Did the Minnesota Lynx make a mistake by passing up Angel Reese?

If you follow women's basketball and its social media channels, you probably have an opinion of Angel Reese that will not change with what you are about to read.

You either like them or you don't; there's no middle ground. And if you do like them, you probably think the Minnesota Lynx were crazy not to draft them.

Reese, the 6-foot-3 rookie power forward and dynamic rebounder from Louisiana State University, joined the Chicago Sky last Sunday and provided irrefutable evidence that she belongs in the Rookie of the Year discussion along with Indiana's Caitlin Clark. Reese broke WNBA single-season records for total and offensive rebounds that day, scoring 17 points and 19 rebounds. one of her 25 double-doubles this season.

That wasn't enough to stop the Western Conference-leading Lynx from outscoring Chicago in the fourth quarter to win 79-74, but it made an impression on the 8,421 fans at Target Center, some of whom booed as she shot free throws late in the game.

Relentlessness is the hallmark of all great rebounders, from Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain in the 20th century NBA to Sylvia Fowles and Rebekkah Brunson in the more recent WNBA. Smart coaches point to rebounding as one of the most transferable skills from college to the pros; if you can score a basket in the Southeastern Conference or the Big Ten, you can score a basket in the WNBA. Reese proves that every time she steps on the court.

Reese's passion for chasing every loose ball was evident late in the second quarter. After missing a one-handed run ball, Reese changed direction, charged into the crease, outrebounded three Lynx and passed former Lynx Rachel Banham, who also missed. It was fitting that Reese wore a Dennis Rodman jersey at another recent game; they share the same attitude: “Every rebound is mine.”

“It's an incredible mentality,” said Chicago coach Teresa Weatherspoon, a two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. “Most people don't like to do what we all call the dirty work, which is getting rebounds, because most people don't think that's the beautiful part of the game of basketball. But it's a part of the game of basketball that helps everybody win. Her role is to get rebounds, and she goes out there and gets those rebounds. She takes it very personally and she takes it very seriously.”

Reese confirmed this on Sunday after the game.

“Offensive rebounding and defensive rebounding is something I know I've always been able to do,” she said. “A lot of people think it's because I make my own rebounds. Physically, it's not. A lot of people think it's because I'm the biggest on the court, even though I'm not the biggest on the court.”

“Defense and rebounding are what win championships, and I've won championships at every level just by doing that. So when I came into the league, before I refined my offensive game, I knew that if I could carry that on my shoulders as something I could always do, it would pay off.”

That attitude certainly could have benefited the Lynx, who rank eighth in the 12-team league in rebounding. Reese was one of the players the Lynx considered with the No. 7 pick before the club traded the selection to No. 8 Chicago, which wanted Reese so badly that it included in the deal young forward Sika Kone, a second-round pick in 2025 and the right to trade first-round picks in 2026. (The Sky also signed forward Nikolina Milic from Minnesota.) The Lynx then acquired Alyssa Pili from Utah, a promising if below-average power forward who has yet to make the regular rotation.

At first glance, it seems like a major miss by president of basketball operations and head coach Cheryl Reeve, her biggest since taking full control of the basketball team in December 2017. And in the long run, the Lynx might regret it. But there's a lot more to analyze here, from the Lynx's long-term personnel strategy to how Reese would have fit into the current roster. (We're intentionally avoiding Reese's status as a fashion and cultural icon and the ongoing social media conflict between her and Clark's fans. Neither of those seem relevant here.)

Let's start with the basketball part: Reese and MVP candidate Napheesa Collier play the same position, which may not be clear to casual fans and WNBA newbies. Collier is one of the league's top three players and the Lynx have built this roster to best utilize and complement her skill set. Given that, Reese would neither start for the Lynx nor play as much as she did for Chicago. (On Sunday, Reese played more than 38 minutes, the most of any player on either team.)

But Reese wouldn't be on the bench, either. Had the Lynx taken Reese, Reeve speculated, he might have rotated with Collier and Australian Olympian Alanna Smith, a below-average center who is having her best season of her career. Moving Collier to the small forward position could also give Reese more playing time, Reeve said.

“I suspect if Angel Reese was grabbing rebounds and defending, she would be on the court,” Reeve said. “She probably wouldn't be a starter because we had Phee and (Smith) in that area. But there's no question she would play, yes.”

It's also worth rethinking why the Lynx made the trade in the first place, which Reeve explained in detail in an interview with MinnPost in April.

The Lynx wanted to accumulate draft capital, players and draft picks that they could use to advance in the 2025 draft. With a year to go before the league's collective bargaining agreement expires, the number of free agents for 2025 is expected to be small. The best players are expected to sign one-year extensions so they can take advantage of the higher salary scale for veterans in the new collective bargaining agreement.

If the Lynx maintain their position in the standings, they will be selected ninth in the draft, and to get an impact player, they will need to be in the top four.

As much as the Lynx liked Reese's game, they ultimately felt that Pili's three-point shooting potential was a better fit for their wide-ranging offense. And Reeve correctly predicted that this decision left the Lynx and them open to the kind of doubts that have lingered for weeks.

“We had a very motivated team that wanted the seventh (draft) spot,” Reeve said at the time. “We thought if we moved from seventh to eighth, got the draft capital back and got a player that had the skills we wanted, we would get to a point where we were very confident about what was going to happen. There were a lot of players in the draft that we liked. And if we didn't move, we would be very happy too.”

“Angel certainly had a lot to offer. Her level is, she's going to defend, she's going to get rebounds, she's going to get offensive rebounds. I think she's a great passer. She's got some very strong qualities as a pro. We just looked at our situation. Other than Caitlin Clark, nobody is a sure thing, so a sure thing. Time will tell. We all get really smart about hindsight.”

The Lynx have already used one asset from the deal – Kone – to sign veteran forward Myisha Hines-Allen from Washington. Putting together a package to move up in the draft and sign a future star (Paige Bueckers, perhaps?) would make Reeves' choice more defensible.

For now, Reese has proven herself better suited to play in Chicago with up-and-coming center Kamilla Cardoso and Weatherspoon's defense-focused coaching. But Reese's offense still needs improvement. If she improves her mid-range game and finishes better inside — she hits about 40% of her shots from the field, which isn't great for a post player — Reese could be a superstar. As it stands, she's an All-Star and a candidate for the 2028 Olympic team.

And the Lynx? Even without Reese, Reeve has assembled their best team since the four-championship dynasty that appears to be just one star player away from another title run. The trick will be to find that player so everyone forgets the player they missed out on.

Related