{"id":421097,"date":"2025-12-03T05:11:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T05:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/421097\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T05:11:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T05:11:14","slug":"wnba-star-angel-reese-in-tears-after-anok-yai-wins-model-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/421097\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA Star Angel Reese ‘in Tears’ After Anok Yai Wins ‘Model of the Year’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Angel Reese<\/a> is no stranger to celebrating big wins, whether on court or beyond basketball, but this time, the victory isn’t about her but for supermodel Anok Yai.<\/p>\n

On Monday, London’s Royal Albert Hall was dazzling with celebrities and influential people as they celebrated the 2025 Fashion Awards.<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old South Sudanese-American took home the Model of the Year<\/a> honor in the award show presented by the British Fashion Council and Pandora.<\/p>\n

During her acceptance speech<\/a>, Yai, who took the stage in a stunning ivory satin corset-style gown, delivered remarkable words on growing up as a black woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo all my little Black girls who are watching me right now \u2013 your color is not a curse. You are not a trend, you are not unfortunate. You are worthy, you are capable and you are more powerful than you can imagine,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Anok<\/p>\n

Anok Yai receives The Model Of The Year Award at The Fashion Awards 2025John Phillips&sol;Getty Images for BFC<\/p>\n

With Yai’s powerful message, the Chicago Sky star was moved to tears as the supermodel won the prestigious title.<\/p>\n

Although Reese wasn’t physically present at the ceremony, the WNBA star celebrated the model\u2019s milestone.<\/p>\n

In a post shared to her Instagram Story, Reese proudly called herself a \u201cbig fan\u201d and admitted she was \u201cin tears\u201d as the Vogue covergirl accepted the honor.<\/p>\n

\u201cBIG FAN!\u201d literally in tears! Thank you for being such an inspiration for black women,\u201d she captioned her post.<\/p>\n

Yai and the Sky forward shared a memorable moment during the recent Victoria\u2019s Secret fashion show in New York.<\/p>\n

While this year marked the runway model\u2019s second time walking for the iconic brand show, Reese, on the other hand, made her debut as one of the models.<\/p>\n

\"Anok<\/p>\n

Anok Yai, Paloma Elsesser and Angel Reese pose backstage for Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2025.Slaven Vlasic&sol;Getty Images for Victoria’s Secret<\/p>\n

According to her, it was something that she \u201cmanifested.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI manifested this moment,\u201d the 23-year-old told E! News<\/a> in an exclusive interview, adding, \u201cI posted it on my Story last year that I was going to be a Victoria’s Secret model and it literally happened less than a year later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reese was also ecstatic to be with notable models like Gigi Hadid<\/a>, Adriana Lima and Lily Aldridge, whom she looked up to.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means everything to me,\u201d she added. \u201cI\u2019m just really excited to be here. There are so many great people and women who have done this. I get to sit in the room with the top top top models. Just being here and being in this moment\u2014I\u2019m grateful and graceful and I\u2019m really gonna enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although fans now see her more off the court, Reese remains focused on her basketball career<\/a> and has made it clear she will not pursue modeling full-time.<\/p>\n

Related: Angel Reese Posts Emotional Message After Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Parade<\/a> on Dec 3, 2025, where it first appeared in the News<\/a> section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n