Team USA clinched their fifth FIBA World Cup championship in a row on Sunday in a thrilling 97-79 win over France, but WNBA sportscaster and analyst Jamie Steyer Johnson singled out the performance of one guard. While Breanna Stewart and Jackie Young emerged as the stars of the team, Johnson highlighted the defensive prowess displayed by Atlanta Dream guard Angel Reese.
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On an episode of The Her Hoops Stats Podcast, Johnson was prompted to elaborate on Reese’s contribution to the team when co-host Brittany Carper spoke about the mixture of veterans and young players on the Team USA squad.
“I mean, you talk about Angel’s impact defensively. That was, I think, one of the things that stuck out most from that championship game. And it’s funny because, you know, we’re sitting there watching, and after the second time that she had a pick on a guard just poking her hand in there, I was just like, man, I guess I just didn’t realize how capable she is on the perimeter.”
Johnson’s comments came after Carper referenced the incredible turnover Angel Reese managed to get just before halftime during the USA-France FIBA Final. With 10 seconds left on the clock, Reese was guarding French guard Pauline Astier near the basket. As Astier moved into the paint in an attempt to shoot, Reese’s guarding made the French guard lose the ball. The ball was knocked out of the court, leading to a turnover in favor of Team USA with less than six seconds left in the half.
The ball was then inbounded and reached Caitlin Clark, who effortlessly shot the ball from beyond the arc, making the score 45-43 in favor of the French as the teams went to halftime. This was one of the two three-pointers Clark made that night and served as the pivotal moment for the USA comeback. Team USA completely dominated in the third quarter, establishing a 30-12 score for the quarter. The American squad, at one point in the fourth quarter, established a massive 27-point lead with a score of 86-59.
Angel Reese’s perimeter defense has been ironclad across the 2026 FIBA World Cup, averaging 1.2 steals over six games, behind only Rhyne Howard on the USA roster. She recorded an average of 0.8 blocks per game, leading Team USA. Two of these blocks came during USA’s game against Italy in the group phase, where Team USA narrowly escaped a loss, winning by a score of 55-52. On a night when the team was having a subpar shooting performance, head coach Kara Lawson praised Reese’s performance.
“I thought Angel competed really hard tonight,” said Lawson. “I thought she was a difference maker for us… When she gets in the game, she impacts it; you can see it. I think everyone in the arena can see it. She comes into the game, and she plays with great energy; she competes, she scores, she rebounds, she plays with great pace. It’s what you want in a player, in a young player, to come in and do that. That’s what I appreciate more about her, and she finds a way to make an impact.”
Regardless of the FIBA performance, Johnson made another interesting note about the Atlanta guard’s performance in the WNBA this season.
“She’s just not in a position in Atlanta right now for that to be something that we see as often because she’s on a phenomenal defensive team. And so the scheme is not such where she’s switching onto guards quite as much. And so we don’t see that as much on the perimeter.”
Atlanta Dream is fourth on the defensive rating leaderboard with a rating of 105.0. The team leads the league when it comes to steals and features in the top eight for turnovers. Angel Reese still leads the team in rebounding with 12.4 RPG, but she ranks third on the steals list, behind Rhyne Howard and Jordin Canada. She is also third on the list of average blocks behind Howard and Brionna Jones.
Howard was on Team USA with Reese, but otherwise, Reese was controlling the defense for Team USA. As Johnson correctly pointed out, playing for a team like the Dream does not allow Reese to showcase the extent of her defensive prowess apart from rebounding.
Now, as the FIBA break is ending, Angel Reese returns to the Dream. With four regular-season games left to play, Reese will look to continue her dominant defensive display and keep her team in the top four to retain the home-court advantage.