On Friday, Angel Reese poured in a team-high 22 points with nine rebounds and two blocks to power the Atlanta Dream to their first-ever WNBA Finals since 2013. The Dream swept one of the most experienced teams in the league, the New York Liberty, 3-0 to quite literally achieve what the 24-year-old “manifested” a year ago. But now, do they have what it takes to win it all? That question remains unanswered, but eight-time All-Star Tina Charles believes Reese is exactly the kind of player a team needs heading into the Finals.
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“She is just fearless, and that’s exactly what you want, especially from your inside presence,” Charles said during her recent appearance on WNBA on NBC. “That’s exactly what you want. Someone who’s gonna impose their will, who’s gonna just keep coming at you. It doesn’t even matter if she’s scoring the basketball or not — you’re gonna feel her. And it’s just a snowball effect to everybody else.”
In her first season with Atlanta, Reese ranked third in the league in steals per game (1.8) and total steals (77), while leading the WNBA with 12.1 rebounds per game to win the 2026 Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award. Her defensive impact extended beyond individual numbers, too, as Atlanta ranked third in defensive rating (103.5) and allowed a league-low 9.5 second-chance points per game.
That combination of relentless effort and defensive presence is what makes Reese the kind of player who can lift an entire team. But there is another side to the story: Reese’s willingness to stand up for her teammates.
During Game 3 of the semifinals, Reese got into it with the New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu. In the second quarter, Ionescu was called for an offensive foul after she shoved Atlanta’s Isobel Borlase while setting a screen for Marine Fauthoux. But even after the whistle, Reese rushed over to defend her teammate and began chirping at Ionescu as players from both teams gathered around them. Rhyne Howard eventually pulled Reese away, while Jonquel Jones stepped between the two to prevent the situation from escalating.
That exchange drew criticism from many, with even one of the game’s broadcasters arguing that Reese’s actions warranted a tech.
“That should be a T. That should be a T,” the broadcaster said at the time.
Charles, however, saw the confrontation through a different lens. To her, Reese’s willingness to stand up for her teammates is precisely the kind of intensity Atlanta needs as it prepares for the championship series.
“Getting up in Sabrina’s face like, ‘You’re not gonna mess with my teammates. This is what you’re gonna get every single time when you try to try one of us.’ That’s exactly what you want going into the final. So I’m very excited. I’m very happy for her,” the three-time Olympic gold medalist added.
Reese’s fearless approach has undoubtedly helped Atlanta reach the Finals, but the real test of how far the Dream can go begins now. And the 24-year-old knows that the job is far from finished.
Angel Reese Echoes Kobe Bryant’s ‘Job’s Not Finished’ Message Ahead of WNBA Finals
The Dream will open their best-of-seven series against the Golden State Valkyries, who also swept their semifinal opponents, the Las Vegas Aces, 3-0. So with a championship on the line, Reese echoed a message NBA legend Kobe Bryant famously delivered during the 2009 NBA Finals: “Job’s not finished.”
“The job is not done. We’re definitely happy about where we are right now, but we’re not satisfied. I think we just continue to push every single day, get back to work,” Angel Reese said during her postgame press conference after Atlanta’s series-clinching win over New York. “But yeah, we’re going to enjoy this moment tonight. We can’t shy away from knowing that we did put a lot of work to get to this moment. I’m really proud of this group.”
The stakes in the upcoming Finals are even bigger this time because neither franchise has won a WNBA championship. Atlanta has fallen short in all three of its previous Finals appearances, while Golden State has a chance to become the first expansion team to win the title in just its second season. But it will be the Valkyries that will enter the series with confidence.
ESPN‘s matchup predictor gives Golden State a 62.7% chance of winning the opener, and during the regular season the Valkyries won all three meetings with Atlanta.
That history gives the Dream another hurdle to overcome, but Angel Reese’s message makes clear that the team isn’t treating its Finals berth as the finish line. Atlanta has already made history by getting here. Now, Reese and her teammates must find a way to turn that breakthrough into the franchise’s first championship.