Basketball superstar Angel Reese has shown she's a perfect fit in Atlanta with the Dream, helping to lead her new team to their first WNBA Finals since 2013.
With Reese's growing popularity in the league in just her third season, she's receiving plenty of love from NBA players. Fellow Atlanta basketball star CJ McCollum of the NBA's Hawks recently bestowed a fitting nickname on the former LSU player.
"Obviously, Atlanta changed when the Queen of the South got here," McCollum told reporters. "So, happy for her, happy to see them doing well. Happy to see the team and this city kind of surrounding them."
McCollum's comments arrived after scheduling conflicts initially threatened the Dream playing their WNBA Finals home games at Atlanta's State Farm Arena. However, a decision was made earlier this week for them to play WNBA Finals Games 3 and 4 at the venue, which offers significantly more seating capacity than the Dream's regular-season home arena, Gateway Center Arena.
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McCollum, who has played in the NBA since 2013, stated that the Hawks players aren't involved with scheduling decisions and that he wished their game had been scheduled for a different day so he could attend the WNBA Finals.
"I think the W is starting to grow and expand, and I think they're starting to get the coverage that they deserve," he said, also adding that he hoped to take his daughter to a Dream game next season.
Reese was all smiles when asked if she'd heard about the new nickname and thanked the Hawks for all the love and support they've shown her and the team.
"I guess he said it because I played at LSU too, and now I'm here in Georgia, in Atlanta, so I appreciate the name, I guess that's my new nickname," she said in a video clip shared by USA Today's Meghan L. Hall.
Reese became a member of the Atlanta Dream earlier this year after being traded from the struggling Chicago Sky. The team drafted the LSU standout in 2024, but Chicago struggled in her first two seasons, finishing at or near the bottom of the WNBA standings.
Despite the Sky's struggles, Reese was a WNBA All-Star selection and led the league in rebounding in both seasons. Now, she has continued to elevate her game with the Dream.
She averaged 16.4 points this past season and led the league in rebounding for her third straight year, averaging 12.1 per game. Those numbers came alongside 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game in her first year with Atlanta.
Along with earning a third All-Star selection and helping lead the Dream to the WNBA Finals, Reese was also named the league's Defensive Player of the Year.
The Dream face the Golden State Valkyries in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series on Saturday, Oct. 17, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET.
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