Angel Reese's record-setting rookie season is over two weeks before anyone expected.
The Chicago Sky forward announced she will miss the rest of the season due to an injury on Saturday. Her team later announced the issue is a wrist injury from Friday's game against the Los Angeles Sparks.
Reese's full announcement:
"What a year. I never would have imagined the last bucket of my rookie season would be a 3 but maybe that was God saying give them a taste of what they will be seeing more of in Year 2 lol🥲Through it all, I have showed that I belong in this league even when no one else believed. All I have ever wanted was to come into the W and make an impact. I can confidently say I have done that and will strive to keep doing so. I’m filled with emotions right now that I have a season ending injury, but also filled with so much gratitude for what is next. Although this is God’s timing and not mine, I am finally able to give myself a physical and mental break. “God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers.”
"You’ll still see me being the biggest cheerleader on the sideline! And Unrivaled league, see you soon! 💞😇"
Despite missing the final six games of the Sky's regular-season schedule, Reese will still finish her rookie season with the most single-season rebounds by a WNBA player — not rookie, player — in history, unless Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson catches her. Reese currently has 446 on the season, while Wilson sits at 406 with six games to go.
Reese has also set the WNBA record for consecutive double-doubles (10) and the rookie record for total double-doubles (26). Had she played a few more games, she could have also broken Alyssa Thomas' record of 28.
In any other season, that productivity would have made Reese the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, but it seems all it will do this year is cement her as a rival for Caitlin Clark, who is making her own history. The race between Clark and Reese might be the most competitive in the league's history, but many thought the award was the Indiana Fever star's to lose, and the extra games will only help her.
Regardless, Reese's season has been an enormous success in its own right. Many questioned if the former LSU star would be able to adjust to the WNBA, with concerns about her offensive game and size at 6-foot-3 resulting in her falling to No. 7 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
It took very few games for Reese to erase, or at least mitigate, those concerns through elite rebounding and defensive tenacity. It's not hyperbole to say she is now the face of the Sky, who are currently 12-22.
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