After getting criticized for rebounding her own shots more than others’ earlier this season, Chicago Sky star forward Angel Reese has emerged as one of the WNBA’s most improved players.
Breaking Down Angel Reese’s Recent Dominance
Across all sports, there are many examples of athletes who followed up a great rookie campaign with a major sophomore slump. Through the first seven games of the WNBA season, it looked like Reese was well on her way to joining that dubious list, as she shot just 30% from the field and averaged only 9.1 points per game in that span.
Since that rough start, Reese is averaging 16.3 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists over her last 14 games while collecting a WNBA-high 12 double-doubles. Reese is currently riding a streak of nine consecutive double-doubles — the third-longest streak in WNBA history and the second-longest of her short career. (As a rookie, she set the WNBA record for most consecutive double-doubles in a single season with 15).
Making her current streak even more impressive is the fact that Reese has scored 15 points or more in eight of the nine games. Over that span, she is averaging 18.1 points, 14.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.3 steals, while shooting 50.4% from the field.
With her double-double against the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday, Reese joined WNBA legend Tina Charles as the only players in WNBA history to record 40 or more double-doubles in their first two seasons.
Unfortunately, Reese’s hot streak hasn’t translated to many wins, as the Sky sport a 5-9 record in their last 14 games and sit near the bottom of the WNBA standings.
Still, with her high-level work ethic and tough resolve on full display for the world to see, Reese has flipped her season from being a potential disaster to an incredible breakout that led to her second All-Star selection.
“I just trust my work. I put the work in every single day, and I can’t get down on myself when I’m missing shots,” Reese said recently. “But I have teammates that put a lot of confidence in me to take shots that sometimes I wasn’t comfortable taking before. It makes my job easier, and I know when I’m efficient and I can do things on the court offensively and defensively, it really helps the team get a win.”
For all the negative press and the split viewpoints about Reese, a few things are not up for debate. Her game is trending in the right direction, she legitimately is one of the most improved players in the league, and she still has a long way to go before she touches her ceiling.
If Reese can stay consistent and healthy while continuing to improve, her first All-WNBA nod could be in her near future. From a potential sophomore slump to slowly morphing into one of the best players in the WNBA, Reese has been silencing her critics.
