Rebounds, defense and high motor — Chicago Sky Angel Reese’s rookie season ends with injury

Angel Reese’s record-breaking rookie year for the Chicago Sky ended prematurely, as she announced Saturday that she would miss the rest of this WNBA season with a wrist injury.

In just 34 games, the 6-foot-3 forward Reese established herself as one of the most tenacious rebounders the WNBA has ever seen. She set the record for most rebounds in a season, finishing with 446, and also had 26 double-doubles, just shy of Connecticut forward Alyssa Thomas’ record of 28 set last year.

Reese also had a league record 15-game double-double streak and became the first WNBA player to ever have three consecutive 20-plus rebound games.

Drafted No. 7 out of LSU, where she won the national championship in 2023, Reese put up the biggest challenge to Indiana’s Caitlin Clark for rookie of the year. That was a testament especially to Reese’s productivity on the boards and her defense.

The Sky are still in a battle for the eighth and final playoff spot, tied with Atlanta and one game ahead of Washington. Chicago must try to finish strong without Reese.

Where does this leave the Sky with six games left, and how do we assess Reese’s first season? ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, Kevin Pelton and Michael Voepel break down Saturday’s announcement.

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What grade would you give Reese’s rookie season?

Voepel: An A. And she earned it. There were WNBA personnel who questioned how well she would do at the pro level for various reasons, including her shooting range. But those who believed in her game kept saying her motor alone was a valuable tool, and it has been. Plus, her numbers back that up, as she averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds.

Reese’s natural instinct for rebounding combined with her relentlessness allowed her to sometimes wear other teams out on the boards all by herself. She set the season rebounding mark in 32 games, breaking the previous record set by Sylvia Fowles in 34 games. Fowles, who retired after the 2022 season, is the WNBA’s all-time leading rebounder (4,006), a mark you could see Reese one day breaking, too.

Her double-double streak showed her consistency and productivity continuing in the pros like it had in college. On top of that, Reese dealt with a lot of pressure and media attention, as more eyes than ever before were on the WNBA this season.

Lastly, although her season ended early, she still played 34 games, which is as long or longer than every past WNBA rookie of the year award winner except Indiana’s Aliyah Boston last year (40). That’s because the WNBA just went to a 40-game regular season in 2023.

What most impressed you about her transition to the pro game?

Philippou: Reese’s tenacity and relentlessness are features of her defensive steadiness and rebounding prowess, and are also the same qualities that makes her a fierce competitor and someone who constantly wants to keep getting better, who is never satisfied with where she’s at. Pro evaluators seemed to have underestimated those intangibles, which combined with her athleticism and skill led Reese to historic success. Watching her be as dominant on the glass as she has been, while emerging as the rock for her new franchise and facing incredible scrutiny (and racism/hatred), was pretty remarkable.

What are you most looking forward to Reese improving on next season?

Philippou: On Friday, Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon told reporters she’d been on Reese recently about her finishing. Reese critics may fixate on her struggles finishing around the rim — in all she shot 39.1% from the field as a rookie and 44.5% from inside five feet. That was an area of improvement she and the Sky were well aware of, and one that Reese will undoubtedly work on in the offseason with Chicago’s player development-centric staff. Perhaps it’s a positive sign that in her final game of her first year she shot 9 for 15 from the field, one of her most efficient games to date. It’ll help, too, if moving forward the Sky can surround her with stronger guards who can draw defenders out of the paint.

Expanding her range will be on the docket, too. Reese added on Friday she was working late into the night Thursday on her 3-point shot with her trainer, and she was relieved to finally hit a trey in the Sparks game after a long drought. She showed flashes of hitting shots outside the paint this season; having that become a consistent part of her game, and one she can step into confidently, is the next step.

Can the Sky still make the postseason without Reese?

Pelton: Since Reese had played all 34 games this season, we haven’t seen Chicago without her yet. When Reese has been on the bench, the Sky have been outscored by an incredible 22.3 points per 100 possessions according to WNBA Advanced Stats — the worst net rating without any player who’s seen at least 100 minutes of action.

Certainly, we shouldn’t expect that lopsided margin to continue. Most of those minutes have come with Chicago’s bench on the floor rather than starters and the sample size (256 minutes) is tiny. But it’s an indication of how important Reese has been as a rookie.

Already, the Sky were struggling since the Olympic break without Marina Mabrey, traded to the Connecticut Sun. Both of Chicago’s wins since the break have come against the last-place Los Angeles Sparks, although getting leading scorer Chennedy Carter back from health and safety protocols was a factor in Friday’s 92-78 win, the Sky’s biggest margin of victory all season.

The win kept Chicago tied with Atlanta for the last WNBA playoff spot at 12-22, but the Dream were favored to claim the No. 8 seed 46% of the time to the Sky’s 37% by ESPN’s Basketball Power Index before accounting for Reese’s absence. The two teams square off Sept. 17 in Atlanta, a game that could decide the eighth seed.