It was a bit of a slower start for Angel Reese’s sophomore WNBA campaign. It was well-documented that during the last WNBA off-season, Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie offered to help Reese with her game offensively. I felt that would put a bit of a spotlight on Reese’s performances from the onset of this season. It did, and in the early going, many found it to be pedestrian and run-of-the-mill. But I knew that elite play would come, and it did.
Angel Reese is on fire
Recently, with six straight 15-plus rebound performances, Reese set the all-time record. It was a clear sign that she was certainly getting into a rhythm. It’s the sort of rhythm we hoped to see at the beginning of the season, but better late than never, as always. During this span of games, Reese also averaged almost 18 points per game. So, she has also mastered getting healthy double doubles for the Chicago Sky.
The beauty in this happening at this exact moment is multi-pronged. Take this, for instance: Reese was also recently named to her second all-star team, and she also dropped news of her first signature shoe dropping soon. Probably the most pronounced news of all of this is that Reese was named one of the featured cover stars for the next iteration of NBA2K for NBA2K26. Her game couldn’t come alive at a more apropos time. As one begins to get more exposure through these different avenues, and when people become familiar with your persona, you want your game to speak for you, too. That’s most certainly the case as it pertains to Reese.
The Chicago Sky is falling
As for her Sky teammates, they have to band together in order to make a playoff push in the second half of the season. With the amazing play that Reese is showcasing, it means nothing without team success. I’ll go one further, the firing of Teresa Weatherspoon can’t nearly be justified, sitting at a 6-13 record at the time of this writing. Some of this onus falls on management, but the players need to find some ways to win in the interim. I’ll be the first to say it: If things don’t turn around by next season, I can see Reese’s angel wings flying to some other city to compete for titles.
But I digress; what we’re witnessing is only the beginning of an accolade-filled career for Reese. It’s always encouraging to see a player begin to truly grasp the game, little by little, and begin to excel. Truth be told, Reese is everything that she believes herself to be. In the end, we’ll be the ones catching up to that fact.
