Chicago Sky star Angel Reese has been setting WNBA records at a historic pace on par with fellow rookie Caitlin Clark, yet many of Reese’s critics believe her rebounding records in particular should come with a caveat—that is, she’s benefiting off of her own missed shots.
Reese broke the WNBA single-season rebounding record in Sunday’s 79-74 loss to the Minnesota Lynx, surpassing retired center Sylvia Fowles’s mark of 404. The former LSU standout logged 19 rebounds in her 24th double-double outing of the season and now has a whopping 418 rebounds through her first 32 games in the league.
Amid ongoing backlash over her rebounding stats, Reese issued a strong message in Sunday’s postgame press conference.
“A lot of people think it’s because I get my own [misses] but statistically, it’s not,” Reese said. “A lot of people think it's because I’m the tallest on the court, when I’m not the tallest on the court. Just being able to go down there and bang, doing things that a lot of people don’t want to do. Defense and rebounding wins championships. And I’ve won championships at every level by just doing that.”
"A lot of people think it's because I get my own rebounds, but statistically it's not. A lot of people think it's because I'm the tallest on the court when I'm not the tallest on the court."
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) September 1, 2024
Angel Reese on why she's such a great rebounder 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/zQd7DfsGKF
ESPN’s Rebecca Lobo came to Reese’s defense last week and brought the stats to prove it.
“Some of her critics like to say, ‘She gets a lot of offensive rebounds off her own misses,’” Lobo said on SportsCenter. “Well, our stats and information group looked that up. If you take away all of the offensive rebounds off her own misses, guess what? She’s still leading the league in offensive rebounds per game. She has been remarkable. Historically remarkable.”
Reese currently holds the WNBA rookie season records for rebounds and double-doubles, yet her first-year individual success hasn’t necessarily translated to team wins. Following Sunday’s defeat, the Sky (11-21) have dropped seven of their last eight games coming out of the Olympic break and are gradually losing sight of the playoff race.
Reese, who astoundingly has more career rebounds than 74.5% of all players in WNBA history, could be primed to make more history in the coming month. The 22-year-old forward is just five double-doubles away from breaking Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas’s single-season double-double mark (28).
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Angel Reese Gave Blunt Response on Her Rebounding Stats Amid Sky Losing Streak.
