Angel Reese picked the perfect opponent to make history against. Facing the Chicago Sky on Saturday, the team that drafted her and traded her away, the Atlanta Dream forward became the first player in WNBA history to record 500 rebounds in a single season during a 106-81 rout at Gateway Center Arena.

The record-sealing board came with 1:50 left in the second quarter. Reese appeared to cause a deflection before securing the defensive rebound that pushed her to 500 for the year. She entered the night at 495 and went after it from the opening tip.

She finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals while shooting 9-of-13 from the field and posting a plus-26. The double-double was her 31st of the season, extending a single-season record she had already broken twice, most recently Thursday against Connecticut when she reached 30.

The context makes it sweeter. Chicago selected Reese seventh overall out of LSU in 2024, then traded her to Atlanta on April 6 for first-round picks in 2027 and 2028. In her first season with the Dream, she is averaging a career-high 16.5 points and a league-leading 12.4 rebounds, along with 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals.

Article Continues Below

Atlanta pulled away after halftime. The Dream outscored the Sky 32-19 in the third quarter and built a lead as large as 27, finishing at 52.9% from the floor and 13-of-26 from three with 29 assists and 13 steals. Isobel Borlase led the bench with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including a perfect 3-for-3 from deep. Allisha Gray added 17, Rhyne Howard chipped in 14, and Jordin Canada posted a double-double of her own with 11 points and 10 assists.

Chicago never found an answer. Gabriela Jaquez paced the Sky with 14 points, while Kamilla Cardoso and Aicha Coulibaly each added 11. Courtney Vandersloot had 10 points and six assists but committed five turnovers as Atlanta turned 17 Chicago giveaways into 24 points.

The win moved the Dream to 29-14 with the postseason approaching. Atlanta closes the regular season with two games at New York, starting Monday against the Liberty. For Reese, the playoffs will be new territory, as neither of her two seasons in Chicago ended with a postseason berth.