The Atlanta Dream entered Sunday’s matchup with the Las Vegas Aces as the WNBA’s last undefeated team after making the splashiest move of the offseason in trading with the Chicago Sky to acquire star forward Angel Reese.
Reese struggled during the preseason, but turned the corner and proved that the Dream made the right move in trading for her in Atlanta’s two wins to open the season. Reese brought that confidence into Sunday’s contest, telling reporters, “I know I’m a great player” during a shootaround session before the game.
Unfortunately for Reese, her confidence didn’t translate into production on the court. Reese went just 1-for-8 shooting in the game for just 9 points, and also struggled to be her usual dominant self on the glass, recording just eight rebounds, failing to reach double-digit rebounds for the first time this season. Reese’s struggles on the court went deeper than that, as well.
She turned the ball over eight times, a concerning amount regardless of the circumstances, and especially costly in a game that ended up being just a one-point, 85-84 loss to the defending champions. The Dream were without team leader Rhyne Howard, who missed the game with a concussion, so the hope is that Reese won’t need to have the ball in her hands so much of the campaign.
Still, Howard or not, if Reeese wants to cement herself as one of the league’s best players, she’s have to turn games like these into anamolies rather than allow them to become regular occurrences.
Reese’s struggles did not go unnoticed by fans on social media.
Fans were highly critical of Reese’s performance in the game.
The season is young, and Reese still has plenty of time to prove her detractors wrong. The greatest players always rise to the occasion, will Reese?
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.