Sports

Angel Reese’s Highly Contentious Stat-Padding No Longer Matters Because Of A’ja Wilson Record

by Last Updated
Angel Reese A'ja Wilson Rebound Record
Getty Image

Angel Reese made WNBA history at the beginning of September that has already been erased by A’ja Wilson less than three weeks later. As a result, the league’s single-season rebound record is once again absolved of controversy.

There is no longer room to debate whether it was earned in legitimate fashion!

Reese was drafted No. 7 overall by the Chicago Sky in April. She immediately proved to be one of the best rebounders of all-time as a rookie, repeatedly dominated the glass on both ends of the floor, and set a pair of single-season records on Sept. 1.

The 6-foot-3 forward pulled down her 405th rebound of the year during the second quarter against Minnesota, which broke Sylvia Fowles’ mark from 2018. Reese later surpassed Yolanda Griffith’s offensive rebound total from 2001.

However, there was one glaring point of contention with each of the two records.

Reese shot less than 40% from the field on offense. A lot of her rebounds were off of her own misses, which drew the “stat-padding” label. For example, this ugly sequence technically counted as a board:

This is not to discredit either record. It is to point out how she got to that total.

Unfortunately, Reese did not get to continue her remarkable run. Chicago’s superstar rookie was ruled out indefinitely with a wrist injury on Sept. 8 and will not return until 2025. Bummer.

Reese finished with 446 rebounds, which was a single-season record at the time. Just not anymore.

Wilson pulled down her 447th rebound during the first half on Tuesday night.

The soon-to-be unanimous WNBA MVP is up to 451 boards on the year with one game left in the regular season. That is the new record, and counting!

On one side of the conversation, this is a great thing for the league. A’ja Wilson does not get frequent rebounds off of her own misses (she’s shooting 52%) so the record was completely earned on her own. Contentious claims of “stat-padding” no longer exist.

On the other hand, it is a real shame that we didn’t get to see just how high Angel Reese could go. A rebound is a rebound is a rebound and she was robbed of WNBA history by an injury.