Angel Reese’s WNBA Finals dream stalls in Game 7

The Atlanta Dream lost Game 7 of the WNBA Finals to the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday. The final buzzer sounded in Atlanta, ending the season for the team and for Angel Reese, who had entered the postseason as the league’s top rebounder and its Defensive Player of the Year.

Reese’s season began with a public post on social media declaring she was “manifesting the finals.” That moment occurred 62 years, one month, and 13 days after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous speech on the National Mall. At the time of that post, the Las Vegas Aces were leading the Phoenix Mercury by double digits in a game they would win to take the title in the previous year’s final. Reese was then in her second year with the Chicago Sky, a team that missed the playoffs in both of those seasons despite her individual accolades.

Reese arrived in Atlanta via a trade that moved her from the Sky. The Dream had also exited the playoffs in the first round the previous year, a pattern that had persisted for nearly two decades of the franchise’s existence. The team featured Jordin Canada on defense, Rhyne Howard in scoring, and Allisha Gray in energy. In Atlanta, Reese found a city that embraced her quickly, with fans rushing to buy her jersey and secure tickets to see her play.

Head coach Karl Smesko worked with Reese to rebuild her shooting mechanics and extend her range beyond the three-point line. Reese told her coaching staff she wanted to win the Defensive Player of the Year award and committed to doing whatever work was required. The team struggled with confidence early in the season, a hesitation that players and observers noted as a barrier to consistent performance. Reese’s arrival shifted the locker room dynamic, providing a sense of stability and joy that helped the roster coalesce.

The Dream’s momentum built in the late regular season. The team secured the number four seed in the playoffs, and Reese broke the WNBA’s single-season rebounding record. Early in the postseason, Reese’s mother presented her with the Defensive Player of the Year trophy, validating her pre-season goal. Bernice King, Dr. King’s daughter, attended games in the stands, watching the team named after her father’s legacy compete.

The Finals series against the Las Vegas Aces presented challenges. The Dream were the lower-seeded team but faced what players described as inconsistent officiating. Fans in Atlanta supported the team heavily, with 1.5 million television viewers tuning in to Game 6, which was moved to a midday slot. The Dream won that game to force a Game 7, a first for the franchise in this series against the Aces.

The loss in Game 7 ended a season that saw Reese achieve individual milestones and the team reach its deepest point in recent memory. The Dream finished the season with a record that reflected their late-season surge, having defeated higher-seeded opponents to reach the championship game. The team’s journey from a first-round exit last year to the Finals this year marked a significant shift in their competitive standing.

Reese’s performance in the Finals included continued dominance on the glass, though the team could not overcome the Aces’ overall depth. The series highlighted the growing fan base for the Dream, with sold-out crowds at State Farm Arena providing a loud backdrop for the games. The loss did not erase the individual honors Reese collected during the year, nor the team’s progress in establishing itself as a consistent playoff contender.

The season concludes with the Dream in Atlanta and Reese in her first year with the franchise. The team will now enter the offseason, having reached the WNBA Finals for the first time in several years. The next step for the franchise will involve evaluating its roster and preparing for the upcoming season, with Reese expected to remain a central figure in their offensive and defensive strategy.