Angel Reese opted for a daring, eye-catching gown to ring in the New Year this week

The WNBA star appeared to have deleted her account after fans shared backlash to the look

Before the clock struck midnight, Reese had shared a sultry selfie – which is still available on her active TikTok page – along with a couple of videos showing her striking a pose.

The 6-foot-3 hoops star wowed in a mocha-colored, animal print, full-length gown which was embellished with ruffled detailing and an extremely-high split up the leg.

However, what really captured fans’ attention was the daring cut design of the tight-fitting dress.

The gown shocked fans with a cut-out in the midsection that plunged below her belly button and was barely fastened together across the chest by a thin brown string.

While some fans gushed over the jaw-dropping outfit, hailing Reese as ‘pretty’ and ‘gorgeous’, others weren’t as complimentary.

‘This is disgusting, I’m sorry,’ one particularly harsh critic posted, responding to a post on X, which reshared Reese’s video.

‘She has a lot of trust in that string,’ another commented in the replies.

Meanwhile, a third unfoundedly claimed that Reese’s nipple was visible as they wrote: ‘It would be fine if you couldn’t literally see her areola.’

Fans brutally savaged the 22-year-old for the plunging neckline on the gown

Others took issue with the outfit as they claimed Reese had only donned the dress in search of attention.

‘Damn that girl wants so much attention. It’s not funny no more. Is she working on her game to be a better basketball player? That’s the real question,’ one social media user said.

‘This girl just want more attention but don’t want to hoop lol,’ another echoed, as a third chimed in adding, ‘Tell me you want attention with out telling me.’

‘I swear she be going viral for everything but basketball,’ another wrote.

Following LSU’s 94-87 loss to Iowa in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament last year, Reese had claimed that she had to play through off-court woes, including being sexualized.

‘I just try to stay strong,’ she told reporters. ‘I’ve been through so much. I’ve seen so much. I’ve been attacked so many times. Death threats, I’ve been sexualized, I’ve been threatened. I’ve been so many things, and I’ve stood strong every single time.

‘… I’m still human. All this has happened since I won the national championship, and I said the other day, I haven’t been happy since then.’

However, following her bold New Year’s Eve outfit many fans called Reese out on her previous comments.

Some social media users called out Reese for trying to attract attention

Despite Reese’s right to wear whatever she wants, many shockingly and unfairly suggested that she was opening herself up to sexualized comments by wearing such an outfit.

Many asked, ‘Wasn’t she just saying people sexulize [sic] her to much?’ or, ‘Didn’t she say not to sexualize her?’

‘Per usual she’s half naked. But don’t sexualize her,’ one user posted, while another sarcastically added, ‘Now don’t anyone dare sexualize her.’

Reese also alleged on her podcast in September that fans of her rival Caitlin Clark had made AI-generated explicit photos of her and sent them to her family members.

‘Multiple occasions, people have made AI-images of me naked. They have sent it to my family members. My family members are like uncles, sending it to me like, ‘Are you naked on Instagram?’ Reese said. ‘It sucks having to go through that and see other players have to go through that.’