Angel Reese came very close to the mountaintop.
She joined the Atlanta Dream and they leveled up into a true title contender. After sweeping the Washington Mystics and New York Liberty in the first two rounds, they came within a game of winning the WNBA Finals, losing in seven games to the Golden State Valkyries.
For Reese to find a way to take the final step, to not only be the best player on a contender but the best player on a champion, she needs to learn an important lesson - the same lesson that another young star big is learning in the other basketball league.
Victor Wembanyama and Angel Reese both need to dominate the paint.
Reese can follow Wembanyama's lead
Victor Wembanyama did exactly what Reese did this past season. He won Defensive Player of the Year as his league's best defender, upset a recent champion in the playoffs, and then proceeded to lose in the Finals.
For Wembanyama, one of the most physically gifted players in the history of the sport, he needed to shift his game back into the paint. To his credit, he can handle on the perimeter and shoot 3-pointers like a guard. His ability to space the floor does help his team, the San Antonio Spurs, to score at a high rate.
In the end, however, Wembanyama's best path to being an undeniable force is dominating inside. He does that already on defense, swallowing up anyone who ventures into the paint. On offense this year he is attacking the rim again and again, throwing down lobs or spinning into his own dunk attempts. He has moved his primary residence on offense into the paint, and it is paying off for the 11-2 Spurs. Wembanyama is the MVP frontrunner.
Angel Reese needs to follow a similar blueprint. She was already one of the league's two best defenders last season, winning Defensive Player of the Year for the W's second-best defense. She can continue to level up on that end, becoming the unstoppable paint protector she has the physical tools to be.
On offense, Reese did the same thing that Wembanyama did: she took too many 3-pointers. In Game 6, she went 2-for-8, almost allowing the Vlakyries to get back into a game that was well in hand. In Game 7 of the Finals, she was 1-for-3.
Having the 3-point shot in her arsenal is a good weapon to have, but Reese needs to find a way to dominate inside. Again and again, the Valkyries' bigs kept Reese from getting the ball. Kiah Stokes in particular stonewalled Angel again and again.
Reese may be one of the league's best rebounders -- perhaps its very best -- but she cannot be taken away for entire quarters. She needs to get into the gym, dig into the film, and change her approach mentally. Creating on the perimeter as a center is impressive, but it's a worse outcome for the Dream. Dominating in the paint opens up everything else for the team as a whole.
When Reese is on the perimeter, she is more susceptible to turnovers; she is out of position to rebound; and there is less space for her talented teammates to thrive in their best space. Reese can pivot to finding ways to win inside, get to the rim, attack the basket. Her activity can open up passing angles for her teammates to get her the ball.
And ultimately, just like Wembanyama, she can find her way to dominating the league on both ends of the court. If that comes to pass, the Dream, and Angel Reese, will be unstoppable.
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