Angel Reese has etched her name in the history books yet again after breaking the all-time WNBA record for most rebounds in a single season - a feat made even more impressive considering she accomplished it as a rookie.
On Sunday, Reese and the Chicago Sky faced off against the Minnesota Lynx at the Target Center in Minneapolis. With just over four minutes remaining in the second quarter, the star forward corralled a rebound off a missed 3-point attempt from Myisha Hines-Allen - her sixth of the game and 405th of the season.
By reeling in the defensive board, Reese shattered the WNBA's single-season rebounding record previously held by Sylvia Fowles, who recorded 404 in 2018. Jonquel Jones sits third on the all-time list with 403 rebounds, followed close behind by Tina Charles (398) and Alyssa Thomas (394).
Fans online swiftly took to social media to commend Reese on her incredible accomplishment. "Congrats to Angel Reese on breaking the alltime rebounding record! We may never see rebounding on this level ever again," one X user wrote, with another adding: "Angel Reese is already the greatest rebounder in WNBA history!"
Others were not as supportive, however, alleging Reese broke the record by padding her stats off missed shots. The 22-year-old has struggled mightily to convert on shots around the basket this season, shooting below 50% from inside of five feet.
"Half of those are her rebounding her own missed layups," one critic pointed out. "She found the cheat code, all she gotta do his miss layups and get her own boards," someone else said.
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Regardless, it hasn't taken long for Reese to make her presence felt at the professional level. During her first taste of WNBA action, she's recorded the most consecutive double-doubles by a rookie in a season (15), as well as become the all-time rookie leader in double-doubles in a single season with 24 - not to mention the Sky have eight more games to play this year not including Sunday's contest.
Entering play against the Lynx, Reese was averaging 13.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists over 31 games. The dominant performance has placed her at the forefront of the WNBA Rookie of the Year conversation alongside Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark .
Ahead of Friday’s clash between the Sky and Fever, Reese asserted that winning the award was the least of her concerns. “We don't either care about the Rookie of the Year but you guys, I think you guys have made the big thing. We haven't,” she said of Clark while addressing a room of reporters.
“So I just continue to work within our team. We both want to win. We've been wanting to win and that's what we've done in our collegiate career. We played against each other last year and the year before in the March Madness tournament. So we're just trying to do whatever it takes to win. That's what's important right now.”
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