Angel Reese has yet to see a missed shot she did not love.
Whether the shot careens off the basket, hits the glass a bit too hard to land in the net, or catches nothing at all, Reese has the uncanny knack to turn that nothing into something.
And, she is currently on pace to be the best rookie to do so in WNBA history.
Angel Reese (374) is 30 rebounds away from setting the all-time record for rebounds in a season (Sylvia Fowles, 404). She’s such an elite rebounder. @Winsidr #WNBA
— Pitch Mr. Perfect (@MichaelWaterloo) August 26, 2024
Shooting and passing are a much flashier part of any player’s game, but dominating the glass is an entirely different beast. A player’s timing, footwork, and strength in the post are tested constantly as they bang around amongst other hungry board cleaners. Reese is simply the best this season at all of the above, and it is why she has endeared herself amongst voters in a contentious Rookie of the Year (ROTY) race.
Two aspects of rebounding separate her from her contemporaries.One, which is reminiscent of the Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas, is how good she is as a ball handler. Trained as a point guard when she was younger, Reese has flexed numerous times throughout this season her ability to grab a defensive rebound and get out in transition with the ball in her hands. As the Chicago Sky continue to figure out their rotations in their backcourt, this has been huge for keeping up their pace and playing to their youthful strength — outrunning their opponents.
The second unique aspect is how Reese gets so many offensive boards. Some criticize this part of her rebounding game, calling it a crutch – being able to grab her misses is fine, but does that not mean she is also a poor shooter?
Reese’s efficiency this season sits at 40.1 percent from the field. That is fairly low for a post-player, but the Sky rank fourth overall in second-chance points per game. That’s just behind the Seattle Storm, Sun, and Dallas Wings — all teams featuring elite frontcourt play. Reese ranks second amongst all players in second-chance points per game, only behind the recently returning Satou Sabally of the Wings who has logged just two games so far this season. Without Sabally in the mix, Reese stands first in that category.
Second chance scoring is a difficult feat in the WNBA. When facing up with elite post defenders such as A’ja Wilson, Thomas, Napheesa Collier, or Jonquel Jones, just to name a few, it reads as daunting. For Reese, it reads as an opportunity to do her classic shoulder roll and flex – almost to say, I’m here now, too.
Removing that lens when speaking about Reese’s impact on offense — the lens of only looking at efficiency — is paramount to seeing how special she is at commanding the offensive glass. It is something Reese is already aware of as an area to improve in as a scorer.
“For me, it’s kind of a good and a bad thing. When I go up for layups, I know I can get my rebound before looking at the basket and making the shot before I get the rebound. So, for me, I’m hard on myself. I’m trying to be more efficient around the basket,” Reese told reporters back in June.
Reese has already made history even before the end of her rookie season. She broke the record for most consecutive double-doubles this year with 15 in a row, a streak that ended after the New York Liberty quadruple teamed her to prevent a 10th point from rattling in at the end of their game back in July. She also reached 20 double-doubles total this season, the fastest player in WNBA history to do so. She leads in several rebounding categories in a league chock full of rebounding aficionados, including total rebounds (332), offensive rebounds (135) and rebounds per game (12.3).
Reese is going to keep growing as a scorer, shooter, and rebounder. The Sky are also battling for postseason positioning, something many would not have predicted possible at the beginning of their season, with many – myself included – considering them to be a rebuilding team at the start of the year.
Chicago has had three major clashes in the past week – two close losses to top teams in the Sun and Las Vegas Aces and a tough loss to the Phoenix Mercury. While those losses sting, what matters is that the Sky battled.
Reese is a huge part of that battle – her averaging over 20 rebounds per game over that three game stretch is a pretty good indicator of her impact on those contests. But, while the rebounding stats, accolades, and even the battle for ROTY are important to her, winning is what she seeks.
“[Winning] is what’s most important to me,” Reese told ESPN’s Alexa Philippou when her double-double streak ended on Thursday. “I think I’ve done a great job, being able to be consistent and I’ve broken the record already. So [I want to] be able to just be me and do whatever my teammates need.”
