There is something about basketball players from Baltimore that Angel McCoughtry believes simply cannot be taught. And in Angel Reese, the Atlanta Dream legend sees that familiar competitive fire, an instinctive, uncoachable tenacity that she believes has translated directly into Reese’s immediate and enormous impact on this Atlanta Dream team in her very first season.
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Speaking on NBA TV’s flagship primetime show The Association, former NBA star Rudy Gay asked McCoughtry what it is that Reese brings to the Dream beyond the defensive efforts that earned her the Defensive Player of the Year award. For McCoughtry, the answer comes back to something she recognises from her own background: that particular competitive edge that players from Baltimore carry with them.
“So, Rudy, you know, we’re from Baltimore. You know, there’s something about us and how we play,” McCoughtry said. “We have this dog in us. And we’ve seen it with you, myself, Carmelo, and different players that have come out of Baltimore.”
“She brings a tenacity, a wit. She’s a go-getter. She has that dog. You don’t see too much of that these days — that dog that’s just instilled. You can’t teach that, and she came in at such a young age, being a leader, being a vocal leader that the Dream needed. And so, besides her rebounding and defense, she’s a leader as well, and so young,” she added.
And indeed, beyond her defensive dominance that earned her the Defensive Player of the Year award, Reese has had a remarkable impact on the Atlanta Dream’s journey to the WNBA Finals. Her regular season was defined by a dominant 12.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game, numbers that made her the most disruptive defensive presence in the league.
And she has continued to make her presence felt in the postseason, averaging 17.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, and 1.8 steals per game so far. She was particularly impressive during the Dream’s thrilling semifinal sweep of the New York Liberty, raising her scoring output and delivering when it mattered most, particularly in the tight Game 3 victory, where she delivered a team-high 22 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks in the series-clinching 85-83 win.
Now she will look to bring that same energy and intensity into the WNBA Finals against the Golden State Valkyries, and help bring the WNBA championship to Atlanta for the first time in franchise history.
“Bring a Championship Home”: Angel Reese Makes Atlanta Dream Title Ambition Clear
From the very first day of her arrival in Atlanta, Angel Reese has been completely transparent about what she came here to do. And it’s to win the WNBA championship.
“Playoffs and championship, I don’t know about nothing else. I came here to win a championship,” she said back in July.
The possibility of achieving that is now more real than it has ever been. And she has continued to make her intentions unmistakably clear.
Speaking to reporters at practice in Atlanta on Tuesday, Reese described making it to the final as a blessing, while also paying genuine respect to the Dream teams that came before her and firmly embracing her role as the player expected to finally deliver the championship this city has been waiting for.
“A blessing. I mean, a lot of homage to those teams — they were really, really talented teams that played here before all of us. And that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to come to Atlanta to bring a championship home,” she said.
The last time the Atlanta Dream reached the WNBA Finals was in 2013. Including their current 2026 postseason run, the franchise has now made it to the championship stage four times, and has lost all three of their previous appearances.
The championship drought is the defining unfinished business of this franchise’s history. Perhaps, with Angel Reese leading the way and an entire city watching, 2026 is finally when it gets resolved.