Looking at Angel Reese's strong start to her WNBA career
Angel Reese is off to a terrific start in her WNBA career, now with three games under her belt with the Chicago Sky as the No. 7 overall pick in the WNBA Draft. Along the way, she continues to be a massive draw and command the attention of people across the country to help grow the WNBA.
Starting on the court, she’s been perhaps even more impactful than many assumed early on. Through three games, she’s played 27.7 minutes per contest as a full time starter, with 12 points and 8.7 rebounds per game with 1.3 assists and one steal. The energy and motor has translated immediately, which impacts the game on both ends. She continues to dominate the offensive glass with 15 offensive rebounds in three games. She relentlessly attacks the basket, resulting in 24 free throw attempts in three games.
I also love the way she runs the open court, filling lanes and seeing passes quickly. Defensively, she has tremendous instincts and hands to make plays. There’s a long way to go this season, but through three games, Reese has shown exactly what makes her a special talent and she’s been a key role player on a team with a 2-1 record.
“Just a knack. Just knowing where to be, how to be, and you’re hungry for a rebound.” Chicago Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon said of Reese’s rebounding. “She’s just relentless. There’s a relentless pursuit for the ball. And that’s who she is, that’s what she’s about.”
There have also been some struggles, as expected. She’s shooting just 33 percent from the field (11-of-33) so far this year. I’m not sure she ever turns into a super efficient player with her style of play, but she should be in the 40s once she gets a better feel for the game and gets stronger. The bigger issue right now are the free throws where she’s 14-of-24 on (58.3%), significantly lower than the 72.6 percent she shot at LSU last year. I expect that percentage to get back to 70% at some point, which makes her much more valuable.
She’s also picked up 12 fouls and zero blocks through three games, it’s not a huge issue because she’s playing so many minutes, but she has to work to be a positional defender instead of swiping and going for the steal or block as much as she does. This will take some time, but she certainly is a high level defender for a rookie and will continue to grow into a monster on this end.
This draft class is continuing to show what makes it special with Cameron Brink, Caitlin Clark, Rickea Jackson, and Angel Reese all having significant impacts on their teams early on.
“It’s not just one person, I think people don’t realize that (because) the narrative out there is that just one person changing the game,” Reese said Thursday. “It’s a lot of us — me, Kamilla (Cardoso ), there’s Cameron (Brink), Rickea (Jackson). There’s so many great players and it’s been long overdue and just being able to see that our impact has been able to change the game.
“I love it for us all and we’re just going to continue to keep going.”
Off the court efforts
Reese continues to push for more from the WNBA as a league. Chartered flights, social media engagement, expansion, and bigger TV ratings have been atop the list for the WNBA’s growth and it’s beginning to happen with this star-studded rookie class.
The league saw a 14 percent increase in attendance in the first week from last year, while the Liberty became the first team in WNBA history to have more than $2 million in ticket revenue for a single game in their opener. In total, there were 10 sellouts in the league’s opening week. Caitlin Clark’s opening game got 2.1 million viewers, but several game are performing well across the ESPN and ABC broadcasts.
Reese continues to stay in the spotlight as well. Her social media feed continues to make waves with every post and further keeps the WNBA relevant throughout the summer months. If there’s one thing about Reese, she will stand for what she is passionate about and right now that is the WNBA and it’s future. The league needs an outspoken star and Reese is ready to shake things up for better or worse.
Her and the Sky return to the court on Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Connecticut Sun on the road on CBS Sports Network.
