Twelve months ago, Angel Reese was answering questions about a suspension, a losing season and an uncertain future in Chicago. Today she is the most productive rebounder the WNBA has ever seen, the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year, and the centerpiece of an Atlanta Dream team that opened the 2026 playoffs with a win over the Washington Mystics.
The turnaround is one of the fastest in recent league memory. Traded from the Chicago Sky to the Dream last offseason in a deal the team described as mutual — Chicago received future first-round draft picks — Reese responded with the best basketball of her professional life.
The numbers behind Angel Reese’s 2026 season
Reese closed the 2026 regular season averaging 16.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game for Atlanta. She led the entire league in rebounding, and she did it in historic fashion. Reese became the first player in WNBA history to grab 500 rebounds in a single season, set the single-season record with 32 double-doubles, and at one point pulled down 26 rebounds in a single game.
The individual honors followed. Reese was named AP Defensive Player of the Year, and she finished the regular season by winning Eastern Conference Player of the Week three consecutive times — the first player in Dream franchise history to do that.
What went wrong in Chicago
The contrast with a year ago is stark. Reese, the No. 7 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, spent her first two professional seasons with a Sky team that went 10-34 in her rookie year and kept losing afterward. The breaking point came in the second half of the 2025 season, when Reese spoke candidly to the Chicago Tribune about the upcoming free agency cycle.
“I’m not settling for the same s*** we did this year,” Reese told the Tribune. “We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me.”
She was, by most accounts, all in on Chicago. She had bought a house just outside the city and invested in the community. Asked about the Sky’s facilities — a long-running sore subject around the league — she deflected with a simple “I just want to hoop.” She also spoke about her future with the franchise: “I’d like to be here for my career, but if things don’t pan out, obviously I might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me.”
The front office did not take it well. Shortly after the interview was published, the Sky suspended Reese for half a game for “statements detrimental to the team.” She did not come off the bench in the second half, and an injury kept her out of the final four games of the season.
Reese later apologized, saying the article had been misconstrued and that she needed to be better with her language. “I know it’s not the message; it’s the messenger,” she said. Sky head coach Tyler Marsh, asked whether he had spoken with Reese, offered only: “That will stay between me and Angel, but I think that everyone had their opportunities to speak. And we’ll leave it at that.”
Because she was on a rookie contract, Reese could not simply leave through free agency. The trade to Atlanta resolved the standoff, and both sides moved on.
A fresh start in Atlanta
Whatever the Dream saw in Reese, they have gotten it in full. The three-time All-Star has described this season as the loosest basketball of her career.
“You can kind of see, honestly, this whole season I’ve been playing more free,” Reese told the Chicago Sun-Times. “I don’t feel like I have a lot on my shoulders because they’ve helped me a lot — the coaches and everybody here with the organization.”
She expanded on the feeling in an interview with SiriusXM: “Our team is just so fun; it feels like a sisterhood, and I’m just so happy. I really genuinely just love being in Atlanta; the fan base obviously speaks for itself, but I just love Atlanta.”
The playoff debut: a slow start, then the mean mug
Reese had not played in a postseason at any level since her senior year at LSU, and Game 1 against Washington on Sunday did not start the way she drew it up. She shot 1-of-7 from the field in the first half and went into the break with three points.
Then came the moment that changed the game. With roughly two and a half minutes left in the third quarter, DeWanna Bonner found Reese with a pass, and Reese finished an off-balance layup on her way to the floor. She converted the and-one, and as she sat up she delivered her signature mean mug — the look that has become one of the most recognizable images in women’s basketball.
Reese finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds as Atlanta took the series opener. The rebounding was always elite; the scoring, defense and overall impact have now caught up.
Why the Washington series is a rebounding war
If the first round comes down to the glass, Reese will be central to it. Washington is the best rebounding team in the WNBA, with Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin sitting third and fourth league-wide in rebounds per game. The Dream rank fifth as a team at 31 rebounds per game — and 12 of those come from Reese alone.
Her postseason pedigree is real, even if it predates the WNBA. Reese transferred to LSU in 2022 and led the Tigers in scoring while ranking second in the NCAA in rebounds per game. Through the 2023 NCAA Tournament she averaged 21.3 points, 15.2 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 2.5 blocks per game, then posted 15 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals in a 102-85 national championship win. A year later, her final college tournament ended in the Elite Eight, but not before she put up 17 points, 20 rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks in defeat.
The most debated star in the sport
None of this has quieted the arguments. Few players in basketball generate the reaction Reese does — every quote, celebration, stat line and social media post becomes a debate, and the attention long ago stretched past what happens during a WNBA game. Her offensive game remains heavily scrutinized, and every poor shooting performance becomes fresh ammunition for critics online.
Her supporters point to the same thing her critics do: she is impossible to ignore. People watch her, argue about her and show up to see her, and in professional sports that attention matters. She entered the league with an enormous following after winning a national championship at LSU, and her popularity did not shrink when she turned pro.
Reese does not need everyone to like her. A year after the lowest point of her professional career, she is a record-holder, an award winner and a playoff performer — and the league is paying attention either way.
FAQ
Why was Angel Reese suspended by the Chicago Sky?
In the second half of the 2025 season, Reese gave an interview to the Chicago Tribune in which she criticized the team’s direction ahead of free agency. The Sky suspended her for half a game for “statements detrimental to the team.” Reese apologized afterward, saying her comments had been misconstrued, and an injury kept her out of the final four games of that season.
What records did Angel Reese set in the 2026 WNBA season?
Playing for the Atlanta Dream, Reese became the first player in WNBA history to grab 500 rebounds in a single season and set the single-season record with 32 double-doubles, including a 26-rebound game. She led the league in rebounding and was named AP Defensive Player of the Year.
When did Angel Reese join the Atlanta Dream?
The Chicago Sky traded Reese to the Atlanta Dream last offseason, ahead of the 2026 campaign. The move was described as mutual, with Chicago receiving future first-round draft picks in return.