Angel Reese Says Dream Are ‘Here to Stay’ After Game 7 Finals Loss

After the Atlanta Dream lost Game 7 of the WNBA Finals on Oct. 31, Angel Reese told reporters at Chase Center that this would not be Atlanta’s last trip.

“It is tough in the moment, but we’ll be back,” Reese said. “I always say, ‘Delayed, not denied.’”

Golden State won 68-63 in the first Game 7 the Finals had ever had, with Gabby Williams scoring 30 and taking Finals MVP in the Valkyries’ second season of existence.

Five days later, Reese was courtside at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for LSU’s 131-22 win over Texas Southern. LSU honored her at halftime, and she met reporters with LSU coach Kim Mulkey afterward.

Reese got the Bayou Barbie name at LSU, and the crowd there still loves her.

“Honestly it’s been three years now,” Reese explained. “And being able to come back on a weekend where I can honestly hit a little bit of everything, obviously come and support the women’s team. My brother’s now also part of the Pelicans, and then it’s also a big weekend to come for LSU football.”

“So I thought it was a good opportunity for me to really come back, and my season just ended last week, and I honestly needed something else to do,” Reese continued. “I’m always like, what’s next, what’s next, what’s next? And I think it was the perfect time for me to come and see the girls. And it’s really exciting to see how they continue to thrive.”

Reese turned 24 in May, and she thinks she is just scratching the surface.

“Obviously you want to play for your country,” Reese said. “Obviously for me, having the opportunity to do this in September with a great group of girls was something I really, really loved and an experience that I will always remember. So yes, definitely looking forward to 2028, but one year at a time.”

“I had an amazing year three,” Reese added. “I’m literally just scratching the surface. I’ve made a lot of history for sure, but the biggest thing for me is winning. I don’t care about anything else outside of winning.”

That September event was the FIBA Women’s World Cup in Berlin, her first tournament with the senior national team and the first for Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers as well. The U.S. pulled away from France in the second half of the gold-medal game on Sept. 13 and won 97-79 for its fifth straight World Cup title, and Breanna Stewart was named MVP.

Clark has since made a bold prediction about women’s basketball at the 2028 Olympics. Those Games are in Los Angeles.

Reese finished Game 7 with 8 points on 3-of-7 shooting, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Over the last four games of the series, she was 12-of-42 from the field and turned it over 19 times.

For the whole postseason, she put up 16.1 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists a game. Going into Game 7, Atlanta was 16-0 in games when she made at least one 3-pointer.

Golden State center Kiah Stokes closed out a record-breaking Finals with 8 points and 13 rebounds in Game 7. That game averaged 3.3 million viewers, the league said Tuesday, which makes it the most-watched playoff game the WNBA has ever had.

The Dream went 30-14 in the regular season for a second year in a row, and Reese expects most of that group back next season with a couple of additions.

“And it does suck that we came up short, but Atlanta Dream is just getting started,” Reese said. “We are here to stay. The standard’s the Finals, and next up is winning the Finals and the championship.”

“So I’m really excited for next year, being able to bring our core pieces back, maybe adding a few players,” Reese continued. “But yeah, Atlanta Dream is here to stay, and I’m super excited to be back next year.”

The Chicago Sky traded Reese to Atlanta on April 6 for first-round picks in 2027 and 2028. The Dream also received the right to swap 2028 second-round picks. Chicago drafted Reese No. 7 overall in 2024, and she made the All-Star team in both of her seasons there.

When the league announced the Defensive Player of the Year vote on Oct. 1, 46 of the 74 national media voters had picked Reese, with 20 going to Gabby Williams and 4 to A’ja Wilson, and nobody in Dream history had won it before her.

Her 12.1 rebounds per game led the league for a third season in a row. She grabbed 521 in all, 206 of them on the offensive glass, and both totals are single-season WNBA records, with no player before her ever getting to 500. Her 77 steals were a career high and ranked third.

Rhyne Howard, Jordin Canada, and Reese finished first, second, and third in the league in steals per game, according to the Dream.

“I have the trophy, but I definitely want Jordin and Rhyne to sign it because I think they deserve it just as much as I do,” Reese said in the team’s announcement.

Her third straight All-Star selection came in July. On Oct. 24, Reese and Howard were named to the All-WNBA Second Team and the All-Defensive First Team. Candace Parker has since called out Gabby Williams’ All-WNBA snub after the Finals MVP run.

Reese’s rookie contract carries a team option for the 2027 season, and Atlanta holds it.