Angel Reese Is Still Stat-Padding With Missed Layups And Rebounds In New Unrivaled League
Angel Reese‘s rookie season in the WNBA was nothing short of impressive. The No. 7 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft finished second behind the Caitlin Clark in the Rookie of the Year voting, averaged 13.6 points per game and led the entire league with 13.1 rebounds per game. But it also did not come without some serious criticism.
Reese shot just 39 percent from the field and less than 50 percent on shots within three feet of the basketball. She was legitimately poor at finishing around the rim, which is a major problem for someone who does most of their work in that area. Her poor finishing led to allegations from many fans that she was stat-padding by intentionally missing shots to grab offensive rebounds. Those allegations grew louder as Reese went on a record-setting streak of consecutive double-doubles.
Eventually, Reese was forced to address the allegations.
“Coming into it, I just knew my motor,” she said after a late-season loss. “Offensive rebounds and defensive rebounds is something that I know I can always do. I knew it was going to translate right away. That’s something a lot of players don’t want to do. A lot of people think it’s because I get my own rebounds, but statistically, it’s not.”
While the allegations were always ridiculous from a logic standpoint, the game tape was a bad look for Reese. And unfortunately, it’s followed her to the new Unrivaled women’s 3-on-3 league where she plays for the Rose.
Reese was ejected from her team’s first game. But she put up 12 points and 12 rebounds in Friday’s win over the Mist. Unfortunately, she also shot 4-of-10 in the process, only further the stat-padding accusations. The reality isn’t much better, but it is far less insidious. Reese just isn’t very good at finishing around the rim. It’s a huge hole in her game. But if she gets it cleaned up, she could soon become one of the best players on the planet due to her relentless motor.
