Credits: USA TODAY Sports
While Angel Reese was busy making WNBA history with her double-double record, an air of displeasure surrounded her methods. Fans criticized the Chicago Sky rookie for prioritizing her stats over the team’s needs. Amidst the concerns, Gilbert Arenas recently came to her defense, publicly justifying her actions.
On the Club 520 Podcast, Arenas initially discussed the challenges of sustaining a record in basketball. Following this, he defended Reese’s supposed selfish and questionable actions by putting himself in the WNBA star’s shoes. Expressing his stance on the show, the 3x All-Star mentioned,
“You already got the record and you trying to extend it, there’s gonna be situations where it might come down to a rebound or a miss and if you gonna miss, then keep it going… If I got 20 triple-doubles and I need one with three seconds left, I don’t give a f**k what we up, I need this basket. I’m gonna get the basket. Y’all can fight me after. I know that streak is going”.
Despite the dubiousness behind the explanation, it’s hard to argue against this point. After all, Reese‘s impressive average of 13.5 points, 12 rebounds, and 1.5 steals have been key to the Sky’s 10 wins this season. So, her focus on personal milestones, at times, seems justified given her impact on the franchise’s success.
On top of this, as Arenas hinted, Reese’s rise put a target on her back. This was evident during a home game against the New York Liberty a few weeks back. With just 17 seconds left in the game, she needed only two more points to extend her double-double streak. However, as soon as she received the ball, four opposition players circled her to hamper her plans.
This understandably frustrated Reese as her WNBA record of 16 consecutive double-doubles ended that night. Additionally, the Sky lost the game 67-81 in front of the home crowd, adding to her misery.
To her delight, however, she soon found her feet in the subsequent 93-85 victory against the Las Vegas Aces. Scoring 13 points, and recording 10 rebounds, the Sky rookie added more double-double to feather to her hat. The only question is how long she can maintain this form to secure the coveted 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year Award over her nemesis, Caitlin Clark.
