Assessing Angel Reese’s rookie season returns of 2024

Angel Reese was a major piece in a pivotal 2024 regular season for the Chicago Sky and the WNBA as a whole.

Reese came in and was immediately a magnet as a cultural figure in multiple respects.

Her impact transcends the court, but we’re here to speak on and grade her rookie season returns, plus, preview some of what I’m hoping to see from her in Unrivaled.

Simply put, from an individual standpoint, Angel had one of the best WNBA rookie seasons of all time. She compiled a list of accomplishments and staked claims to accolades in a manner that has hardly been seen for a player both so young and in their first season.

She also combined that with, generally, one of the strongest campaigns regarding efforts on the boards.

I’ll note that these accolades, accomplishments, and feats were attained while missing the latter six games of the regular season with a wrist injury.

Angel finished her 2024 season with the second most rebounds in a single season in WNBA history (446), her streak of 28 consecutive games with 10+ rebounds was more than double the previous WNBA record, set the record for rebound average (13.1), led in offensive rebounds per game (5.1) which doubles as the second best mark in WNBA history, is now the all-time leader in total offensive rebounds (172), set the WNBA record for consecutive double-doubles (15), registered the most double-doubles by a rookie and the second-most by a player in WNBA history (26), was also the fifth rookie to average a double-double (13.6 PPG and 13.1 RPG) in WNBA history.

She’s also one of just two players in WNBA history to record multiple 20+ rebound games in a season (8.18.24 @ Phoenix, 8.23.24 @ Connecticut, and 8.25 vs Las Vegas), doing so in consecutive games. She is also the fastest to 400 rebounds in WNBA history, doing so in just 32 games.

The seventh pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft would earn all-star recognition, and cap her historic rookie campaign by being named to the WNBA All-Rookie team.

Her game and what made her a champion on the collegiate level translated extremely well to the professional level immediately upon arrival, setting the tone for a career that’s sure to go down in history.

Offense

Averages: 13.6 PPG, 39.6% on 11.8 attempts from two, 5.2 free throw attempts per game (5th) and converted at 73.6% (was 7th in makes per game from the stripe too at 3.9), 5.1 offensive rebounds per game (1st), 4.1 second-chance points per game (1st)

Advanced: 14.4 OREB% (1st), TS% 46.4.

The offensive side of the ball was the side that, though she is clearly skilled and budding with great potential, came into the WNBA deemed as “raw” or a “work in progress.”

Clear strengths were (and proved to be, to a historic rate) her nose for dominating the offensive rebounding margin singlehandedly, and second chance scoring volume.

In those areas, her game so quickly translated that it served as a true and immediate point of dictation for the Chicago Sky, and brought to the forefront that players having a “motor” as Angel does, truly is a skill not unlike the more flashy types in shooting and scoring.

Opponents have to (at least try to) match that, and it is an arduous task to do so against a player that’s positively stubborn to resistance from opponents, and matches that competitive edge with a great understanding of angles, doing work preemptively, pursuing the basketball with multiple efforts (often through multiple bodies, even), and spatial awareness amidst the congested paint as shots go up.

The efforts in discourse to intentionally misvalue the art that is offensive rebounding this season has been ridiculous

Case-in-point here — not an own miss corraled nor an uncontested one… Rickea Jackson makes great effort for this board & Angel simply outworks for this + pts pic.twitter.com/qb6t7JWaQP

— Stephen | bsky: StephenPG3 (@StephenPG3) September 7, 2024

Her presence on the offensive glass was so dominant and ever-present that it not only served as a margin for the Sky to bank on winning nightly, but even played in the favor of their transition defense because so much of their opponent’s defensive capital had to be spent to ensure that not only they ended their defensive possession with a board, but made sure it wasn’t Angel’s identity being stamped on the game.

She was truly that dominant, and her gritty offensive efforts became synonymous with and aligned with the identity her team took on.

Also as a side note, if you haven’t already, I’d advise checking out this detailed and succinctly written piece on the misunderstanding of Angel and her offensive rebounds, from Steph Noh, below.

Angel Reese haters will tell you that she stat-pads her rebounds by grabbing her own misses. So I did the work and checked all of them.

Even if you filter out rebounds off her own misses, Angel is still by far the best offensive rebounder in the Whttps://t.co/judeUUWpfO

— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) July 9, 2024

As for areas of improvement, efficiency comes to mind first.

Now, she had 11 games scoring double-digit points in the paint (34% of her games).

However, while leading the WNBA in restricted area field goal attempts (287) and finishing fifth in makes from there (135), her 47.0 clip in the restricted area left a lot more to be desired.

Converting on more of the opportunities she does grab from the offensive glass, or balancing the attack on touch with kicking out to reset the clock will go a long way for her as she grows into her game.

