The WNBA career of Angel Reese is off to a spectacular start. She set a rookie record by grabbing 12 offensive rebounds over her first two games for the Chicago Sky. Only three players in WNBA history, Cheryl Ford, Erika de Souza, and Jonquel Jones, secured more offensive rebounds over a two-game stretch and none as a rookie.
Before Chicago handed the New York Liberty their first loss of the season on Thursday, May 22 in Brooklyn, Chicago Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon, who is in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, discussed what makes Reese a great rebounder.
It’s a knack, just a knack,” she said of Reese. “You just know where to be, how to be, and you’re hungry for rebound. She’s just relentless. There’s a relentless pursuit for the ball, and that’s who she is. That’s what she’s about. It’s about positioning yourself. And then also, it’s a study too, as well. Who’s shooting the ball? Where does it go? It’s a study that you have to go through to know how to be an incredible rebounder, and she studies it.”
Rolling Out asked Weatherspoon when she first discovered Reese’s rebounding knack.
“Before she got here,” she shared. “I mean, of course our eyes were up on her in the (2024 WNBA) draft, so we knew exactly what she brought to the table, rebounding the way that she does and how official she is in doing so. That carries over because that’s who you are. It carries over to the next level. She understands that there’s levels to this thing. She puts the work in.”
Weatherspoon went on to discuss more of Reese’s qualities that make her a quality player.
“She puts the work in, she’s a competitor, she’s a winner,” she said. “(Reese) wants to win. And she’s adding to her game. She’s adding. One thing about her is (she’s) not a kid who cares about scoring. She cares about winning. And that’s a process. There’s a process in winning. And it’s not just about scoring, it’s not just about rebounds. It’s all aspects of the game, and she wants to get that done.”
Weatherspoon also discussed Reese off of the court
“She is not in it just for herself, she’s in it for everybody,” Weatherspoon said. “She’s going to bring her teammates along. I don’t know if you guys saw, she came in and brought all of us gifts. Every one of us. She didn’t leave out a person. And it means a lot.”
Relentless Reese went on to score 13 points, grab 9 rebounds, including 3 on the offensive side, and played tremendous defense on reigning WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart, who was held to just 3 points in the first half in the 90-81 Sky win. Chicago plays their home opener tonight against the only undefeated team in the WNBA, the Connecticut Sun at 8 pm.
