With 1:42 left in the first quarter of Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Sparks, Angel Reese tried twice to get going around the rim. Cameron Brink had an answer both times, swatting away two shots in five seconds. It was a strange contrast to what Reese had done against the Sparks just four days earlier.
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In Atlanta’s August 20 meeting with Los Angeles, Reese had made every shot she took, going 9-for-9 from the field, including two threes, while finishing with 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. On Monday, the shot wasn’t there. Reese would later admit as much. But if she couldn’t take over with her scoring, she had another way to control the game. Across the 38 minutes she played, Reese pulled down 26 rebounds in Atlanta’s 78-71 win over the Sparks, breaking the WNBA single-game record and, in the process, passing the league’s single-season mark as well.
“DUBS IN THE M* CHAT,” Reese posted on X after the win, as Atlanta completed a 4-0 West Coast road trip.
The previous record was held by Chamique Holdsclaw, who grabbed 24 rebounds for the Washington Mystics on May 23, 2003. Reese finished with 458 rebounds this season, seven more than A’ja Wilson’s previous mark of 451, set in 2024.
The way Reese reached 26 made the performance even more striking. She grabbed 18 defensive rebounds and eight offensive rebounds, while the entire Sparks team finished with 32 boards, just six more than Reese had by herself. She finished the night with 11 points and secured her WNBA-leading 27th double-double of the season on a basket with 13.9 seconds remaining.
Reese reflected on her mindset after the game, speaking with WNBA legend Tina Charles, as she surpassed both Holdsclaw and Wilson.
“Anything that goes up is mine,” Reese said in the postgame show. “You just gotta have that mindset. Even when I watch you, and I play 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, and I want to be one of those when I walk away from the game.”
That mentality has followed Reese throughout her WNBA career. She led the league in rebounding in each of her first two seasons and is doing it again in 2026 at 12.4 rebounds per game. Her rookie average of 13.1 remains the WNBA record, and her three season averages of 13.1, 12.6 and 12.4 are the three highest in league history.
Reese, speaking at the postgame show, also referred to her shooting during Atlanta’s victory over the Sparks on August 20. That night was more than just a perfect shooting performance: Reese became the third player in WNBA history to record a 20-point double-double while shooting 100% from the field, and her 173rd offensive rebound of the season moved her past her own record of 172, set in 2024.
“Last time I was here, I didn’t miss any shots,” Reese said. “Tonight I couldn’t hit (anything), so I knew I was going to be able to get them on the rebounding side. I just want to be there for my team. Offensively, defensively, whatever it takes to win.”
The contrast was almost immediate. Four days after going 9-for-9 in the same arena, Reese shot 3-for-13 on Monday. But the part of her game that has been remarkably consistent all season never left her. Teammate Allisha Gray was also full of praise for Reese in her postgame interview.
“I don’t think in my life I’ve got more than 10 rebounds. So that’s just a talent. I’m just in awe just watching her rebound.”
Reese’s record night also capped one of the strongest stretches of her season. She scored 21 points with 10 rebounds against the Las Vegas Aces on August 18, followed her perfect shooting night against Los Angeles with 31 points, 14 rebounds and four steals against the Phoenix Mercury on August 22, and then returned to Los Angeles to rewrite the rebounding record book.
The Mercury win had already secured Atlanta’s fourth consecutive playoff berth, but it also gave Reese something she had never experienced in the WNBA: the postseason. Atlanta is now fourth at 25-13, within half a game of third place with six regular-season games left. The Dream have also won nine straight meetings with the Sparks and completed a 3-0 season sweep of Los Angeles.
Reese is averaging 16.1 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game this season, while leading the league in rebounding for a third straight season.
As for her team, the Dream have already secured a playoff spot, but they are still chasing home-court advantage and sit within half a game of third with six games to play. Reese’s rebounding gives them a dependable way to win possessions even when her shot disappears; adding a consistent jumper could give opponents another problem to solve once the postseason begins.
Atlanta’s next test comes Friday, when the Dream return home to face the Portland Fire.