Angel Reese

Angel Reese’s resume speaks for itself as she had a historic rookie season both on and off the court. She continued the level of play that earned her and her teammates an NCAA National Championship in college at LSU last season, and she left her fingerprints all over the league and its culture. She did so by maximizing her off-the-court endeavors, showcasing her individuality and unique perspective. There’s not much you can say about her that has not already been said; she is a unique player who will be better known by just a single name, Angel, which is an obscure but fairly accurate sign of greatness, especially in a young athlete.

What fans will remember about Angel’s rookie season a decade from now is surely her record-breaking performances and streaks, but Angel’s legacy this season will mainly be in regards to the eyes that she brought to the game. Her fate is intertwined with another young star, Caitlin Clark, and the two of them are eerily reminiscent of another legendary basketball rivalry: Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Those two NBA Hall of Famers began their faceoffs on the national stage in college and continued their intense head-to-heads at the professional level. Their great rivalry and gamesmanship increased viewership and took the NBA to new, unseen heights. A similar result is essentially guaranteed for these two young women, and like Reese famously said months ago, “They’re watching the game because of me too.”

The biggest accomplishment for Angel is simply that she has already done so much at such a young stage in her career. First of all, she set the WNBA single-season record for offensive rebounds, total rebounds (until her injury) and rebounds per game. Not only this, but she set the WNBA record for consecutive double-doubles and recorded the second-most total double-doubles in a single season in league history. In addition to a handful of Chicago Sky franchise records, she was also only the fifth rookie in the history of the W to average a double-double. Her greatness may know no bounds, and it could change the WNBA permanently.