Angel Reese is arguably the best rebounder in the WNBA, and a viral video from Team USA’s first group-stage game against China gave insight into her dominance in the paint. 6-ft-3-inch Atlanta Dream star’s high-motor physical battle against China’s 7-ft-3-in Zhang Ziyu during the game grabbed a lot of attention and divided a lot of fans.
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During the opening-day win over China, Reese was assigned to guard the Chinese star who brought her seven-foot frame in the paint. A video by Bleacher Report showed Reese, one of the most physically imposing players in the WNBA, looking like an absolute mismatch against Ziyu.
Ziyu’s first play was to overpower Reese on the block. But Reese refused to back down, establishing her strong base. While she successfully kept the Chinese star away from the paint, it was still too close for her layup attempt. As Ziyu turned to attempt the layup, Reese contested all three attempts, fouling on the first two.
However, fans were still divided about whether it showed Reese’s elite footing and strong motor, or if it was simply the WNBA star fouling the Chinese 7-ft-3-inch star.
“Angel has a very strong base, which is why she’s such a great rebounder. Reminds me of when Dennis Rodman would guard 7-footers. May not get the stop but at least make it tougher to get comfortable.”
Reese’s strong base makes her arguably the best rebounder in the league, and she has already set rebound benchmarks in the WNBA before traveling to Germany. Reese has surpassed A’ja Wilson’s 451 single-season rebounds milestone and leads the league with 29 double-doubles.
Reese had one assignment: to make touch difficult for the Chinese star, and she was certainly taking her assignment very seriously.
“Definitely battled; she was basically throwing hands.” Reese was not looking to block Ziyu like Kobe Bryant blocked 7-ft-6 Yao Ming in 2007, but she was using disruption to take away the most advantageous part of Ziyu’s game. Reese refused to give the Chinese star any advantage inside the paint and simply blocked her out of the paint.
“Fouled her 3 times and had the nerve to argue.”
Reese was called for the foul, and she didn’t have a strong case against the call. But Reese’s protest against the call wasn’t as surprising as it seemed. While she had clearly fouled the Chinese star in the first two attempts, the last attempt before the whistle was blown didn’t attract a personal foul.
“If I’m Angel Reese, I’m fouling as much as the refs let me get away with lol because what else am I supposed to do?” commented one fan.
With Ziyu having found her footing near the basket, and with that wingspan, Reese scrambled to deny the Chinese center.
“To be fair, the only A.Reese CAN do is hack her. She’s practically guarding Yao Ming.”
Reese has a high motor for hustle plays, and it was one of the reasons that coaches trusted her to defend Ziyu. The Atlanta Dream star was defending a release far above her reach, but that didn’t affect her usual rebound numbers, as she led both rosters with 9 rebounds in 16:59 minutes.
Besides Boston, Angel Reese made the defensive impact that blunted China’s scoring edge despite the size advantage in Team USA’s 94-61 win.