Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream swept the Indiana Fever in back-to-back games, and Reese walked out of that series with a WNBA record. She’s now the fastest player in league history to reach 1,000 career rebounds, doing it in 79 games and clearing the 89-game mark Tina Charles set.
Reese sat down with ESPN’s SportsCenter to talk about what’s building in Atlanta, a team with the third-best record in the W that still isn’t fully healthy. Nothing she said was hard to believe.
Angel Reese Reaches 1,000 Rebounds as Dream Handles Fever Comfortably
The home game made the statement. A sellout at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, 113 points on the board, the most in franchise history, and a blowout of Indiana with Dawn Staley, Dominique Wilkins, and Latto all in the stands.
“They said it felt like a playoff atmosphere. I’ve never played in the playoffs before, but to feel that early on in June felt really good,” Reese said.
She didn’t even know the milestone was coming. “We were going so fast that we were going so well,” Reese said on SportsCenter. “Second half, we wanted to make sure we came out and we were a lot better than our first half. So that’s all we were thinking about right in that moment.”
A third-quarter offensive rebound in that 113-96 win was the board that got her there, pushing her past 1,000 career rebounds. It took her 79 games. Tina Charles needed 89.
Before the home win, Reese had gone for 21 points and 11 rebounds on the road against Indiana, then posted 18 points and 18 rebounds at State Farm.
Clark struggled defensively in both contests, and Indiana has real work ahead if it wants to compete with Atlanta at full health. “I’m so happy everybody was able to come out, and we got the win that night,” Reese added.
When asked what makes this team built for more than a strong regular season, Reese pointed to the locker room.
“It’s just like a system in the locker room. Everybody every day just looking to get better. We’re competing even when we do win. We always look at the little things that we could have been better on and how we could be better for the next game,” she said.
“In June, we look so great. I’m just wondering what we’ll look like in October and September. We don’t even have Bri Jones back. And we’ve done such a great job, all 5 starters averaging double figures. And then our bench is also so great. Karl is an amazing coach,” Reese added on SportsCenter.
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Furthermore, on Monday, Atlanta kept rolling. The Dream beat the Toronto Tempo 94-87 to push the winning streak to four games, though it was a rough personal outing for Reese. She finished with 11 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block, but shot 4-of-13 from the field and turned it over 4 times.
A technical foul late for a hostile act on a hard foul didn’t help. Atlanta won anyway.
Jones hasn’t suited up yet, and Atlanta is on a four-game winning streak regardless. The rest of the WNBA has been warned.
