Angel Reese has been traded from the Chicago Sky to the Atlanta Dream, and nearly immediately began marketing herself to Atlanta's fans. Everyone seems thrilled to welcome Reese to the city, which makes sense — she's an enormously talented player and elite rebounder who is likely to make the already great Dream even better.
She's also very likely to be part of the momentum that fuels an already simmering rivalry between the Indiana Fever and the Atlanta Dream. The pair became genuine rivals last season, after they traded wins and losses and the Fever ultimately sent the Dream packing while in pursuit of a WNBA Championship.
And, of course, Reese and the Fever's Caitlin Clark were drafted into the league under the weight of a so-called rivalry that began when they were college students at LSU and Iowa, respectively. While the true nature of that dynamic has been debated (the pair have each denied significant bad blood between them, and the "rivalry" has seemed to be pushed more by fans than anyone else), Reese's arrival in Atlanta might actually spur the advent of something a little closer to a real contest between the pair.
The Fever was already scheduled to play the Dream more than any other team in the league except for the Liberty, which may indicate the WNBA was already cooking up a set of fierce rematches between the two teams. The Fever will play both teams four times (and will play three matches against every other team).
The Fever and Dream could meet in the playoffs again
It's not unlikely the two teams could encounter one another in the playoffs this season. The Fever won most of their games last year without Clark and several other injured players on the roster, including that decisive playoffs win over the Dream last season. Now that she's back on the team and healthy, and the Fever are making it clear they're prioritizing bringing Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull back to the team, Indiana will be eyeing a championship run again.
Similarly, the Dream are nowhere near finished with their own championship goals. Coach Karl Smesko will be in his second year of coaching in the WNBA this time around and has learned a thing or two, and, like the rest of the league, the team is currently navigating free agency and making decisions that will support their ultimate goals. One way or another, the Fever and Dream are being set up to meet again and again, and hopefully, to establish the kind of WNBA rivalry fans live for.