Angel Reese is one of the best rebounders in the WNBA. However, she either needs to figure out how to consistently shoot on a high level or stop shooting all together.
Her latest milestone, while impressive, comes with a major asterisk based on her continuously horrendous performance on offense.
Reese, who so desperately wants to be known as one of the biggest stars in the WNBA, might already be there in terms of name recognition and brand popularity. The same cannot be said about her numbers. They are very deceiving.
Let’s start with the positive. Angel Reese became the fastest player in league history to record 500+ points and 500+ rebounds. She did it in just 38 games as a second-year player. Tina Charles did it in 44.
It would not be fair to discredit the 6-foot-3 forward for her ability to crash the boards. There are very few players who can out-physical Reese in the paint and she could one day re-write the record books in all of the rebounding categories. That is a real possibility.
However, these early milestones do not reflect reality. Angel Reese recorded 502 rebounds in 38 games and 198 of them were on offense. Of those 198, approximately 90 of them are off of her own misses!
She is often accused of stat-padding because of her outrageous miss-rebound-miss-rebound sequences. The most recent occurrence might be the most egregious to date. It was so bad that even ESPN sent out a “historically bad” push notification.
And on the flip side of that conversation, a large number of Reese’s points are scored off of the rebound she got from her own miss. 12-for-36 on shots from less than five feet and 12-for-37 on layups this season. The league average for the latter is 65%. For example:
Angel Reese has collected another double-double.
— Chicago State of Mind Sports (@ChiStateOfMind_) May 28, 2025
10 points and 12 rebounds.
Tremendous effort on this offensive rebound and score.#Skytown pic.twitter.com/1LPOyt94Iq
So, yes, Angel Reese is the first player to 500+ rebounds and 500+ points… but… does it really count? Her ability to crash the boards will prove invaluable if she can ever figure out how to shoot.