Angel Reese Details ‘Perfect Fit' With Atlanta Dream

Angel Reese has expressed her extreme delight at arriving in Atlanta since the Chicago Sky traded her to the Atlanta Dream in early April.

Reese went into further detail about why she feels at home in Atlanta ahead of the Dream’s matchup with the Dallas Wings at Gateway Center in College Park, Georgia, on Friday night.

“Looking at last year, the success that they had under one year with [head coach] Karl [Smesko], I watched Karl when he was at [Florida Gulf Coast], and I was at Maryland,” Reese said, per USA Today’s Meghan L. Hall. “I played against him, and I was just seeing how the player development was for him - and how he developed Naz [Hillmon] in one year and how I wanted that.”

Reese continued, “I wanted to win. I wanted to come somewhere where I was gonna be able to win, and it was the perfect fit for me. […] Off the court, I knew this was gonna be the place for me. Everybody knows that. But on the court, I wanted [to go somewhere] so I could help a team get to the championship because I’ve won at every level. I want to win a WNBA championship, no matter what it looks like for me."

Reese rose to global basketball stardom when she and LSU defeated Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes to win the NCAA national championship in April 2023. The Sky drafted Reese seventh overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft, and while Reese has found individual success as a two-time All-Star and two-time rebounding champion, the Sky stunk. Chicago went 13-27 in 2024 and 10-34 in 2025, tied with Dallas for the league’s worst.

Atlanta hired Smesko in November 2024, and he led the Dream to an all-time franchise-best 30-14 record last season. However, they bowed out of the playoffs in the first round for the third straight year. The Dream appeared in back-to-back WNBA Finals in 2010 and 2011 but have never won the title.

In late April, the Dream’s three-time All-Star Guard Allisha Gray told ESPN’s Kendra Andrews that Reese “is the missing piece that we need to take us over the top.” Through three games, Reese has averaged 10.7 points and 12.7 rebounds.

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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 4:39 PM.