Angel Reese has quietly been one of the better rookies from the 2024 WNBA Draft Class. There's been a lot of talk about Caitlin Clark's up-and-down year, Cameron Brink's excellence, but lost in the sauce is Reese's contributions. The LSU product isn't a flashy scorer, but her fundamentals and all-around game make her a perfect cog for the Chicago Sky.
In the last two games in particular, Reese has been spectacular for the Sky. Reese notched two straight double-doubles in a win over the Washington Mystics and a loss to the Atlanta Dream. In addition, Reese nabbed five steals in both games. That made her the third player in WNBA history to record such stats, per the WNBA X account.
“The rook is makin’ waves 🌊 Angel Reese becomes the third player in WNBA history to record 10+ PTS, 10+ REB, and 5+ STL in back-to-back games, joining Erlana Larkins and Tamika Catchings!”
Unless her rival Clark, Reese mostly does her work inside the paint. Even back in LSU, the Sky forward played way above her height on both ends on the floor. It's taking a while, but we're starting to see Reese's finishing inside the paint start to show up in the WNBA. Her agility and touch inside makes her a true nightmare to guard.
On defense, her rebounding stands out as her biggest asset. Despite starting at forward for the Sky and standing at just 6'3, Reese is a master at positioning and grabbing rebounds. Now, she's starting to add turnover creation to her repertoire. The ten steals in two games is an outlier, but it's also important to note that Reese has had at least one steal in all but one game of her WNBA career.
Reese's impact for the Sky
Reese and the Sky are in a slightly better position than Clark's Indiana Fever, but they are still struggling for the most part. The loss to the Dream sent them at 4-6 for the season. That being said, they're holding their own pretty well and are still in the hunt for a playoff spot with the eighth seed.
The Sky's chances this season took a huge blow when starting center Elizabeth Williams was ruled out for the season with a torn meniscus. Against the Dream's star veterans in Tina Charles and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, Chicago fielded the newly-returning Kamilla Cardoso and Reese. The two rookies played relatively well, but the veteran smarts of Charles and Parker-Tyus was too much to handle.
Reese seemed to relish in playing against a WNBA great, though. Here's what the Sky rookie had to say about her matchup with Charles.
“I've been watching Tina for a while,” Reese said. “I've always respected her game. I consider her a legend. She told me, ‘You're doing a great job' and that she respects me. Even after the game, she was telling me to take my time finishing around the basket. That's why I came to the league, to play against these great vets to make me better. It gives me room to see where I am in my game.”
The Sky's path to the WNBA playoffs just got a lot tougher. Can they hold on to this lead they have and bring the rookie tandem of Kardoso and Reese to the playoffs in their first year together?
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