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Angel Reese has been one of the top rookies in the 2024 WNBA season following an accomplished career at LSU. The first-round pick has blossomed into one of the game’s top rebounders, racking up 22 boards in her most recent outing against the Las Vegas Aces.
That being said, she’s also run into criticism surrounding her poor shooting around the rim. Many have gone far enough to accuse her of stat padding given some of her egregious misses in the paint.
We mentioned that 22-rebound performance on Sunday that only added to her incredible double-double total. While she did score 11 points, she shot just 25% from the field.
Outside of one embarrassing wide-open miss from beyond the arc, many of those 12 misses came close to the basket.
In a number of those cases, she was seen quickly snatching up her own missed shots to inflate that rebounding output.
Angel Reese with 4 offensive rebounds on 1 possession is INSANE pic.twitter.com/mA5bNxF0mD
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) August 25, 2024
She just can’t finish at the rim!
The inability to score in the paint (<40% on 2-pt attempts) has led to numerous instances like the one above, leading many to question the validity of her rebounding totals.
When looking at the stats, you can see the effect the poor shooting has had.
Reese leads the WNBA in rebounding at 12.9 boards per game. That number is buoyed by her dominant hold on the offensive rebounding leaderboard.
The rookie has tallied 152 offensive boards this year, an astounding 63 more than the next closest player (Aliyah Boston, 89). She’s doubled nearly every other player in Top 10.
There appears to be a direct correlation between those close misses and rebound outputs, but former WNBA player Val Whiting disagrees.
She backed Angel Reese against those stat padding claims.
In one sequence, Angel Reese just repeatedly out worked 3 Aces players (two players 6’5) to get rebounds off of her own misses. Argue with a wall if you don’t think that takes talent and skill.
-Val Whiting / X: @iamcoachval
Whiting cites work ethic as the reason Reese has been able to bring down those boards – not her shooting woes!
Her ability to get into position to snag those rebounds is undeniable, though it’s a job made a little easier when you know the ball isn’t going in the basket when it leaves your hand.
The debate will rage on throughout the remainder of the year, especially if we continue to see 22-rebound nights from the rookie on 25% shooting.