ATLANTA — When the Atlanta Dream made the WNBA’s most interesting offseason trade, the only guarantee was a scene like Sunday afternoon with hundreds of kids (and some adults) walking the concourses of State Farm Arena in Angel Reese’s No. 5 jersey, every one of the 17,000-plus seats filled and a national television audience drawn to the magnetic power of a true mainstream star.
But the thing about Reese, who spent her first two professional seasons with one of the league’s worst franchises in Chicago, is that the basketball part is still a mystery box. There are stretches of incredible defense and infectious energy, followed by mindless fouls and egregious mistakes, missed layups that are hard to fathom combined with a gravity on court that should ultimately benefit teammates who are far more talented than what she had in Chicago.
Reese is both a marketing machine and an agent of basketball chaos. The question is whether she will now, with a fresh start in Atlanta, also become one of the WNBA’s best players.
“What I see every day is somebody that’s working really hard in practice, who wants to learn, who’s asking for extra film,” Dream coach Karl Smesko said. “She has the athletic tools to be one of the best players and she’s motivated to become one of the best players, so I think through the course of the season you’ll get to see her be more comfortable in our style of play. I just expect her to get better game by game by game because that’s the way she’s approaching them in practice.”
Reese’s home debut Sunday showed both sides of that coin. In
It’s too early in the WNBA season to say that Sunday’s game was proof of concept, but Wilson had to work hard against that pair for her 20 points. And while Okot was on the floor for much of Atlanta’s fourth-quarter comeback from 17 down with fewer than eight minutes left, Reese made a couple spectacular plays down the stretch that gave the Dream a chance to win.
With 2:15 left, Reese corralled an offensive rebound, pivoted away from the rim and found Paopao in the corner for a 3-pointer that closed the gap to 81-80. Then, isolated on Wilson near the free-throw line with 41 seconds left, Reese’s defense was so solid that Jordin Canada came in undetected to steal the ball and convert a transition layup for the lead.
Though Chelsea Gray’s 12-footer for Las Vegas with 3.6 seconds left won the game, this was the WNBA at its best — and Reese more than lived up to her billing down the stretch as a key defensive factor who erased the best player in the league.
“Angel was playing great defense down the stretch for us,” Smesko said. “It’s just disappointing because when you have a comeback like that you’d like to finish it off.”
Because she’s a model, a podcaster and a cultural phenomenon with an incomplete skillset, Reese is always going to be a lightning rod. Her critics will point to the occasional sloppy turnover or the point-blank shot she misses. Her army of online supporters will focus on leading the league in rebounds her first two WNBA seasons. In many ways, neither side has it quite right. The question is whether Reese can impact winning, something she obviously did as a college player and national champion at LSU but never had a chance to do in Chicago.
Now in Atlanta, Reese is going to electrify the city and bring a new level of attention to the WNBA. She’ll also have a chance to show the basketball world she’s more than just a big name.
“Unfortunately we didn’t win the game tonight, but to have her effect and her big motion, it’s good for us and good for her as well,” Paopao said. “We trust her, we believe in her, and I hope she keeps having fun with us.”
