NEWSLETTER
In last night’s 79-71 win over the Washington Mystics, Angel Reese had yet another impressive effort that resulted in an elite WNBA rookie accomplishment. Reese dropped 16 points, grabbed 11 boards, and recorded 5 steals. In doing so, she became the first WNBA rookie since 2008 — and just the fourth rookie in WNBA history — to record 15+ points, 10+ rebounds, and 5+ steals in a game. The last rookie to accomplish that feat – one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, Candace Parker.
Angel Reese Making An Immediate Impact
When you select a player in the top ten of a draft in any sport, the hope is not only for a high ceiling, but also that the adjustment period to professional sports won’t take too long. For Reese, thus far in Chicago, that’s absolutely been the case. She’s just nine games into her young professional basketball career, but from day one, she’s showed she’s ready for the spotlight.
In just nine games so far, Angel Reese has recorded FOUR double-doubles (twice falling just one rebound short of two more). And in three of her last five, she’s recorded a season-high three assists while averaging two steals per game.
Does the field goal percentage need to see a little bit of a jump? Probably. Reese has shot over 40% from the field just twice thus far, and she’s been under 30% in her last three games. However, despite the lower field goal percentage, she’s still finding ways to score and impact the game on both ends of the floor. And that’s so huge as a rookie. Despite having one area of the game she’d like to clean up, she’s still having a positive impact and helping the Sky win games.
It’s still VERY early into the season and Reese’s WNBA career, but the early returns have been very promising. Seeing how she continues to grow and develop over the course of her rookie season should be a lot of fun to watch given what we’ve seen thus far.
