Angel Reese has exceeded expectations during her rookie season in the WNBA. The Chicago Sky star broke a league record with 13 straight double-doubles, surpassing Candace Parker’s mark of 12. While her impact is undeniable, her poor finishing at the rim and lack of a consistent jump shot has earned her criticism. On Jeff Teague’s Club 520 Podcast, co-host Bishop B. Henn claimed the rookie reminded him of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Advertisement
Per Bishop, Reese, like the Milwaukee Bucks superstar, doesn’t have substantial offensive moves in her repertoire, making it an apt comparison. He claimed both centers have a simple run-to-the-rack game without any go-to post-move. Bishop argued,
“She really don’t go no moves, she damn like Giannis almost… Giannis don’t have no real moves like that, Angel Reese has got a straightforward game, bro it’s not nothing cute, it’s just hard-nosed rugged, I just did a ten in a pen, I’m about to go kill.”
As he re-iterated his take about Reese being like Antetokounmpo, Jeff Teague disapproved of the notion arguing that a player cannot win an NBA MVP award without having a versatile offensive skillset.
Bishop countered that he was basing his opinion on an ‘eye test.’ He then reminded Teague that the former Atlanta Hawks star once claimed that he didn’t like watching Kobe Bryant and described his playing style as ‘stiff.’ Bishop argued he used a similar logic when comparing Reese and Antetokounmpo’s playing style.
The retired NBA star reminded his co-host that he didn’t call Bryant stiff and was merely relaying how his game was tough to watch because it isn’t as smooth as someone like Kevin Durant. Bishop felt that there was a double standard in this assessment as to how Teague claimed that watching Bryant was a pleasant experience, but at the same time, he doesn’t mind witnessing Antetokounmpo’s “ugly” game.
Neither budged from their point as they both had a valid take. Like Bishop claimed, Reese and Antetokounmpo are dominant in the paint and can outmuscle any player to get rebounds. However, neither star boasts an aesthetically pleasing offensive repertoire and usually rely on brute force to score points.
However, like Teague countered, Antetokounmpo is a stellar finisher at the rim. He’s nearly unstoppable when he drives down the lane or finds himself in a one-on-one situation in the paint. Reese is over half a foot shorter than the two-time NBA MVP and isn’t as physically imposing as the Bucks superstar.
While Reese and Antetokounmpo have visually similar playstyles, there’s a stratospheric difference in their impacts on the offensive end. The Sky star has a long way to go before she could be dubbed the ‘WNBA’s Giannis.’
