Atlanta Dream star Angel Reese is coming off a “phenomenal” season as she averaged 16 points, 12 rebounds, and nearly 2 steals per game for the 2026 season.
The Dream are currently in the WNBA Finals against the Golden State Valkyries, and Reese continues to contribute to the stat sheet well into the postseason.
On his What’s Wright? with Nick Wright podcast, Fox Sports’ Nick Wright discussed Reese’s drastic improvements on the court despite public scrutiny.
“I understand because some folks are either fools or charlatans or bad actors,” Wright said. “They can’t hear a white commentator talk about a Black WNBA player without calling it virtue signaling, some type of bullsh*t, or trying to make Caitlin Clark a part of this story.
“I’m just calling it as I see it: if Angel Reese was going to have her status as a player stay at the level of her status as a celebrity, she needed to get better. It felt like her game had stagnated, if not dipped.”
The Chicago Sky traded Reese before the season began after she spent two years with the organization. At the start of the WNBA season, expectations were high for the forward as a new team and system would show her true talent with the Dream’s loaded roster.
Reese has been consistently criticized since her emergence in the league for her fierce, confident, and unapologetic attitude.
Off the court, she quickly rose to celebrity status as an influencer in fashion, media, and pop culture, walking in fashion shows and hosting her own Unapologetically Angel podcast. Wright doubted her ability to balance her lifestyle with her career, but after this year, he believes Reese is just a step behind 2026 MVP A’ja Wilson.
“This year that changed considerably; she’s been phenomenal,” Wright added. “Angel Reese’s performance these playoffs, as she might have her team on the doorstep of a championship, gives her the opportunity to be right alongside, I’ll call it a step behind, A’ja Wilson as the top player in the sport.”
Reese and the Dream took a 2-1 lead in the 2026 WNBA Finals with a 97-71 win in Game 3 on Wednesday, and they can move within one win of a championship in Game 4 on Saturday in Atlanta.
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