The legacy of Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese continues to grow.
After being taken seventh overall in the WNBA Draft, Reese has thrived in Year One and on Tuesday night, she made some more history after previously surpassing Candace Parker's double-double record.
In an impressive 93-85 win over the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, Reese finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Not massive numbers, but the former LSU standout had a +26 rating, the highest ever against the Aces by a rookie. Via StatMamba:
As you can see, it was also another double-double for Reese, who has been a star for Chicago. The youngster is headlining the WNBA All-Star Team alongside Caitlin Clark.
The Sky surprisingly dominated Vegas on Tuesday, holding a 42-21 lead halfway through the second quarter. Chennedy Carter led all scorers with 34 points, helping Chicago improve to 10-14 on the year.
Angel Reese proving the doubters wrong
Reese had her fair share of doubters coming into the league after falling to seventh overall. But after a standout college career, Reese has proven that the jump to the WNBA is nothing she can't handle.
In 23 games, she's averaging 13.5 points, 12 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per night while shooting 40% from the field. Reese compiled 15 consecutive double-doubles before that streak ended last week.
However, she's now brought down a minimum of 10 boards in 18 contests in a row, which is also a WNBA record. Reese is making a major impact on both ends of the floor for the sky.
Her dominance down low has also earned the respect of one of the league's best in A'ja Wilson. Via Fox 32 Chicago:
“She has always been someone that was rebounding the basketball very, very well, and that's something that was going translate over to this league very quickly,” Wilson said on June 27. “It doesn't come by any surprise by me that she's successful in that field, because it's a field that takes a lot of grit and a lot of work.”
Perhaps Reese isn't the most consistent offensive player, but that will come with time. Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon notices her tireless work ethic and desire to get better:
“She wants to get better in every aspect of the game,” Weatherspoon said on July 11. “She looks at players she admires, and she wants to take things from them and add to her game. She’s always doing that. Having conversations with those players means a lot in how to get it done. The whys behind it. If that’s her goal, we’re going to push her toward it.”
At this rate, Angel Reese is on pace to likely break the WNBA's single-season rebounding record, needing 119 more to do so. She has 16 games left in the season to make more history.
With the All-Star Break and Olympics coming up, Chicago won't play again until August 15th.
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