The Defensive Player of the Year is officially in Atlanta.
Angel Reese said it.
Now the WNBA has confirmed it.
Reese was officially named the 2026 Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year on October 1, becoming the first player in Atlanta Dream history to win the award.
And this wasn’t particularly close.
Reese received 46 of 74 votes from the national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Golden State’s Gabby Williams finished second with 20 votes. A’ja Wilson received four.
That’s a statement.
But here’s what makes the timing so interesting.
Reese isn’t receiving this award while packing up after another good individual season.
She’s receiving it while the Atlanta Dream are preparing for the WNBA semifinals.
And against the New York Liberty?
Atlanta is going to need every bit of the player who just became the best defensive player in basketball.
Angel Reese Didn’t Win This Award Because of Blocks
This is what I love about Reese winning Defensive Player of the Year.
She’s not your traditional DPOY.
Reese averaged only 0.7 blocks per game.
She wasn’t sitting underneath the basket swatting everything that came near her.
Her defensive impact was considerably more complicated than that.
Reese finished third in the WNBA in steals per game at 1.8 and third in total steals with 77.
She grabbed 315 defensive rebounds, third-most in the league.
And, of course, she led the entire WNBA with 12.1 rebounds per game.
Atlanta finished the regular season with the league’s third-best defensive rating at 103.5 and allowed a WNBA-low 9.5 second-chance points per game.
That’s defense.
A defensive possession doesn’t end when you force a miss.
It ends when somebody gets the basketball.
Nobody did that better than Angel Reese.
The Rebounding Numbers Are Actually Ridiculous
We’ve talked about Reese’s rebounding all season.
But now that the regular season is finished, look at what she actually accomplished.
521 total rebounds.
206 offensive rebounds.
Both are WNBA single-season records.
Reese became the first player in WNBA history to reach 500 rebounds in a season.
She also set the league’s single-season record with 32 double-doubles.
And remember the game against Los Angeles?
26 rebounds.
Another WNBA record.
At some point, these numbers stop sounding real.
Reese didn’t simply have a great rebounding season.
She put together arguably the greatest rebounding season the league has ever seen.
I’ve already written about why Angel Reese has proven Atlanta should hand her the keys to the franchise.
Winning Defensive Player of the Year only strengthens that argument.
But now?
I care considerably less about the award than I do about what Reese does next.
Because Jonquel Jones Is Waiting
Congratulations, Angel.
Here’s your reward:
Jonquel Jones.
That’s playoff basketball.
The Dream are preparing to face the New York Liberty in a best-of-five semifinal beginning Sunday.
New York just stunned Minnesota in the first round, becoming the first No. 8 seed in WNBA history to eliminate a No. 1 seed.
And Jones was a huge reason why.
She finished New York’s clinching Game 2 victory with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
That’s where this DPOY award becomes extremely relevant to Atlanta’s championship chances.
The Dream just survived Washington.
They won’t survive New York if they rebound the basketball the same way.
Atlanta Has a Rebounding Problem That Angel Reese Has to Help Solve
This is the statistic that should probably be written on the whiteboard inside Atlanta’s practice facility.
Washington outrebounded Atlanta 50-31 in Game 1.
Then the Mystics outrebounded the Dream 42-27 in Game 2.
Atlanta lost the rebounding battle by 34 across two games.
And somehow won both games by double digits.
That’s impressive.
It’s also dangerous.
Atlanta survived because it forced turnovers.
The Dream created 16 steals in Game 1.
They forced 19 Washington turnovers in Game 2.
Jordin Canada took over late.
Allisha Gray consistently scored.
Rhyne Howard made plays defensively.
That’s not a formula I’d like to depend on against New York.
Because if Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart are getting second and third opportunities?
Atlanta could be in trouble.
Reese just received the trophy recognizing her as the league’s best defensive player.
Now she gets the perfect opportunity to show exactly why.
This Can’t Be Angel Against Everybody
There’s also something important to acknowledge.
Reese cannot solve Atlanta’s rebounding problem by herself.
She had 12 rebounds in Game 1 against Washington.
The rest of Atlanta’s roster combined for 19.
That’s not good enough.
Game 2 wasn’t much better.
Reese finished with seven rebounds, and Washington still won the glass 42-27.
That’s why I continue to believe Madina Okot could become an important player in this series.
I’ve written about why Okot might be part of Atlanta’s future next to Reese.
Well, Atlanta might need a little of that future right now.
Okot doesn’t have to play 25 minutes.
Naz Hillmon doesn’t have to suddenly become a starting center.
DeWanna Bonner doesn’t have to turn into a traditional big.
But everybody has to help.
Guards have to rebound.
Wings have to box out.
Atlanta cannot simply assume Reese will clean everything up.
New York is too good for that.
The Scariest Part of Atlanta’s Defense Is That Reese Isn’t Alone
Here’s where things get really interesting.
Angel Reese was the best defensive player in the league.
But she might not even be the only elite defender on her own team.
Rhyne Howard finished the regular season averaging 2.3 steals per game, leading the WNBA.
Jordin Canada was also among the league leaders.