She mentioned to me a few times this season that she was more of a wing in high school, and that she wants to be in a space with her handle where she operates in similar manners that align there.

I envision for her, especially in piecing the dynamics of her game together, her rebounding prowess with her handle in particular, to push the pace and flow into offense with handoffs and early drives.

Additionally, though the three-point shooting has stolen a lot of the plot with her off-season workout footage, I’d like to see her footwork in the post continue to develop, as well as her screen setting in pick-and-roll. The better she becomes in advantage creation as a screener, the more opportunities she then presents for herself rolling into 2v1 scenarios for more offensive rebounds or to be a playmaker in the pocket — where she’s already shown skill.

She had an elite shooting foul-drawn rate of 17.4% (7th) as well.

That combined with a toughness playing through contact, finishing 19th in two-point And-1’s with 19, you see the makings of a unique talent with budding potential offensively to be a driving force, a hub, and a post presence that can handle and make plays.

Overall Offensive Grade: B

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Defense and Rebounding

Averages: 8.1 DRPG (2nd), 1.3 SPG, 60 “Stocks” (steals + blocks total)

Advanced: 19.5 REB% (1st), 25.1 DREB% (3rd)

The Chicago Sky finished 8th in the league in defensive rating, with a 103.5 registered.

When Angel Reese was on the floor, they defended at a level that was the equivalent of top-6, at 101.4.

When she rested or was out with injury, that number plummeted to a 112.4 rating — equivalent of the worst defense in the league.

That 10-point drop-off in efficiency and effectiveness is part of what garnered her the slightest bit of consideration in the MVP race this season, as not only was she the team leader but she was key in their defensive anchoring in a modern sense — which I asked her about in her Exit Interviews:

Exit Interviews:

I asked Angel Reese about how the term "defensive anchor" has shifted & evolved the last few years into a (much) more versatile dynamic role on the floor pic.twitter.com/4aDlRRPGux

— Stephen | bsky: StephenPG3 (@StephenPG3) September 24, 2024

She was active, showcased plenty of versatility, never lacked in multiple effort sequences, put out a lot of fires for the Sky with switches and blocks, and put a period on more of her team’s defensive possessions than anyone not named A’ja Wilson.

Speaking to the versatility, we spoke about that in particular on Media Day:

Angel Reese, speaking on what makes her particular versatility unique:

"I can guard all 5 positions, as you can see. I mean, I can switch on point guards & get steals. That's just something I love to do." pic.twitter.com/HBVT1HqAPN

— Stephen | bsky: StephenPG3 (@StephenPG3) May 8, 2024

That versatility saw her guarding a myriad of player archetypes both via switches and from the onset of possessions with intention — from A’ja Wilson to Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, or DeWanna Bonner. 

She compiled a bevy of notable moments where the Sky were injected with energy via stops where she was key.

Angel Reese competing with Cheyenne Parker-Tyus off her seal, to win back the leverage for the *emphatic* block

Her ambidexterity is really a two-way advantage pic.twitter.com/rlVc3Yhcai

— Stephen | bsky: StephenPG3 (@StephenPG3) July 10, 2024

Off ball and in help, she was key as well in being able to, as noted earlier, put fires out and help her teammates when they were beaten from the perimeter.

The compilation of help defense, in timeliness & activity, from Angel Reese this season has been impactful, to say the least pic.twitter.com/2eu1FwfwWu

— Stephen | bsky: StephenPG3 (@StephenPG3) July 10, 2024

She excels in two key dynamics that align with winning championships — defense and rebounding.

In her versatility, she displayed the lateral quickness and foot speed to keep up with elite-level guards on switches (even picking pockets while doing so), guard up in defending centers, screen navigation against posts and bigger wings, and generally made sure opposing offenses felt her presence — in multiple ways.

I enjoyed her development defending in the post, especially. She grew to understand the level of physicality allowed down there, and used it to her advantage while consistently being “up to touch.”

The ability to push post defenders away from the basket on delivery of a pass, contest the catch (!), wall up, then get a solid contest without the need for a double was key.

Additionally, the communication element from the backline was ever-present.

Though she still has work to do with discernment to stay out of foul trouble at times, she was so far ahead of the general curve for a rookie defensively that that flaw hardly left a blemish on her general impact on that end of the floor.

Grade: A+

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Overall, she gets an A from me for this season. Her identity piece skills that made her an all-time great on the collegiate level quickly translated to the professional level with impact.

She put together one of the best rookie seasons in WNBA history — which is scary considering this is just her foundational year and was a big reason why the Sky were well on their way to claiming the 8th seed and clinching a playoff berth after national media predicted they’d finish last. Her style of play helped to carve out an early identity for the Chicago Sky that resonated with the way she played individually.