Reese’s focus is on the team after award conversations

Angel Reese is all about solving Chicago’s recent losing skid, even as the young WNBA forward’s name enters talks for Rookie of the Year alongside Caitlin Clark

Before another blockbuster matchup with fellow sensational WNBA newcomer Caitlin Clark on Sunday, Angel Reese paid little mind to an intensifying Rookie of the Year race.

The No. 7 overall WNBA Draft pick is leading all rookies in a variety of statistical categories to start the 2024 season, but Reese clarified that her focus is on curbing the Chicago Sky’s unsightly losing streak.

“Coming into the league, I just wanted to be the best Angel I can be and not really put any individual accolades on myself,” Reese told reporters ahead of Sunday’s game.

“I wanted to come in and help bring championships to Chicago, and that’s still going to be my goal. I don’t know the records I set, I don’t really know that stuff because I try to focus on the team. Anything about me being Rookie of the Year, I don’t really care about that, I want to win.”

This commitment to Chicago wasn’t quite enough to see the Sky past Indiana in another rendition of Clark and Reese’s budding rivalry.

Neither team managed to build a lead greater than seven points until the dying seconds of Sunday’s game, heightened competition that came to a head when Reese was assessed a flagrant foul for inadvertently making contact with Clark’s head while attempting to block a layup attempt.

Reese would later convert a driving layup inside the final minute to bring the Sky within one score, cracking double figures to go along with 13 rebounds and five assists on the afternoon.

But Clark would find NaLyssa Smith on the next possession to clinch an eventual 91-83 victory. Sunday’s defeat dropped the Sky, losers of four straight, to just 4-9 on the season and behind Indiana to fifth in the Eastern Conference standings.

Clark assisted Smith on a game-clinching basket Sunday ( Image: Getty Images)

It’s hard to pin Chicago’s recent downturn on Reese, who remains one of the WNBA’s most productive rookies.

Her scoring output certainly demands more consistency — while Reese averages 12.2 points per game, she’s done so with the lowest effective field goal percentage (37.6) for any WNBA player averaging more than 30 minutes on the floor — but prolific versatility has allowed Reese to compete for the Rookie of the Year award.

Reese currently ranks fourth in both rebounds and steals per game, the latter a remarkable distinction given her post dominance, also offsetting her poor shooting in part with a 74.6 percent clip at the free-throw line on nearly six attempts per game.

The “Chi Barbie” entered the season with distant +3000 odds at winning Rookie of the Year, which have since shortened significantly to just +1000.

Chicago head coach Teresa Weatherspoon was more willing to engage in Rookie of the Year dialogue than her young forward, stating that Reese was at “the top” of the ROY race. “I don’t just say it just because I’m coaching her,” Weatherspoon said.

“But you have to sustain this type of play. If you sustain this type of play, not only will I speak about it, but the world will.”