Do the Angel Reese "Me-bound" Criticisms Hold Up Against the WNBA Data?

Angel Reese put up record-setting numbers in her rookie season, instantly becoming the league’s all-time leader in consecutive double-doubles (15), both the single season rebounds record (446 in 34 games) and per game (13.1).

Her 26 double doubles are the second-most in a single season ever and she has the most by a rookie.

However, Reese’s game has been the target of criticism for her collecting a number of rebounds off her own misses, leading to bettors hammering her unders on the sportsbooks apps. Her shooting does need to improve, but according to this season’s WNBA Predictions on Dimers, the "me-bounds" criticisms may be unfairly overblown.

First of all, the Dimers WNBA Props model predicts Reese’s game to balance out after a slow start. Her shooting is down slightly to 35.8% from 39.1% last season, averaging 10.1 points to go with 12.1 rebounds per game. But the Dimers projections say her expected output should be 14.6 and 12.9 rebounds. This suggests a more efficient shooting game, but there’s another notable takeaway - her rebounds should also be slightly higher.

Why is this notable? If Reese’s league-leading 12.3 rebounds per game were only the result of her poor shooting, we should see her rebounds trend down when her points project higher, but that’s not the case. We’re seeing both expected marks over her current averages.

And that’s just projections - advanced data indicates this narrative is simply not the case. Last season, Angel Reese pulled down 446 total rebounds. 40 of those were off one of her own unblocked missed field goals (known as Z-bounds). That’s just 8.9%. The next three players who pulled down the most Z-Bounds in 2024 are Aliyah Boston (25 at 7.0%) and Breanna Stewart (22 at 6.8%). She may lead the league here but it is a nominal percentage. She’s at a 12.4% rate (down from 16.2% a week ago) this year but it’s been a much smaller sample size, and as previously mentioned, the Dimers model projects her game to balance out.

For more context, the Z-bounds leaders in the NBA in 2024-25 were Nikola Jokic (70 at 7.8%) and Alperun Sengun (66 at 8.3%), not exactly the bums of the league.

Takeaway: Reese Must Improve, But "Me-bounds" Argument Doesn't Hold

There's no question that Reese needs to refine her shooting and become a more efficient player, however she's far from the first young player to struggle. Even Caitlin Clark has had turnover issues into the second season of her impressive start.

Reese isn't Clark, but it shows that she's far from alone in her struggles.

Regardless of the source of her rebounds, Reese is still averaging nearly 2 full boards more than the next player in the WNBA (Jonquel Jones - NYL) and 2.5 higher than multiple MVP winner A’Ja Wilson in third. Every rebound she grabs is still one the other team doesn’t. While her shooting needs to improve, the “mebounds” argument holds little weight.

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