There was an exorbitant quantity of consideration on the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark and the Los Angeles Sparks’ Cameron Brink as the celebrities of this rookie class, and whereas these gamers have been spectacular, the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese has a case as the most effective this 2024 class has to supply.
She entered the league out of LSU with a nationwide title in hand, beating Iowa and the beloved Clark on the most important school basketball stage in 2023. By no means one to be timid, she let the world know in her now notorious celebration, telling her competitors they couldn’t see her and demonstrating {that a} ring would quickly be on her hand.
The Bayou Barbie was one of many causes the 2024 WNBA Draft was thought-about to be top-of-the-line ever, however she wasn’t the highest decide like Clark or the second decide like Brink. She wasn’t even the primary decide on her staff, as Chicago drafted Kamilla Cardoso with the No. 3 total decide.
Reese was drafted at seventh, which is nothing to sneeze at however peculiar given her accolades in school. The explanation for the decrease draft choice? It appears groups believed she would have points scoring on the subsequent stage. Properly, it’s early, however 5 video games in, she’s making even the Sky look silly for not drafting her sooner.
The Chi Barbie is likely to be the most effective factor popping out of the Midwest, and he or she has begun her rookie marketing campaign averaging 12.0 factors and eight.6 rebounds. Reese is the one rookie to attain in double figures in her first 5 video games this season and solely the second to take action in a Chicago Sky jersey. Who’s the opposite participant? Future Corridor of Famer Sylvia Fowles.
Reese is an offensive irritant
Why did so many miss the mark on their assumptions about Reese’s sport translating to the WNBA? Merely put, her instruments are higher than anticipated.
What’s been so spectacular together with her sport early on is what number of methods she will be able to get to the basket. She has the pace and energy to take the ball from the highest of the important thing to the ring. Reese has impeccable footwork and may create separation with little ahead momentum. She bends and twirls like a ballerina, discovering even the tiniest opening and utilizing it to get a great look close to the rim.
Is the physicality an excessive amount of for her at this stage? It doesn’t appear to trouble her one iota. She’s performed by means of contact from all types of bigs, has been efficient scoring in post-up eventualities and is enjoying effectively by means of contact, drawing fouls and attending to the road.
5 video games in, she’s averaging 6.6 free throw makes an attempt per sport. Now, she’s solely changing on 66 p.c of these pictures, however that quantity is deceiving as most of her misses got here in a single sport in opposition to the Dallas Wings, the place she shot 2-for-8 from the charity stripe. In all different video games, she was 70 p.c or larger.
Being a franchise participant is extra than simply scoring; you need to have an all-around sport within the WNBA to be impactful. Reese is main the staff in rebounds, and her protection has held up within the paint, bending however not breaking in opposition to the bigs within the W.
Barbie isn’t completed growing
The rookie could also be off to an amazing begin, however even nice ones have room to enhance. Her offense is clearly additional alongside than her defensive potential, and with just about each staff having high quality bigs, there really will probably be no days off for Reese within the defensive division.
At instances when she was at LSU, it felt like Reese would take performs off. Nothing main, however moments the place she wouldn’t interact offensively, didn’t combat to field out or wouldn’t shut out on shooters. At this stage, these sorts of lapses will probably be deadly, and whereas I’ve seen much less of them throughout this early a part of the season, there have been just a few performs right here and there the place it regarded like Reese was overwhelmed to a spot on account of both an absence of focus or want to execute.
“She acknowledges that eyes are upon her, however what I like probably the most is she stays who she is. … She loves this sport of basketball, however she additionally is aware of how you can maximize all the pieces that she’s incomes. That is large.”
Loved this response from Teresa Weatherspoon right now on Angel Reese pic.twitter.com/DQ8G4mmP3c
— Sean Hurd (@seanahurd) Could 8, 2024
A star off the courtroom
Being a star additionally means doing the non-basketball issues. These gamers are greater than athletes; they’re representatives of their tradition, the neighborhood and the game. Personally, I might by no means blame a participant for shying away from that side of being a famous person, however Reese appears to embrace it and does it effectively.
Even her haters and critics are compelled sufficient by her large character to observe and take note of her strikes. Lately, these strikes have concerned attending the Met Gala on her twenty second birthday and becoming a member of Megan Thee Stallion and GloRilla on stage at a Chicago live performance.
By way of all of it, Reese has saved the principle factor the principle factor, enjoying effectively on the ground whereas collaborating in all these extracurricular actions.
The Chi Barbie is proving that she will be able to really have all of it, and even her largest critics should admit that the Sky is much from the restrict for this Angel. She’s not a participant to regulate or one to observe when the time is handy. She’s field workplace now, and it’s in your finest curiosity as a fan of the game to observe each minute of her rookie season which you can.
