Angel Reese continues to set WNBA records in her rookie season.
The Chicago Sky forward broke the record for most rebounds in a single season when she grabbed her sixth rebound in Sunday’s 79-74 loss to the Minnesota Lynx. That gave Reese 405 rebounds on the season, surpassing Sylvia Fowles’ record of 404, which she set during the 2018 season. Fowles played for the Lynx at the time, adding an interesting footnote to Reese’s performance.
Reese, 22, finished with 19 rebounds and 17 points, her 24th double-double of the season, bringing her rebound total to 418 with eight games left in the Sky’s regular season. Fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso led Chicago with a career-high 22 points and added nine rebounds, while Michaela Onyenwere added 15 points.
Courtney Williams led Minnesota with 22 points, followed by Kayla McBride with 17 and Napheesa Collier with 15. The Lynx improved to 23–9, maintaining the third-best record in the WNBA.
Reese leads the WNBA with an average of 13.1 rebounds per game. If the rookie maintains that average, she could put the season record for rebounds out of reach. Reese is on pace to finish the season with 517 rebounds, as Noa Dalzell of SB Nation pointed out. That would put her 113 rebounds more than Fowles’ previous record.
With that kind of rebounding ability, it was certainly no coincidence that Reese wore Dennis Rodman’s Detroit Pistons jersey before the game on Friday against the Indiana Fever. Rodman was an incredibly productive rebounder during his NBA career, leading the league for seven consecutive seasons, averaging 13.1 rebounds per game.
Since the Olympic break, Reese has averaged 16.1 rebounds in seven games, during which time she became the first WNBA player to grab 20 rebounds in three consecutive games and recorded her 23rd double-double of the season, surpassing the record previously held by Tina Charles.
The Sky (11-20) next play at the Las Vegas Aces (19-12) on Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET, pitting Reese against A’ja Wilson, the favorite for WNBA MVP who ranks second in the league with an average of 11.8 rebounds per game.
