Angel Reese Has Every Reason to Be ‘Proud’ of Her Season Despite Dream’s Finals Loss
Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream didn’t have enough to win the franchise’s first championship. They lost 68-63 in Game 7, as Gabby Williams exploded for 30 points to lead the Golden State Valkyries to victory.
The Dream’s stars, meanwhile, struggled to score. Jordin Canada led the way with 18 points. While Allisha Gray put up 16, she shot just 5-for-16 from the field. Rhyne Howard made only three of her 14 shot attempts and went 0-for-7 from behind the arc. Reese sank a 3-pointer, but only made two other shots and finished the game with eight points to go with her 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.
Nevertheless, Reese stayed positive in the postgame media availability, reiterating many times that she believes the Dream will “be back” and still appreciating everything she and her teammates accomplished.
“I’m really proud of the year I had,” Reese said, per a video on the WNBA’s YouTube channel.
Despite this loss and failing to bring a championship to Atlanta, Reese has plenty of reasons to be proud of her season—both from an individual and from a team standpoint.
Angel Reese Still Played a Good Season
Joining a new team isn’t easy, especially as a young player still trying to figure out how to be her best self on a WNBA court. And yet, Reese helped the Dream get within reach of a championship in just her first season with the team—while playing out of position. Brionna Jones was supposed to be the Dream’s starting center, but she missed pretty much the entire season with a knee injury.
Unlike in Chicago, Reese had to navigate sharing a court with other, more proven All-Stars. Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray are All-WNBA-level players, who had been the faces of Atlanta Dream basketball for several seasons.
Reese fit right in and put together her best season yet, improving notably as a scorer around the rim throughout the season and adding a 3-point shot to her arsenal. She truly broke into the top WNBA ranks, going from All-Star to All-WNBA Second Team player and Defensive Player of the Year.
The outcome may not be what Reese and the Dream were hoping for, but there’s no denying that the 24-year-old took a significant leap this season and deserves to be proud of everything she accomplished on her way to the finals. After all, she wrote her name in the WNBA record books. She now holds the record for most rebounds in a single playoff run. In Game 2, she became just the third player to record 30 points and 15 rebounds in a finals game and the youngest to record a 20-point double-double.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.