't just attend the Met Gala.

Oh.

She's not just an attendee.

Angel was a committee member for the Met Gala.

I mean, she was like part of decision making.

She's part of it.

That's it.

Babe was like 22, 23 at the time.

Oh, and a wise philosopher by the name of Drake once said, don't tell me that you would model if you ain't been in Vogue.

Hey.

Not only has Angel been in Vogue, she was on the cover of Vogue

and was the first woman's basketball player to do so.

I'm personally out of breath trying to get through all of the ways she has hit the culture and all the things she's doing.

What does it mean for people to see a woman's basketball player having this much motion and have this much impact?

It's everything.

She's setting a bar high

for all women's basketball players who used to say we weren't marketable, we weren't pretty, we couldn't do this.

We heard it all.

She is setting a bar and raising it for future girls to do the same thing.

Angel, keep going, do not stop, keep it going.

Yeah, like I was trying to think of like

there's no player, WNBA player that has transcended the game like Angel Reese and impacting and is impacting culture and is like just known in such a diversity of ways like Angel Reese there's not one right now and even if I think about over the course of the WNBA the only person I could think of and and please if you have another idea Lisa Leslie Lisa Leslie was doing Martin she was you know all the commercials all the things Sheryl Swoops Cynthia right so that you know what actually yeah so okay cool but it had been a long time since it impacted in that kind of way.

Yeah.

Angel's is different too, though.

Like, I think she's really like talking to like

kids who may not even recognize her as a hooper.

Yeah.

You know what I'm saying?

Like,

I think

like Gen Z, outside people, audiences, brands see Angel and they see someone who's obviously like.

a hooper, obviously super beautiful.

Yeah.

But like you want more than that.

She's bringing to the table that she's a hard worker,

you know, multifaceted, that she's strong, like, you know, physically strong too, you know?

And there's also this sense of she's someone who gets hated on publicly at times.

Like it's an us against the world.

Her fans like love seeing her beat the expectations.

There's a sense of like, what can Angel do next?

And I think at the center of it with Angel, she's just always herself.

She's herself.

She's super authentic.

Well, we have to move on because our show's out of time.

So that's it for Good Follow.

Kick it with us on Thursday as well.

We do Tuesdays and Thursdays.

We got a special guest coming Thursday.

But yeah, a rose.

A rose to all of you.

Thank you guys.

We'll catch you next.

We love you.

Bye.