Angel Reese put up a double dose of history as the Atlanta Dream formed firmer playoff ground.
Perhaps even the wildest Atlanta dreams couldn't have envisioned what transpired for Angel Reese on Monday night.
Reese made heavenly history on the glass during the Atlanta Dream's 78-71 stifling of the Los Angeles Sparks at Crypto.com Arena: with 26 in the game, she broke the league's single-game record that newly-minted Hall-of-Famer Chamique Holdsclaw held for over 23 years.
Her 20th of the game, earned in fourth quarter action, was her 452nd of the campaign and that passed A'ja Wilson's 2024 output for the most in a single season with six shows left on the Atlanta docket. Reese needed one fewer game than Wilson did during her third MVP campaign to pull off the historic feat.
"ANYTHING THAT GOES UP IS MINE."
— WNBA on NBC and Peacock (@WNBAonNBC) August 25, 2026
Angel Reese talked with Tina Charles about her rebounding mindset after a career night on the boards. pic.twitter.com/tMUU9spouB
Reese Won't Cease
A double date with history is the latest bit of Reese mastery on the boards. While her play has proved polarizing, Reese's prowess on the glass has been undeniably noticeable, especially since an April trade sent her south to Atlanta following two tours with the Chicago Sky.
Monday featured familiar Reese antics, ones where she atoned for a subpar shooting night with instant recovery: all but one of her makes on a 4-of-14 night came on putbacks of her own misfires and she cleaned things up on the defensive end, where only five Sparks hit a shot from the field (11 of the 26 successful field goals came from Nneka Ogwumike). Reese outrebounded Los Angeles on her own offensively, winning that battle 8-7.
A unique reward awaited Reese in the aftermath, as she was interviewed by the Peacock panel hosting the postgame show. Repping the streaming service was Tina Charles, Reese's idol on the glass and the woman she's chasing for the title of all-time leading rebounder.
"Anything that goes up is mine," Reese said. "You've just got to have that mindset. Even when I watched you and played against you, you go up there and you're so aggressive and you're consistent every single night, and that makes you one of the greatest players in this league. I want to be one of those when I walk away from the game."
The Dream's Alive
It wasn't so long ago that Reese ruled the headlines for the wrong reasons: a wayward, would-be buzzer-beater from close range toward the end of a crucial Aug. 16 showdown with the Indiana Fever drew mockery from the viewing public and insomnia from Reese, who admitted she "didn't sleep" after the 95-91 defeat.
Atlanta (25-13) hasn't lost since then and Reese has been an undeniable reason why.
Even with Monday's shot chart shortcomings, Reese is shooting just under 58% from the field during this four-game winning streak, which has put the Dream in control of the race for the fourth playoff seed that would guarantee homecourt advantage for at least one round. Atlanta is a half-game ahead of Indiana for fourth and 1.5 behind Golden State for the runner-up slot.
Even with her historic haul on Monday, Reese has "only" 60 rebounds in that span. That's well short of the record 76 earned in any four-game stretch in WNBA history ... a record owned by, you guessed it, Reese.
"People don’t realize rebounding is harder than you think,” Reese said in June after breaking Charles' hold on the record for fastest WNBA player to 1,000 rebounds, per Brian Hamilton of The Athletic. “Defensive rebounds are a little bit more easier, but going in and crashing every single time to get second-chance opportunities on the offensive end — you can look statistically, they’re not just for my shots, they’re for my teammates. It gives us more points. It gives us more opportunities.”
Reese will be jetting off to Berlin to rep the United States in FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup play next week. A two-game homestand comes first, beginning with a Friday visit from the Portland Fire (7:30 p.m. ET, Ion).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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