Angel Reese had a rough one. The 23-year-old Atlanta Dream forward was benched in the fourth quarter of Atlanta’s loss this week after putting together the worst performance of her short WNBA career. Reese fouled out with nine points, eight rebounds, and zero of the defensive intensity Atlanta brought her in to provide.
The Dream traded for Reese this offseason in a move that was supposed to give Atlanta one of the league’s most dominant rebounders next to second-year center Brittney Sykes. The fit on paper was strong. Atlanta needed a low-post presence and another defender. Reese needed a change of scenery after a year of Chicago Sky drama and her well-documented friction with Caitlin Clark.
Through 12 games, the early returns are mixed. Reese is putting up her usual double-doubles in terms of rebounds. She is grabbing 12 boards per game and has multiple games with 18-plus. But her scoring is down to 9.4 points per night, her field-goal percentage is hovering at 38 percent, and her foul rate has shot up dramatically. She is averaging 4.1 fouls per game, which is wildly unsustainable for a starting forward.
The benching on Tuesday night was the head coach calling out the most obvious issue. Atlanta needed defensive rebounds late in a close game. Reese kept fouling. Reese kept reaching. Reese could not stay on the floor long enough to be a factor. So the coach pulled her and rode it out without her.
The criticism has been heavy. Some of it is fair. Reese needs to be more disciplined defensively. She is not getting the calls she got last year, and her habit of going through the offensive player to grab a rebound is catching up with her. WNBA refs have gotten stricter about over-the-back fouls in recent years.
Some of the criticism is less fair. The Dream are still building chemistry. Reese is playing with a new point guard, a new system, and a new role. She has been the No. 1 option her entire pro career. Now she is the third scoring option behind Sykes and Rhyne Howard. That is an adjustment.
What is also true is that Reese has been one of the most heavily scrutinized players in the league since college. The viral clips. The Caitlin Clark rivalry. The fashion stuff. The reality TV stuff. She has built a brand that draws a ton of attention. The flip side is that every off night becomes a national story.
The bigger picture for Atlanta is that the Dream were supposed to compete for a playoff spot this year. They are 5-7 through 12 games. The roster has talent. The execution has been spotty. The coach has had to juggle minutes and rotations more than expected. Reese fits into all of that.
The fix for her individually is straightforward. Stop reaching. Use her hands less, her body more. Trust her positioning. Reese is built like a power forward who can finish through contact. She does not need to swing through offensive players to get rebounds. She needs to box out and let the ball come to her. That sounds simple but takes adjustment time.
The good news is that the rebound numbers are still elite. The defensive instincts are there. The body of work in her rookie year and last year shows she can be a top-five rebounder in the league when the fouls are under control.
The benching is a wake-up call, not a referendum. Atlanta needs Reese to be the player they thought they were getting. She has the time and the talent to make the adjustment. The next month is going to tell us a lot.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
