On Thursday, the Atlanta Dream recorded one of its most dominant wins of the season behind Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard, as they combined for 58 points in their 104-69 win against the Connecticut Sun. But as the game came to an end, all fans could talk about was how 6-foot-4 forward Angel Reese dominated 6-foot-9 Brittney Griner.
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Griner has a clear advantage in height over Reese. Yet, in Reese’s 28 minutes on the court, the Double-Double Barbie recorded a team-high four blocks, with three of them coming against Griner to set the record for the most times the Sun’s Center has been blocked in a single game in her entire WNBA career, according to an X post by Real App. This is the first time Griner has ever been blocked thrice in a single game across the 13 seasons that the veteran has played in the W.
But the sequence that hyped the fans the most came in the second quarter. With over seven minutes left on the clock and the Dream leading by 11 points, Brittney Griner rushed inside the paint to make a reverse-handed shot from under the basket. But with Angel Reese standing guard, the 24-year-old denied her the shot, only for Griner to secure the offensive rebound.
Yet Reese once again blocked her shot, only to then steal the ball away from Griner.
It is worth noting that this wasn’t a great night for Reese on the offensive side. She only scored eight points throughout the game, going 3-for-13 from the field and 2-for-4 from the free-throw line. However, she made up for it on the boards, where she secured the ball 15 times, with five coming on offensive rebounds and 10 on defensive rebounds. She also recorded a team-high three steals, tied with Howard. Even Dream head coach Karl Smesko spoke about Reese’s rebounding in the post-game presser.
“Angel was dominant on the boards.”
Brittney Griner, on the other hand, stayed on the court for just 17 minutes, where she scored seven points and secured eight rebounds as the Sun suffered a blowout loss.
Both teams entered this game looking to build a winning streak after each recorded a win in their last game. And while the Dream went home with a win, the Sun are now 8-24 on the season, sitting in 14th place in the WNBA standings, just ahead of the Seattle Storm, who are already out of the playoffs. According to ESPN’s WNBA Basketball Power Index 2026, the Sun now have a 0.1% chance of making it to the playoffs.
Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream, meanwhile, have improved to 21-12 on the season as they sit in fourth place in the league standings, thanks to their dominant run early in the season. They currently have a 99.9% chance of making the playoffs with 11 games still left in the regular season, along with a 7.2% chance of winning the championship.
For now, the Dream will face the Indiana Fever next on Sunday, where the long-standing rivalry between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark has already made it one of the most anticipated games of the week. So after Reese’s dominant night against Brittney Griner, all eyes will be on what she can bring to the court against her arch-rival.