“I need a jersey,” was what Angel Reese said as she was on the sidelines at the Kia Center on March 3, 2026, to support her brother Julian Reese, as he stepped on the NBA court for his second professional game ever. Despite Julian and the Washington Wizards losing 126-109 that night, Angel’s presence made sure her brother was playing his best, dropping nine points and eight rebounds. Now, ahead of the Atlanta Dream facing the Golden State Valkyries in the 2026 WNBA Finals, Julian Reese has made his support for her clear, but he also gave a take that might surprise WNBA fans.
The New Orleans Pelicans, Julian Reese’s current team, posted his interview from the Oct. 12 practice on their YouTube channel, where Julian praised his sister before he was asked who the best rebounder in their family was.
“Very inspirational, not gonna lie,” said Julian. “She’s inspiring me to be great here, be good here, proving everybody wrong and just living in her truth, and it’s just a blessing.”
Answering the question about rebounding, he gave a bold take.
“Definitely me, for sure,” said Julian, as reporters chuckled.
While Julian’s take was obviously made in jest, a little sibling banter, his numbers are not far off from his sister’s, who led the WNBA in rebounding in 2026. Julian Reese played 13 games last season with the Wizards, averaging 11.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. He is currently on a two-way contract with the New Orleans Pelicans and can divide his time between the NBA and the Pelicans’ G League team, the Laketown Squadron.
Angel Reese, meanwhile, averaged a double-double in 2026 with 16.4 points and 12.1 rebounds per game. The difference lies in the number of games the Reese siblings have played all season, with Angel playing and starting 43 games this season. It’s much harder to consistently maintain the numbers that she has over a full season of WNBA games. Her rebounding has put her at the very top of the regular season for that stat, while it has also helped her break a number of records this season.
The previous record for most rebounds made in a single WNBA game was held by Chamique Holdsclaw, with 24 boards for the Washington Mystics on May 23, 2003. Reese blew past this record on Aug. 24 as the Atlanta Dream defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 78-71. Reese dropped 26 boards, just one short of the maximum points scored that night, as Nneka Ogwumike scored 27 points.
“She’s obviously been exceptional as of late,” Dream coach Karl Smesko said after the game. “She’s had steady improvement throughout the season. You could see her every month, get a little more comfortable, and I think right now she’s really hitting her stride.”
And Angel Reese definitely got more comfortable on the court in the playoffs. She led the Atlanta Dream all the way to its first Finals since 2013 after a clean sweep of the Washington Mystics in Round 1 and the New York Liberty in the Semifinals.
Reese’s rebounding this season has been so impressive that she even broke the single-season rebounds record this year, finishing her regular season with 521 rebounds, shattering A’ja Wilson’s 2024 record of 451. Notably, Jessica Shepard of the Dallas Wings also blew past Wilson’s record this season, making 467 rebounds and winning the Most Improved Player award. But Reese won an even more prestigious award as the regular season came to a close.
Angel Reese was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the 2026 season. Over her 43 games this season, Reese has averaged 7.3 defensive rebounds, 1.8 steals per game, and 0.7 blocks, which she improved in the postseason to 2.2 blocks per game.
Even Pelicans’ head coach Jamahl Mosley seems to believe Angel is a better rebounder. He was asked who the best rebounder in the Reese family was, and his funny, indirect response had the interviewer chuckling as well.
“You gonna make me go there with that one? Right now somebody’s in the finals, so I think one of them’s doing pretty good,” said Mosley.
Julian Reese will have to grab a seat quickly if he wants to watch his sister Angel Reese go up against the Golden State Valkyries in the biggest matchup this WNBA season. The two teams will meet at the Chase Center for Game 1 of the Finals series on Oct. 17, as all eyes stay peeled to see if Angel Reese’s rebounding can overcome the stifling Valkyries defense.