Ever since Angel Reese was traded from the Chicago Sky to the Atlanta Dream on April 6, the team has felt like the forward has fit in perfectly with her new squad and thinks that Reese could be exactly what’s needed in order to find more success in the postseason.
“I do believe that Angel is the missing piece that we need to take us over the top,” Allisha Gray, who recently signed a three-year contract extension with Atlanta, said, via ESPN’s Kendra Andrews.
The Dream has made the playoffs the past three seasons, but lost in the first round each year. Atlanta missed the four previous postseasons from 2019–22, and the last time the team advanced past the first round was in 2018. Atlanta is hungry for postseason success, and adding Reese could end up being a solution.
Atlanta achieved something rare this offseason by securing the core five players of its roster—Gray, Brionna Jones, Jordin Canada, Naz Hillmon and Rhyne Howard—with new contracts. This means Reese is joining an already well-established locker room in Atlanta, but it sounds like she’s adjusting perfectly to her new home.
“It was so nice to bring the core back because not many teams were able to do that. It gives us a head start because we already have that chemistry,” Gray said. “Then, the addition of Angel—she has fit right in. You can't even tell she's new.”
Reese has yet to make her Dream debut, but she will do so on Wednesday night against her former Sky squad in a preseason game. Just in practice, though, Gray is extremely impressed with Reese’s skills on the court. She explained further why Reese is the perfect fit for the Dream.
“She fills a lot of holes for us,” Gray continued. “A lot of people look at her as just a rebounder but she's more than that. She can defend the ball, get the ball and take it the full 94 feet. She can score in transition and hit the 15-foot short jump. There is so much to her game, and I feel like with Angel, adding her to this team, it's what we were missing.”
Gray and Reese became friends during the latter’s rookie season in 2024 when they were placed on the same All-Star team. Now that friendship will translate onto the court as they become teammates again. It’ll be fun to watch them this season, along with the rest of the Dream team. We’ll see if Reese ends up being that “missing piece” that Gray called her.
Angel Reese explains why joining the Dream was the perfect scenario for her
Reese didn’t leave Chicago on the best of terms by any means, as she made critical comments about the Sky near the end of the season.
"I’m not settling for the same s--- we did this year," Reese told the Chicago Tribune's Julia Poe in early September. "We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me. ... I think the priority is being able to convince [free agents] that this is an organization that is going in the right direction."
Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca said he had no intentions of trading Reese, but that inevitably ended up happening. Reese spoke a bit about why the Dream was the ideal situation for her to land at when speaking with ESPN.
“Other teams were interested, but [Atlanta] is really where I wanted to end up,” Reese admitted. “... When they want you here, it's hard not to get excited. To see how they've continued to grow every single year, they didn't stay at the bottom. They have gotten better every single year. Anything they need to be better at, they have done.”
Reese has yet to play in the postseason as the Sky missed out on the playoffs the past two years. She hopes to reach the postseason with the Dream this year and show fans what her game is all about.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as How Angel Reese Is Already Adjusting to the Dream Ahead of 2026 WNBA Season.
