Angel Reese caps tumultuous journey, takes center stage with the Dream in the WNBA Finals

Angel Reese is the biggest star left on the WNBA's brightest stage as she gets her first chance at winning a pro championship.

It’s been a tumultuous journey but coming to Atlanta this season has been the perfect move for the three-time All-Star, who's accomplishments this year have quieted many of her critics. Leading the Dream to the franchise's first title would silence the rest of them. That quest beings Saturday when the best-of-seven series against the Golden State Valkyries opens in California.

Reese is the first player from the heralded 2024 draft class that saw Caitlin Clark go No. 1 to reach the finals as a starter. The 6-foot-3 Reese went seventh in that draft to the Chicago Sky and has used that to fuel her to become one of the top players in the league — winning the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award this season.

“I think it was important for me to go through what I went through,” Reese said of falling to seventh in the draft. “Being able to build character, going through adversity drove character and I was able to learn from a lot of things, being able to continue to be great, but also learning to know that I can be better.”

Her first two seasons ended early, not just by missing the playoffs, but also because of injuries. She had wrist surgery at the end of her rookie year and had a back issue last year. Despite leading the WNBA in rebounding each of her first three seasons, averaging a double-double every year, critics questioned her offensive efficiency.

Online keyboard warriors came up with the phrase “mebounds" to call attention to Reese grabbing her own misses. Reese, who has her own custom Barbie doll, turned that into a positive. She created a business initiative and donated some of the proceeds to her foundation to combat cyber bullying.

“One thing that always set Angel apart as a rookie was her tenacity, her desire," NBC analyst Cheryl Miller said. "I think she’s one of those players who feels like the more you tell her who she’s not and try to set limits, she’s going to break those feelings every time.”

Reese has already matched Breanna Stewart and A'ja Wilson, those WNBA icons also reached the finals in their third season in the league. Reese will try to follow Stewart and win the title in her first try.

Reese didn't make the playoffs in her first two years in the league when she played with Chicago. Atlanta general manager Dan Padover said the night his team lost to Clark and the Indiana Fever in the playoffs last season that he decided he needed to acquire Reese. She was the missing piece that the franchise needed to get back to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2013. So he did just that, trading for Reese.

“Coming to Atlanta, obviously the goal for me was just to get them past the first round, because I wanted that for them," Reese said. “I watched them last year when they played how they came up short, and we saw the film from the beginning of the season."

Reese said that coach Karl Smesko still played those clips from when they lost in the first round. She didn’t make the postseason in her two years in Chicago. She just wanted to get a chance to play in the playoffs and after helping Atlanta knock off Washington and New York, she has the Dream in the championship round.

“I think the expectations for me have risen beyond what I expected,” she said. “Obviously I didn’t know we were going to be going to the finals, but obviously now the expectation is being in the finals every single year. Being here with the Dream, it just makes it a lot of fun. They pour into you, the organization is great, so I really love it.”

Reese has drawn high praise from Golden State coach Natalie Nakase, who worked with her at the World Cup.

“Yeah, she’s an ultimate, ultra competitor,” Nakase said. “To me, when we were at USA, you heard her voice constantly. So when she didn’t start, you heard her. She was constantly cheering her teammates on when they needed to. She constantly called them out when we needed energy."

Nakase said Reese's competitive edge is a huge reason Atlanta is in the finals, and she knows Reese "is not going to let any possession slip.”

Reese is no stranger to winning championships. She helped LSU win the NCAA title her junior year, beating Clark and Iowa in the title game that had over 18 million people watch on television. She also was on the U.S. national team that won a fifth straight World Cup last month.

“All of them are just like win or go home situations for me," Reese said of her college experience. "That’s kind of the mindset how it’s always been. Every game I’m treating it like it’s win or go home, and making sure I put my body out there every single night and give it my all, every little detail.

“We always talk about the value of one, that’s Karl’s big emphasis.” Reese said. "The value of one, the value of one, one rebound, one box out, one shot, one free throw, making sure I am perfecting and doing everything right. That’s kind of been the mindset for me.”

AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley and freelance writer Alan Cole in Atlanta contributed to this report.

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here