Angel Reese becomes first WNBA player to grab 20 rebounds in consecutive games

Angel Reese continues to make WNBA history during her rookie season.

The Chicago Sky forward became the first player in league history to grab 20 rebounds in back-to-back games. She did so in Friday night’s 82-80 defeat against the Connecticut Sun and last Sunday’s game versus the Phoenix Mercury.

Unfortunately, the Sky lost those two games and have taken defeats in three of their past four games. That does nothing to diminish Reese’s record-setting accomplishment.

Reese is also the first WNBA or NBA rookie to grab 20 rebounds in consecutive games since Shaquille O’Neal did it on April 18 and 20 in 1993.

Tina Charles is the only other WNBA rookie to grab 20 or more rebounds in two games, reaching that total on July 7 and Aug. 3 of the 2010 season. Sylvia Fowles and Jonquel Jones are the other WNBA players who have notched multiple 20-rebound games in a single season.

Reese has gotten double-digit rebound totals in 24 of her 29 games this season. And she set and tied a career-high in her past two games. Her previous high was 18 boards against the Atlanta Dream on July 2.

Previously this season, Reese set a record by recording double figures in points and rebounds in 10 straight games. She eventually extended that mark for consecutive double-doubles to 15 games and has 21 of them in her 29 games this season.

Reese currently leads the WNBA in rebounds, averaging 12.6 per game. If she maintains that pace, it will be the highest for a season in league history, surpassing the 11.1 boards Charles averaged in 2010. Reese also has a shot at surpassing the mark for total rebounds (404) in a season, set by Fowles.

She is also averaging five offensive rebounds per game and if that keeps up, Reese will break Yolanda Griffith’s mark of 4.86 during the 1999 season. Griffith also has the highest average of offensive rebounds in a season at 5.06. Reese is ahead of that pace, averaging 5.07. And she could overtake Griffith for total offensive rebounds (162) in a season.

Those numbers will continue to make the competition for WNBA Rookie of the Year honors with Caitlin Clark extremely intriguing during the remaining 12 games of the regular season.