Acquiring Angel Reese has done more for the Atlanta Dream than help them climb to No. 6 in the WNBA standings. The star power Angel Reese has brought with her after parting ways with the Chicago Sky after two seasons has also brought fans to the Atlanta Dream games. Joining the league in 2024 alongside Caitlin Clark, the 24-year-old brought her own ‘Reese Effect’ to Atlanta this season.

“The Dream has already surpassed its 2025 attendance record after only 15 home games,” Yahoo Sports wrote in the caption while revealing the numbers in their post.

Atlanta, who play their major home games in the State Farm Arena and other games at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, has seen 100,369 fans attend those 15 games as of August 3, 2026.

Although the increase may not sound like much against the 98,560 who attended last season. However, that number accounts for the entirety of last season, which included 20 home games. It becomes even more impressive when you consider that the Dream also play two more home games after making the playoffs.

Playoff games often attract higher attendance numbers, so the fact that the Dream have already broken the 100,000 benchmark with 7 games to spare.

Dream president Shaw Parker said he expected something like this on April 6 during an interview with the local Atlanta television station WSB-TV.

“Our fans have basically said there could be no better move than to bring her in with this team. We couldn’t be more excited. She fits in with the Atlanta culture like no other.”

That assessment turned out to be true when Atlanta saw an immediate bump in ticket sales after Reese’s arrival. The prices for the Dream’s home opener in College Park immediately saw an uptick, hovering around $198 and higher per TickPick.

The Dream have scheduled only five of their marquee games at the State Farm Arena, which has the capacity to seat around 17,000 people. It is also the arena where the NBA team Atlanta Hawks play their games.

Dream’s fixtures in this arena this season include an upcoming Sept. 19 game against Reese’s old team, the Chicago Sky, two games against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, and one against the Aces and one against the Toronto Tempo.

While Reese has made an obvious impact on Atlanta’s popularity and commercial growth, she leads this team as they push for a playoff spot this season, currently sitting 6th in the standings with an 18-11 record.

Can the Atlanta Dream go all the way?

The Dream do possess the roster that balances solid defensive play with targeted offense. Reese not only leads this team, but the entire league in rebounds per game, at 11.8. She also contributes 16.1 points and 2.4 assists per game as well.

Reese has surpassed several record milestones this season. She became the fastest player in WNBA history to hit 1,000 career rebounds, doing so in just 79 games. Additionally, she shattered the single-season Atlanta Dream franchise record for offensive rebounds, surpassing the previous record of 136.

She is also the fastest player in league history to record 57 career double-doubles in her first 75 games. Meanwhile, Dream coach Karl Smesko has already been confident about Reese’s capabilities from the very beginning.

“She’s working on different aspects in her game just because she wants to be the best. I’ve already seen development so far, and I think if she keeps working, that she is that she’s gonna be somebody that people are talking about for MVP sometime very soon,” he said in May.

So while Reese adds defensive coverage and is vital for Atlanta’s rim protection, Allisha Gray and Jordin Canada take on the playmaking burden, with Gray leading the Atlanta team in points at 18.8 and Canada in assists at 7.7 per game.

However, a recent five-game losing streak and a blowout loss to the Las Vegas Aces on August 3 exposed the structural gaps in their roster. They have often struggled due to poor shooting across the board, dropping below 40% field goal efficiency in multiple games.

So, while Angel Reese has helped bring more fans to their games, Karl Smesko will need to figure out a way to address these issues for Atlanta to make a deep run in the postseason.