Angel Reese remains confident that an Atlanta Dream player will take home a significant WNBA honor. Two weeks ago, Reese predicted that someone from Atlanta would win Defensive Player of the Year. While the three-time All-Star forward is currently a betting favorite to snag the award, Reese felt that Rhyne Howard and Jordin Canada also deserve recognition.
Reese reiterated that stance when praising the Dream's defense during an interview on ESPN's NBA Today. "Obviously, our team is really good defensively," Reese said on Thursday. "We have three players that are in the top of steals, Rhyne, me, and Jordin Canada, and that has never been done in WNBA history.
So when I said the Defensive Player of the Year is in Atlanta, I meant what I said." The Dream boast the WNBA's second-best defensive rating and generate the highest turnover rate (17.2) with 6.0 combined steals per game from Howard, Canada, and Reese. They also have the league's best defensive rebounding rate (79.9%) because of Reese, who's snagged a league-leading 12.1 boards per game. Reese also narrowly tops Howard for a WNBA-high 3.4 defensive win shares, so her prediction isn't far-fetched.
The 24-year-old is favored over Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams to win Defensive Player of the Year for the first time. Dream head coach Karl Smesko said Reese has "a very strong case" for the award. He also believes Reese, Howard, and Canada each merit All-Defensive Team consideration.
"If people look into the numbers, the plays they make, and how good our defense is when they're on the floor, hopefully all three will be on the team, and somebody with an Atlanta Dream uniform will be the Defensive Player of the Year," Smesko told reporters on Saturday. "Right now, I think Angel's case is as good as anyone's." Reese will make her postseason debut when the Dream play the Indiana Fever or Washington Mystics in the opening round.
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