Angel Reese’s reputation as one of basketball’s best rebounders has never been up for debate, but three games into her first FIBA Women’s World Cup, a different part of her game is beginning to draw just as much attention from an unexpected party: an Indiana Fever journalist.
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Following Team USA’s blowout 105-64 win over Czechia on Monday, Indiana Fever journalist Robin Lundberg took to X to single out Reese, praising her particularly for making her presence felt without having to score.
“Angel Reese with another strong game on the boards and defensively,” Lundberg wrote. “Her ability to guard on the perimeter is impressive.”
Reese had her best game of the tournament so far against Czechia. She came off the bench to log 13 points, six rebounds, and three steals in 20 minutes, while playing some of the best defense on the entire team. However, this isn’t a breakout performance by any means, because Reese has been elite defensively the entire tournament.
Reese is one of two players, alongside Paige Bueckers, on the Team USA roster who averages one or more blocks and steals per game, logging 1.0 and 1.3 in either category. When it comes to blocks, she trails only Bueckers (1.3) and is third behind Rhyne Howard and Kiki Iriafen in steals.
On top of that, Reese is also third on the team behind Breanna Stewart and Rhyne Howard in rebounding, averaging six boards a night.
What makes her stand out, however, is the energy she brings on the court. In Team USA’s 55-52 win against Italy, Reese was perhaps the best defender on the team, logging a steal, three rebounds, and two blocks while also showing heart and scoring efficiently on a night when the rest of the team struggled.
Her defense stood out so much that FIBA even posted a YouTube Short of her defensive highlights, including one play where she switched out to the perimeter, read a guard’s moves, and blocked her shot. Even American head coach Kara Lawson had nothing but praise for her on a night when she was harshly critical of the roster.
“She comes into the game, and she plays with great energy,” Lawson said in the post-game press conference. “And she competes, she scores, she rebounds, she plays with great pace. It’s what you want in a player, in a young player, to come in and do that. And so that’s what I appreciate more about her. She finds a way to make an impact.”
Looking back at Team USA’s first game shows just how versatile Reese has become. While the game against Italy showed her ability to guard at the perimeter with lateral quickness, the tournament opener against China was a demonstration of her paint dominance.
Despite China having 7’3″ giant Zhang Ziyu coming off the bench and directly matching up with the 6’4″ Reese, the forward showcased her physicality. Reese came off the bench to log five points and a team-high nine rebounds, including five offensive boards and a block.
Reese has also shown good leadership as part of the USA squad. At one point, Reese, from the bench, was seen encouraging Aliyah Boston, the other player tasked with guarding Ziyu, telling her to “keep working.”
Contrary to the rivalry that Reese shares with Caitlin Clark in the WNBA, that wasn’t the only notable moment she had with an Indiana Fever player. During one sequence, while Reese was talking to Lawson on the bench, fellow bench guard Caitlin Clark tried to check into the game before the buzzer rang. Reese gestured for her to wait, and then the two checked into the game together.
Reese and Clark have also been a solid duo on the court over the World Cup. During the team’s most recent game against Czechia, FIBA’s X account posted a highlight of Clark breaking down her defender near the three-point line and driving in before passing the ball to Reese for an easy layup in the final minute of the game.
Now, as Team USA moves into the knockout round of the World Cup, only time will tell how Angel Reese performs when the games hold more weight.