Record-setting rebounder Angel Reese calls out stat-padding critics

Angel Reese is rebounding the ball at an unprecedented rate in WNBA history. And she's a rookie.

On Sunday, the Chicago Sky forward collected another 19 boards to take her season tally to 418 rebounds, breaking the previous all-time single-season record of 404 rebounds set by Sylvia Fowles in 2018. 

As part of her 24th double-double of the season, Reese also clinched the single-season record for most offensive rebounds (165), surpassing Yolanda Griffiths' mark of 162 set during the 2001 season. 

Despite Reese's best efforts, the Sky (11-21) suffered their sixth consecutive defeat of the season and now find themselves in danger of losing the eighth and final playoff spot to the Atlanta Dream. 

Reese has received some public criticism for potentially stat-padding herself into the record books — putting up empty calories in losses — while collecting her own misses. The most significant marker of this theory has been Reese's subpar field-goal percentage in close-range shots. 

In shots attempted at less than five feet (restricted area), Reese is shooting a paltry 43.6% (132 of 303). Even worse, she's shooting 11.4% (4 of 35) in shot attempts in the five-to-nine-foot area — typically the zone where bigs thrive.

Reese, though, remains unperturbed by those allegations. After setting the rebounding record on Sunday, the Maryland native made it a point to call out anyone accusing her of being a stat-padder.