Yetundejones@yetundejones

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Angel Reese Atlanta Dream WNBA Finals

One season in Atlanta and Angel Reese is already four wins from a ring. That's the short version. The longer version: the Dream hadn't taken a playoff series since 2016, hadn't smelled the Finals since 2013, and then Reese showed up via a trade from the Chicago Sky in April talking like all of that was about to change. Sweeping the Liberty 3-0 to get back to the WNBA Finals for the first time in 13 years says she wasn't just talking. And the run isn't done, because Atlanta walks into the Golden State Valkyries series without a loss yet this postseason. Defensive Player of the Year already sits on her shelf. Ask anyone watching this playoff run who the MVP is and you'll get one answer. The rebounding has been hers, the paint has been hers, and so has the emotional temperature of a locker room that suddenly looks like it forgot how to lose. Culture flipped, confidence back in Atlanta basketball, one season. Four more wins and the franchise gets its first championship ever. Those same four get Reese her first WNBA ring. Doubt has followed her since college, critics included, and the answer has never changed: buckets, boards, winning basketball. Some apologies are running late. So the question is simple. Does this undefeated playoff run end with a championship ring for Reese and the Dream?

2h

Yetundejones@yetundejones

Follow

Angel Reese Atlanta Dream WNBA Finals

One season in Atlanta and Angel Reese is already four wins from a ring. That's the short version. The longer version: the Dream hadn't taken a playoff series since 2016, hadn't smelled the Finals since 2013, and then Reese showed up via a trade from the Chicago Sky in April talking like all of that was about to change. Sweeping the Liberty 3-0 to get back to the WNBA Finals for the first time in 13 years says she wasn't just talking. And the run isn't done, because Atlanta walks into the Golden State Valkyries series without a loss yet this postseason. Defensive Player of the Year already sits on her shelf. Ask anyone watching this playoff run who the MVP is and you'll get one answer. The rebounding has been hers, the paint has been hers, and so has the emotional temperature of a locker room that suddenly looks like it forgot how to lose. Culture flipped, confidence back in Atlanta basketball, one season. Four more wins and the franchise gets its first championship ever. Those same four get Reese her first WNBA ring. Doubt has followed her since college, critics included, and the answer has never changed: buckets, boards, winning basketball. Some apologies are running late. So the question is simple. Does this undefeated playoff run end with a championship ring for Reese and the Dream?

2h