Apr 15, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Angel Reese poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after she is selected with the number seven overall pick to the Chicago Sky n the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music.
With Angel Reese still on the board at No. 7 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft, the Minnesota Lynx made the peculiar decision to trade down one spot with the Chicago Sky and pass on drafting a potential Rookie of the Year winner.
And through 25 games, Reese is far outperforming the player the Lynx ended up drafting, Alissa Pili — besting her in scoring (13.4 to 2.4 points per game), rebounding (12 to 1.3 per game), free-throw percentage (73.6 to 57.1) and minutes played (31.7 to 6.4 per game), among several other categories.
So why would Minnesota pass on drafting a possible franchise-changing player? Well, according to Patrick Reusse of the Minnesota Star Tribune, it’s because of head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve.
“Could Reeve, also the team president, really afford to not draft talent because she didn’t want to coach someone?” Reusse wrote. “That is what occurred in the mid-April draft, when she traded down to avoid taking Angel Reese with the seventh pick, leaving the Lynx to take a flier on Pili at No. 8.
“…Reeve passing on Reese was the equivalent of an NBA team passing on Dennis Rodman to take…who, Jarrett Culver?”
Apr 15, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Angel Reese poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after she is selected with the number seven overall pick to the Chicago Sky n the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music.Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
In hindsight, Minnesota’s decision looks like an epically misguided one.
Reese leads the WNBA in rebounding, she leads all rookies in steals per game (1.4), player efficiency rating (18.4)and win shares (2.6), and she ranks second in points per game, third in free-throw percentage, fourth in assists per game (1.8), fifth in field-goal percentage (.396) among first-year players.
Conversely, Pili rarely sees the court. She’s played in just 16 games, and doesn’t even average seven minutes per night.
