Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese has gone from taunting Golden State to questioning the officiating as the WNBA Finals have swung away from her team.
Reese scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 97-71 Game 3 win at State Farm Arena, a performance that gave Atlanta a 2-1 series lead and made her the betting favorite for Finals MVP. She capped the win by taunting Golden State players with a “too small” gesture after combining for 51 points and 28 rebounds across two straight victories.
Since then, the production has dried up. Reese has combined for just 15 points on 4-for-20 shooting over Games 4 and 5, both losses for Atlanta, with nine turnovers against only four made field goals. The Dream’s series lead has become a 3-2 deficit, leaving Atlanta one loss away from elimination.
From trash talk to complaints about the whistle
Before Game 4, Reese sounded confident she had gotten inside Golden State’s head. “They’re playing into my mental game where I can take their confidence and just try to do whatever to mess them up,” she said. “I’m really confident within myself. Everybody knows that.”
Atlanta then lost Game 4 67-62 at State Farm Arena, with Reese shooting 2-for-12 for eight points and missing her first five shots of the fourth quarter before turning the ball over on the Dream’s final possession. Afterward she took responsibility, saying, “I didn’t take my time finishing around the basket like I’ve been doing in the last two games,” adding, “it happens” and “I’ll just be better.”
Game 5 brought no turnaround. Reese scored seven points on 2-for-8 shooting in a 64-55 loss at Chase Center, though she did pull down 15 rebounds and hand out five assists. She wore a “Protect Black Women” shirt arriving at the arena.
This time, Reese pointed at the referees rather than her own play. “A lot of us are getting fouled, and they’re not calling it,” she said, arguing the officiating shifted after Atlanta took its 2-1 lead. She cited an uncalled grab by Gabby Williams in Game 4 and said she was being whistled for offensive fouls after defenders initiated contact. “It definitely took a big turn,” she said.
Dream coach Karl Smesko echoed the complaint. “The contact they allow on Angel compared to everybody else is just ridiculous. Just ridiculous,” he said, estimating Atlanta should have gotten six to eight more free throw attempts because of contact on Reese. He also flagged missed traveling and double-dribble calls, while acknowledging the Dream were missing shots they should be making.
The numbers don’t back up a tilted series
Despite the complaints, the free-throw totals don’t support the idea that officiating favored Golden State. Atlanta shot 31 free throws to Golden State’s 13 in Game 4, missing nine of them in a five-point loss. In Game 5, Atlanta again led in attempts, 14-13, with eight of Golden State’s free throws coming in the fourth quarter while the Valkyries led. Over five games, Atlanta holds a 130-78 advantage in free throw attempts.
WNBA officiating has drawn criticism all season, so Reese and Smesko are not alone in raising concerns. But the missed shots remain the more glaring issue.
Stokes has taken over the series defensively
Reese won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award this season, but Golden State center Kiah Stokes has been the standout defender of these Finals. Stokes has blocked 17 shots through five games, a WNBA Finals record, with at least three blocks in every game of the series. Her streak of six straight playoff games with three or more blocks ties Lisa Leslie’s 2003 mark for longest in a single postseason.
Reese has had 11 of her 59 shot attempts in the series blocked, eight of them by Stokes, who also added 13 points and eight rebounds in Game 5 along with three three-pointers — one more than Reese’s total field goals that game. Across Atlanta’s two losses, Stokes has six blocks compared to Reese’s four made baskets.
Game 6 is set for Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET at State Farm Arena, with Atlanta needing a win to force a decisive Game 7 in San Francisco.
After Game 3, Reese was asked what it would take to join the ranks of Atlanta’s sports greats, having lived in the city for only six months. “I think you become one of the greats … when you can win and impact winning,” she said. She did that in Games 2 and 3. Her last two performances have not made the same case.
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