Angel Reese’s Transition to the Atlanta Dream

Angel Reese kicked off her career with the Chicago Sky, but a surprising offseason trade landed her with the Atlanta Dream. So far, her performances have been a bit of a mixed bag. In her much-anticipated debut against the Minnesota Lynx, she scored 11 points on a 4-of-11 shooting but also had 14 rebounds, three blocks, and unfortunately, five turnovers along with five fouls. It was… well, I guess you could say it reflected her overall WNBA journey thus far.

Things improved a little in her second game. She shot 4-of-8 and pulled down 16 rebounds in a close victory against the Dallas Wings, 77-72. Sunday marked a significant moment—the Dream’s home debut at a packed State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

Reese was warmly welcomed by fans in her new city. She made quite an entrance, even sporting a leather outfit that one media outlet boldly dubbed as evoking “Catwoman energy.” When asked about facing off against A’ja Wilson, she stated, “She’s obviously a great player… but I know I’m a great player, too.”

Unfortunately, her individual performance in the game didn’t quite stack up. She managed just 1 of 8 from the field, missing her sole three-point attempt, resulting in an equal number of turnovers and rebounds—eight each. It’s tough to digest, really; during one of her missed layups, she even lost her shoe. Six missed layups and eight turnovers in one game? That has to be one of the toughest days on the court.

Her +/- rating for that game was -13, meaning the Las Vegas Aces outscored the Dream by 13 points while she was on the floor. Overall, the Dream has been outscored by 15 points this season when she’s playing—a stat that can’t be comforting.

To add to the drama, head coach Carl Smesko had to bench her as the team fell behind by double digits but did attempt a comeback, ultimately losing 85-84 to the Aces.

In her first three games, things haven’t been pretty: she’s shot 9-27, missed her only two three-point attempts, committed 16 turnovers, and picked up 11 fouls, leading to a -15 +/- rating. Still, there’s a silver lining; she’s shown some efficiency at the free-throw line, converting 14 out of 18 attempts along with a total of 38 rebounds and five blocks.

The Dream will be at home for the upcoming week and are set for a rematch against the Dallas Wings on Friday night.