After an absolutely brutal performance last weekend in which she turned the ball over eight times, Angel Reese had a strong, bounce-back performance on Friday. While it wasn’t enough to totally erase all the struggles from the start of the season, she is no longer leading the league in turnovers.
Reese has been struggling to start the season, and those struggles seemed to reach a peak last weekend when she had one of the worst games of her entire career, committing eight turnovers while shooting just 1-for-8 from the floor. The performance left Reese with the most turnovers in the WNBA.
However, after a strong game over the weekend, Reese is no longer at the top of that unfortunate list. Instead, her longtime rival Caitlin Clark now leads the league in the unfortunate category.
Angel Reese Turnover Issues
Throughout her career, Angel Reese has struggled with turnovers. Last season, while Clark led the league with 5.1 turnovers per game, Reese ranked second with 3.9 turnovers per game.
Those issues have persisted this year, and they reached a peak during last weekend’s loss to the Las Vegas Aces.
During last Sunday’s loss, Reese turned the ball over eight times in only 29 minutes on the court, which ultimately led to the team benching her down the stretch. Those turnovers included three traveling violations, three offensive fouls, one errant pass, and a moment when she stepped out of bounds.
After the eight-turnover showing on Sunday, Reese was leading the league with 5.3 turnovers per game, averaging more turnovers per game than made field goals per game. However, that is no longer the case.
Caitlin Clark Now Leads the League
After Reese’s strong performance over the weekend, in which she had 17 points and 10 rebounds with just three turnovers, Reese no longer leads the league in turnovers. Now, Clark tops the list.
Following this weekend’s slate of games, Clark now leads the league with 5.2 turnovers per game, while Reese’s average has fallen to 4.8 rebounds per game, which ranks second in the league.
However, it’s worth adding a bit of context. Guards are typically the players with the highest turnover totals throughout a season, largely because they control the ball more than anyone else on the floor through dribbling, passing, and running the offense.
That is a major reason why Clark has led the WNBA in turnovers in each of the past two seasons, and why she is leading the league in turnovers today.
“Yeah, because she holds the basketball for the majority of the 40 minutes,” NBC broadcaster Kate Scott said during a recent broadcast, addressing the fans who criticize Clark for her high turnover numbers. “Welcome to the sport of basketball.”
Still, it’s a positive step for Reese that she is no longer leading the league in turnovers.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.