For Angel Reese, it took just a couple of weeks at Atlanta Dream to fit into a role that has often been thrust upon her. Given her demanding, strong vocal presence on the team, the term leadership has often been synonymous with her. She might not be the most experienced in the locker room, but she tries to contribute to the team like a leader in her every step, and one of her rookie teammates’ latest admissions just adds weight to it.

Speaking during the Atlanta Dream’s training camp, rookie Indya Nivar highlighted how players like Reese and Naz Hillmon are helping her settle into the team during her first season in the WNBA.

“I feel like all of them have, Naz [Hillmon] and Angel [Reese] have been very vocal,” Nivar said. “After every rep, they give feedback, which is very helpful, and then just been encouraging. Mistakes are going to happen, but you know they keep us in positive light to keep getting better every rep.”

Hillmon, having been with the Dream for 4 years, does have substantial experience to voice her opinions to the youngsters. But most would expect Reese to be a bit reserved in a new team after her trade. Especially with veterans like Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray in the mix, Reese’s voice could have also taken a backseat in the roster. But as reality set in, Reese has filled her shoes perfectly, not only in establishing a personal bond with her teammates but also helping out rookies like Nivar.

ChiBarbie’s bond with senior teammates like Howard has reached a safe space, to the point that neither hesitates to take jabs at the other. “I mean, any time Angel’s been on the other side of the court, I think I’ve had about 30,” Howard said in the media a few days back. All of it just adds weight to the fact that Reese has settled in pretty nicely in her new franchise and has bonded well with her teammates.

And subsequently, she’s also getting into her natural element of being a perennial leader on the team and a prominent voice in the locker room. It’s quite natural for players like Reese to support teammates like Nivar, who is in her first pro year right after college with North Carolina. And when a player of Reese’s stature backs you up on the court, it matters immensely. And that’s what Nivar was trying to convey to the media.

Reese herself shed light on young players coming to ask her for help, which makes her feel like a veteran, which she clearly isn’t, before mentioning that she’s kind of embracing this new role. “I kind of feel like everybody’s coming, the young players and the rookies are coming and asking me a lot of questions. So, I kind of feel like a vet, but I’m not a vet. But it’s cool to be able to be in a different role now.”

From a broader perspective, Reese’s leadership capabilities were another objective of the Atlanta Dream front office for trading Reese to the Chicago Sky. Head coach Karl Smesko clearly pinpointed in an interview that the team wanted to bring in a player like Reese, who is well-respected by the entire team.

“When Angel comes in, we’ll sit down and talk and come up with a plan together. You want something that the players are involved in, so they understand what we’re trying to get accomplished,” he said. “To get an opportunity to bring a player of Angel’s talent in, and someone that our players deeply respect, for us, it was a no-brainer.”

The leadership part has quickly fallen into place, as Nivar assessed. So that leaves out just one question: How will Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream fare in their first season together?

Angel Reese Believes There’s No ‘Ceiling’ for the Atlanta Dream This Season

In her first press conference for the Atlanta Dream, Reese had made it clear that she wants to ‘win’ with her new franchise. After all, that’s not a surprise. It’s quite natural for a player of her stature who has embodied efficiency in the frontcourt in the last two seasons. But it’s something that she wasn’t able to do with her former team, the Chicago Sky.

With Sky, Angel Reese has missed the playoffs in both her two seasons at the W so far. It’s something ChiBarbie might not face, as the Dream have consistently reached the business end of the season in the last few years. And this is where the Atlanta forward is looking to build upon in her stretch with this new team.

“I think there’s no ceiling,” Reese said. “I watched them from afar last year, and that’s the reason why I wanted to come here because I thought I can help them in ways and they can help me in ways. Being able to go 30-14 under coach Karl (Smesko) is incredible…So I think everybody’s really hungry in their own personal ways, but them coming together as a team is very important for us.”

As Reese highlighted, her addition to the Atlanta roster makes the team immensely efficient. While Dream’s perimeter play was already efficient with Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray bossing the court, the Dream can also look to get a substantial output from their frontcourt with Reese’s addition, who in herself can dominate the game with her presence as a leader on the court. To improve their frontcourt further, the Dream also picked Madina Okot in the draft.

Similar to Reese, Okot is a double-double threat with a strong physical presence near the paint. The team looks pretty stacked on paper. But it will be interesting to see how this on-paper strength translates into results this season, starting next month.