Angel Reese has never been out of the Rookie of the Year conversation, all credits to the way she has been firing up for Chicago Sky in her debut season. And when she faced the Las Vegas Aces in the last game, the rookie made whopping 22 rebounds in her name, although the Sky lost after A’ja Wilson’s last-moment brilliance. Well, the Sky rookie tops the rebounds tally this season, but there have been a particular argument undermining Reese’s excellence. Now, the former legend Sheryl Swoopes has just shut them all with her explanation.

Recently, Sheryl Swoopes discussed about Angel Reese’s performance against the Las Vegas Aces. “She got four offensive rebounds in a row on A’ja  Wilson. Right. Who is a great rebounder in her own. Right”, stated Swoopes via Queens of the Court. Angel Reese scored scored 11 points and was the player with most rebounds in that game. Despite her impressive stats, the rookie has faced some criticism on social media, with critics pointing out that many of her offensive rebounds came from missed shots.

Well, Swoopes mentioned about those comments and said, “I just want to add to that is when people say, yeah, well, she’s getting a lot of these rebounds off of her own misses. Well, that’s what you’re taught to do. You’re taught to follow your shot. So just in case you miss, you can get the offensive rebound and put it up.” This season, Reese has amassed a total of 374 rebounds, with 53 of those coming from her own missed shots.

“So, is her field goal percentage the best? No. But I don’t really think people expect Angel to be that type of an offensive score when she got to the league. So I don’t care if it’s your own misses, how you’re doing it. 22 rebounds in a game is bananas. And to have 22 double-doubles in a season that’s not even finished yet, it’s pretty remarkable,” stated Swoopes. While Swoopes is all in support for the rookie, Reese herself had a reply to those critiques. Let’s discuss that.

Angel Reese’s reply to the critiques

In the Sky’s recent loss to the Las Vegas Aces, Angel Reese struggled with her shooting, finishing with just 25% from the field for the second game in a row. The last time Angel Reese shot over 50% was before the Olympic break, in a game against the Seattle Storm. And as she started facing the negative comments about her shooting, she decided to acknowledge and give a playful reply.

Taking to X, the 22-year-old forward had a direct message for her critics, posting, “If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. We good!” While the missed shots have been a small blip in an otherwise impressive rookie season, Reese still achieved another milestone with her performance in that game.

Reese wrapped up the game with a double-double of 11 points and a career-high 22 rebounds, marking her third consecutive game with 20 or more boards. This achievement made her the first player in WNBA history to reach such a milestone. So far, the rookie has been averaging 13.5 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. As the Sky head into their final 11 games of the regular season, she will be hoping to improve on shooting front as well and help her team in securing a play-off berth.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show”. Our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.