Reese finished third.
Think about that.
Atlanta basically has three players capable of wrecking an opposing offense in completely different ways.
Howard uses her length.
Canada applies pressure at the point of attack.
Reese blows up possessions with her anticipation, versatility and rebounding.
We just watched what that combination can do in the playoffs.
Washington committed 22 turnovers in Game 1.
Atlanta recorded a franchise playoff-record 16 steals.
Game 2?
Washington turned it over another 19 times.
That wasn’t an accident.
That’s Atlanta’s identity.
And That Could Be the Dream’s Biggest Advantage Against New York
New York has stars.
Breanna Stewart.
Sabrina Ionescu.
Jonquel Jones.
Nobody is pretending this will be easy.
The Liberty just eliminated the No. 1 seed.
But Atlanta has something that can make this series incredibly uncomfortable.
Pressure.
Canada can make Ionescu work just to initiate the offense.
Howard can disrupt passing lanes.
Reese can switch.
Reese can help.
Reese can recover.
And when Atlanta forces a miss?
Reese can end the possession.
That’s the formula.
New York is too talented for Atlanta to simply exchange baskets for five games.
The Dream have to make the Liberty uncomfortable.
Make Ionescu work.
Make Stewart see bodies.
Make Jones battle for every rebound.
Turn steals into transition opportunities before New York’s defense can get organized.
That’s Atlanta basketball.
Reese Has Already Shown She Can Play Against New York
There’s another reason I feel good about this matchup.
Atlanta just saw New York.
Twice.
The Dream went into Barclays Center during the final week of the regular season and beat the Liberty 95-84.
Reese finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Two nights later?
Atlanta beat New York again.
83-65.
So there shouldn’t be any intimidation factor here.
Atlanta knows New York.
New York knows Atlanta.
The Dream won the regular-season series 2-1.
And the last two meetings weren’t from May.
They happened less than two weeks before the semifinal series.
New York is playing better now.
Absolutely.
The Liberty just eliminated Minnesota.
But Atlanta should feel pretty good too.
The Dream have won seven consecutive games, combining their five-game regular-season winning streak with the 2-0 sweep of Washington.
This isn’t a team hoping to catch fire.
Atlanta is already there.
The Trade Looks Better Every Single Day
This is also where we have to talk about the bigger picture.
Atlanta acquired Reese before this season.
One year later?
She’s the Defensive Player of the Year.
She’s an All-Star.
She just broke multiple WNBA rebounding records.
She helped Atlanta win 30 games.
And now she’s preparing to start a semifinal series with the Dream holding home-court advantage.
That’s a franchise-changing acquisition.
There are trades that make you slightly better.
There are trades that address a weakness.
And then there are trades that change the direction of an organization.
We’re getting closer and closer to putting Reese’s arrival in that final category.
Because she hasn’t simply improved Atlanta’s roster.
She’s helped give the Dream an identity.
Atlanta Is Becoming a Defensive Team at Exactly the Right Time
This might be the biggest takeaway from the entire award.
Earlier this season, most of the conversation around Atlanta centered on offense.
Understandably.
Howard’s shooting.
Gray’s scoring.
Karl Smesko’s system.
Canada’s playmaking.
Reese’s improvement offensively.
But look at what’s carrying Atlanta right now.
Defense.
Atlanta finished third in defensive rating.
It allowed the fewest second-chance points in basketball.
Howard led the league in steals.
Reese finished third.
Then Atlanta opened the playoffs by forcing 41 turnovers across two games against Washington.
That is not a small sample of random chaos anymore.
That’s who the Dream are.
And defense travels in the playoffs.
Shots disappear.
Teams go cold.
Scouting gets better.
Everybody knows everybody’s plays.
But effort?
Pressure?
Length?
Rebounding?
Those things don’t disappear.
Angel Reese Wanted This Award — Now She Has Something Bigger to Chase
Reese said earlier this season that the Defensive Player of the Year was in Atlanta.
She was right.
But here’s what I love about where we are now.
The award almost feels secondary.
Reese has the trophy.
Great.
Put it on the shelf.
Because Atlanta is three series wins away from something considerably bigger.
The Dream haven’t reached the WNBA Finals since 2013.
They’ve never won a championship.
And after sweeping Washington, they’re now in the final four.
New York is next.
The Liberty have championship experience.
They have one of the best frontcourts in basketball.
They have multiple superstars.
Perfect.
What better way for the newly crowned Defensive Player of the Year to make her first real postseason statement?
Atlanta didn’t trade for Angel Reese to win individual awards.
It traded for her because the Dream believed she could help change where this franchise was going.
Thirty wins.
A playoff series victory.
A semifinal appearance.
Defensive Player of the Year.
I’d say it’s working.
But now comes the part that really matters.
Jonquel Jones is coming to Atlanta.
Breanna Stewart is coming to Atlanta.
Sabrina Ionescu is coming to Atlanta.
And waiting for them?
The best defensive player in the WNBA.
The Defensive Player of the Year is officially in Atlanta.
Now let’s see if she can help bring the WNBA Finals here too.
