Angel Reese surpassed Candace Parker‘s double-doubles record on July 17, but the Chicago Sky rookie star acknowledged her place in the WNBA.
“She’s the GOAT,” Reese told reporters after an 84-71 loss to the Seattle Storm. “I’ve always respected CP3, and I try even to take some things from her game and try to add them to mine. And just being able to be named with an amazing player like that is always going to be special to me.”
Reese scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the 13th-straight game with a double-double. That broke Parker’s record of 12-consecutive games, which dates back to 2010. Reese, 22, watched Parker, 38, growing up back in the 2010s. The No. 7 pick in this year’s draft from LSU talked up the many stars who came before her on Sunday.
Parker firmly established herself as an all-time great with the Los Angeles Sparks from 2008 to 2020 and most recently with the Las Vegas Aces. She won three WNBA titles and two MVPs along the way before she retired this year.
“I’m grateful, I’m blessed and lucky to be named with these amazing players.” And I know they’ve always been super nice to me. They’ve always been helpful and inspiring to me. “I’ve watched them all my life, and finally, I get to be here in this moment and … break their records,” Reese said.
“To be up there with them is really cool, so I’ve always given my flowers to them before me because they laid the ground for me,”
she added.