Back in the day, TNT analyst Charles Barkley labeled double-doubles a meaningless phony stat, stating that bigs should post those two specific numbers routinely. But what A'ja Wilson and Angel Reese just accomplished is anything but ordinary, as both WNBA stars wrote themselves into the record book with a pair of scoring/rebounding achievements.
There's a rivalry brewing here, maybe, and it's very different than the one Reese already has going with fellow rookie Caitlin Clark. Player-wise, it's an apple vs. apple positional comparison, as both stars make their living in the paint, and there's a good chance that Reese could Reese to challenge a lot of Wilson's records much sooner than anyone thinks.
A'ja Wilson is breaking her own records
While A'ja Wilson is a great player doing impressive things, we'd forgive her if she started getting bored with double-doubles. Wilson doesn't mess around when she posts them, either--hers are often 20 points, 10 rebounds extravaganzas, and she put up 16 of those last year.
This year, she's putting that record to shame. On Sunday, she scored 34 points with 13 rebounds as the Aces beat the Los Angeles Sparks by an 87-71 count. Overall, Wilson is averaging 29.3 points, 14.4 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks during her latest 20-10 stretch, shooting well over 50 percent from the field and 93.3 percent from the line while posting double-doubles in eight consecutive games.
It's part of her MVP pedigree, and A'ja Wilson is also the first player in league history to record multiple games with 30 points, 10 boards, and five steals. She's joining the likes of Candace Parker and Sylvia Fowles, along with another noteworthy name that's fast becoming familiar to WBA fans.
Angel Reese is joining the double-double party
That would be Angel Reese. She's getting her share of double-doubles as well, posting 20 so far in her rookie year. Her latest came on Sunday against the Mercury as Reese scored 19 and snatched a career-high 20 boards in an 86-68 loss to the Mercury.
But Reese has taken some heat for the way she's done it. She doesn't always grab the ball right away, so she ends up playing catch with herself until she can finally score. Reese has been accused of stats padding for that little trick, and she's also been criticized for the low shooting percentage that results from the tactic.
No matter. Angel Reese is a rookie, so she's still learning the ropes when it comes to the inside game, even though she's dominating in the paint. She'll be more dangerous once she figures it out, and the Sky will get better as a result.
For now, though, Chicago is scuffling a little, to the point where it would be a positive for her to clean up her game a bit. The Sky are locked in a battle with the Fever for the last two playoff spots, and they're going to need every win they can get to keep up with Indiana now that Caitlin Clark is taking the Fever to new heights on a seemingly nightly basis.
A new double rivalry
The point of all this is that there's a new rivalry in the paint in the WNBA. It features one up-and-coming star and an established superstar, and they'll doubtless be going at it for years.
Angel Reese is the kind of feisty player who racks up rivalries with the way she plays and some of her off-the-court comments, and overall it's a great thing for the league as a whole.
Reese's rivalry with fellow rookie Caitlin Clark is already a front-page affair on newspapers and sites across the country and around the world, so adding some spice to that with an A'ja Wilson rivalry is very much a good thing going forward.
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