Angel Reese did not need a homecoming speech. She let 17 points and 17 rebounds do the talking.
In the Dream’s 82-75 win over the Chicago Sky on Tuesday, Reese recorded her 57th career double-double in just 75 games. That is the most through 75 games in WNBA history. Expand the lens across the NBA and WNBA over the last 40 seasons, and only one player has done it faster. Shaquille O’Neal recorded 63 double-doubles through his first 75 NBA games. Everyone else is behind Reese, including Blake Griffin, who sits tied with her at 57. Tim Duncan and David Robinson each had 53.
Tuesday’s game carried extra weight. It was Reese’s first regular-season return to Wintrust Arena since the Sky traded her to Atlanta in the offseason. She said before tipoff that she had great memories there. The final box score suggested she was done making new ones for the home team. She also out-rebounded the Sky’s entire starting lineup, pulling down 16 boards before one reserve added to Chicago’s total.
“I mean it doesn’t matter unless I get a win,” Angel Reese said after the buzzer. “I was able to get a lot of double-doubles my first two years, but it feels good when you get a win. So I’m really happy to be with the Dream. I’m really excited and we continue to march on for this Commissioner Cup.”
The record did not arrive out of nowhere. Reese is averaging a double-double for the third straight season, putting up 13.6 points and 12.2 rebounds through 11 games. She leads the WNBA in total rebounds and in offensive rebounds at 5.5 per game. On May 29, she reached 900 career rebounds in just 71 games, the fastest in league history. On June 2, she scored the 1,000th point of her WNBA career. The milestones have been stacking at a pace that is hard to keep up with.
Head coach Karl Smesko has been deliberate about pushing her game further. Reese credited him specifically for sharpening her rebounding approach in ways she did not expect coming in.
“He’s very intentional with my development, even with my rebounding,” Reese said. “I thought I was a great rebounder before and he’s very intentional about how I can be better. He talks about the Monarchs and how they were one of the best rebounding teams in history. He wants me to be a part of that and our team to be that too.”
Angel Reese’s Double-Double Pace Forces A Conversation That Goes Well Beyond The WNBA
The names behind her on the combined list matter. Griffin was one of the most physically dominant forwards of his era. Duncan and Robinson are both Hall of Famers who redefined what a big man could do on both ends. Sitting ahead of all of them at 75 games, in a league that plays a fraction of the NBA’s schedule, is not a stylistic footnote. It is a production argument that holds up under scrutiny.
O’Neal has been vocal about his investment in Angel Reese long before this record arrived. As president of Reebok Basketball, he was the driving force behind signing her to the brand and helped launch her AR1 signature shoe line. He has spoken about her as a mentee and has publicly defended her against online criticism, telling The Rich Eisen Show recently that the constant negativity directed at her has pushed him to his limit. The bond traces back to their shared time at LSU, and O’Neal has made clear that his support is not transactional.
Atlanta sits 8-3, tied for the second-best record in the WNBA, one and a half games behind the 10-2 Minnesota Lynx. The Dream face the New York Liberty in a Commissioner’s Cup game on Thursday. Angel Reese has recorded five straight double-doubles heading into that contest. The record she just set will hold until someone comes along and breaks it. Based on her current pace, that person may end up being Reese herself.
