The talk was loud after the Golden State Valkyries ripped Game 1 of the WNBA Finals away from the Atlanta Dream on Sunday. In particular, people had a lot to say about Angel Reese going scoreless in the second half after going off for 14 points in the first two quarters.
What are they going to say now?
The Dream superstar, who has been the subject of lowlights and online haters galore for the last four years, just proved to everyone who drives the bus in Atlanta, exploding for 30 points and 16 rebounds in a much-needed 79-65 win in hostile Ballhalla. In the process, she became only the third player ever to notch 30 points and 15 boards in a Finals game, joining Liberty stars Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones (whom Reese’s Dream just swept in the semifinals).
Reese said she needed to be more aggressive after getting shut out at the end of Game 1, and she did it on both ends.
She wasn’t the only one who balled out for Atlanta—shout out Allisha Gray (18), Jordin Canada (13), and DeWanna Bonner (9 points off the bench). But the Dream won this game because of the Big A, not the little one.
What Reese just proved in massive Finals performance
We’ve talked on this site often about what it would mean if Reese could ever harness her efficiency to go along with her motor.
You saw that in Game 2.
Reese got it done every which way offensively—punishing mismatches in the paint, overpowering the myriad bench players Golden State threw at her, hitting open players off of offensive rebounds, even hitting a dagger three-pointer in the fourth quarter to send fans to the exits. Though she did struggle on occasion with Kiah Stokes, Reese's transition and-one on the All-Defensive center might’ve been the turning point in the game.
And that doesn’t even factor in her two monstrous rejections and her picking Kaila Charles’ pocket for a big steal that led to a fast break.
When Reese is on, few players can do what she can, and it feels pretty spot-on to call her the frontrunner for WNBA Finals MVP if the Dream pull this out over the Valkyries. She's been by far the best player on a team full of stars, and they go as she goes.
Not bad for a woman people bent over backward to convince themselves wasn’t good at basketball.
In reality, this performance, especially against the best defensive team in the WNBA not from Atlanta, firmly announced Reese’s arrival as one of the 10 best players in the sport. And the scary part? She can still get so much better.
At this point, if you still don’t believe in her, we’re not watching the same sport.
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