8-Time All-Star Praises Angel Reese’s All-Round Domination and Leadership For Dream

Before the 2024 WNBA Draft, many felt that Angel Reese might be the only player from the golden generation of college prospects who might not make it big in the pros.

There were doubts about her shot-creating ability, her defense, and whether she could stay calm enough to not upset her teammates or the organization she will play for.

Those doubts soon turned out to be true when the Maryland native struggled mightily, both on offense and defense. Her rebounding may have helped her set league records, but some were still not sure how they would translate into winning.

Two losing seasons with the Chicago Sky gave weight to the theory that she was merely stat-padding for individual accolades. On top of that, when she spoke out against the organization and her teammates, many felt this attitude was going to severely hamper her future.

A year later, all those notions have been thrown out the window. Amongst all the revered prospects from college basketball, Angel Reese stands tall as the first one to reach the WNBA Finals.

Since she was the catalyst for the Atlanta Dream’s run to the biggest games of their careers, many are ditching their criticism and turning to praise. While not a prior critic, Tina Charles explained how the narrative surrounding the forward has changed.

She’s just fearless, and that is exactly what you want, especially from your inside presence.

Tina Charles said on NBC’s Showtime

Heading into the WNBA Finals, Tina Charles says Angel Reese is EXACTLY the type of player you want on your team. 🔥 📺 WNBA Finals Game 1: Dream at Valkyries, Saturday 3pm ET on NBC & Peacock https://t.co/YGdiG34q4O

— WNBA on NBC and Peacock (@WNBAonNBC) October 12, 2026

The eight-time All-Star pointed out that even if Angel Reese was not scoring most of the points, her presence in the interior helped the rest of the Dream do their bit. On top of that, standing up for her teammates was the leadership that the team needed.

Angel Reese’s Dream struggling to find bigger arena ahead of Finals

After punching their ticket to the WNBA Finals, most fans would expect the Atlanta Dream to play at State Farm Arena. With 17,000 seats, Angel Reese and her teammates would need the home crowd’s presence while taking on the Golden State Valkyries.

The latter’s fans tend to travel during the postseason, which made it difficult for the Las Vegas Aces in Game 3 of their semifinals clash. However, the Dream are not close to getting any help from their fans after they struggled to lease State Farm Arena for any of their upcoming games.

Barring any last-second changes, Games 3, 4 and 6 of the WNBA Finals in Atlanta will be played at Gateway Center Arena (3,500+ seats), multiple sources tell USA TODAY. Efforts to move games to State Farm Arena (17,000 seats) have proved unsuccessful.

Meghan L. Hall revealed on X

This means that Angel Reese and her teammates will have to do with the 3500 fans in their usual home court. Packed arenas helped the Dream in their first two playoff series.

But now, not only are they going to face the passionate Valkyries fans first, but they also have to make do with what they have. Concerts and Atlanta Hawks games have made it difficult for them to lease the larger arena.

Angel Reese and her teammates celebrate Finals ticket with Atlanta Falcons game

While the Atlanta Dream organization tries to figure out if they can lease another larger arena, Angel Reese and her teammates decided to celebrate booking their tickets to the 2026 WNBA Finals.

Knowing how momentous an occasion this was, the Atlanta Falcons franchise invited the entire team over to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to watch them take on the Baltimore Ravens.

It may have been a bittersweet experience for Reese, as she generally supports DMV teams. To avoid a dispute with Atlanta fans, the superstar wore a red overcoat to avoid wearing the Falcons’ jersey.

However, she may have secretly celebrated at the end, considering that the Ravens ended up winning the game after a late turnover from Falcons QB Tua Tagovailoa.

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