Angel Reese is not A'ja Wilson.
She is also probably not quite overall as good a player as Wilson, but she is certainly making a play for the title of best in the world. She came up and snatched Defensive Player of the Year away from Wilson, and she may add her first championship trophy this year after leading the Atlanta Dream to the WNBA Finals.
Reese is dominating, and she is doing so by not playing like her fellow star center. The less she plays like A'ja Wilson, the more successful she is becoming.
Angel Reese is dominating
Reese and the Dream just went into Balhalla and took down the Golden State Valkyries 79-65 in Game 2. No team had won in San Francisco during these playoffs, including Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces, who lost in a three-game sweep in the second round.
While many players on the Dream played a part in the victory, it was Reese who stole the show. She was unstoppable on the glass and around the rim, scoring 30 points and pulling down 15 rebounds on an efficient 10-for-16 from the field.
When the Valkyries took down the Aces in three games, Wilson couldn't get going against Golden State center Kiah Stokes, an All-Defense selection and a monster in the paint. She forced Wilson away from the basket, and Wilson -- the most skilled big in league history -- was comfortable going to work in the midrange. Fortunately for Golden State, she missed more than she made.
Reese has not allowed the same thing to happen. Interestingly enough, when Stokes has defended Reese, she has shut the young star down. Through two games, when Stokes has been the primary defender, Reese is 2-of-9 from the field (22.2 percent). When Reese has been guarded by anyone else, she has gone 13-for-18 (72.2 percent).
Angel Reese is playing smarter AND harder
The Dream and Reese are not isolating and trying to go to work against a stalwart Valkyries defense. They are not feeding Reese the ball and telling her to go score a basket. Wilson can do that and usually succeed; that is not Reese's game.
Instead, Reese is acting like a role player on the court. She is sprinting up the court in transition to receive "touchdown" passes after her teammates steal the ball (Rhynne Howard had six steals in Game 2!). She is racing to get post position and seal her defender, ideally getting crossmatched in transition onto someone smaller.
She is setting screens and rolling to the rim. She is attacking the offensive glass. She is working on every possession to be in position to take a point-blank shot at the rim. In Game 2, Reese took 16 shots. One was a 3-pointer (she made it) and the rest were in the paint. Reese is not allowing Stokes and the Valkyries to force her away from her spots. If she doesn't have the right look, she isn't taking the shot.
Reese's energy was infectious and helped Atlanta combat the frenetic crowd at Ballhalla. When she was on the bench, she was bouncing up and down, shouting encouragement, berating refs and celebrating her teammates. When she was on the court, her motor was constant, and she outran and outworked her Golden State counterparts.
The ascension for Reese has been incredible to watch, and she doesn't have to be the next A'ja Wilson to be the next superstar. She just showed everyone how she can take over a game -- not like Wilson, not like Breanna Stewart or Caitlin Clark -- but like Angel Reese.
The Valkyries solved Wilson. They now have to try and solve Reese -- if they can.
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