“I think the Defensive Player of the Year is in Atlanta.” Angel Reese made this bold prediction just a little over a month ago. And now, as the WNBA regular season reaches its end, she has made it clear that she has no plans to backpedal on her statement.
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Reese recently joined WNBA Today, where she was asked to break down one of her defensive plays from the season. Instead of simply making another case for herself, what followed was more than just an explanation of a single possession. It was another reminder of exactly why she has been so confident in Atlanta’s chances of taking home the award.
“So I was on help side, helping out my rook, Madina (Okot), and (Brittney Griner) is 6’9. She’s one of the best blockers in the league, and being able to get not one but two, and also being able to grab the ball and take it from her and get the steal and add another possession for us, it was good, and those are energy plays that I love,” she said. “That’s something that I like to bring every single night for my team. My team allows me to be aggressive. Obviously, our team is really good defensively.”
“We have three players that are in the top of the steals, (Rhyne Howard), me, and Jordin Canada. And that has never been done in WNBA history. So, when I said the defensive player of the year is in Atlanta, I meant what I said,” she further added.
The play Angel Reese was referring to came during an August 13 matchup against the Connecticut Sun. Early in the second quarter, Brittney Griner posted up the 24-year-old and tried to attack the basket. At 6-foot-9, Griner had a significant height advantage over the 6-foot-4 Dream forward, making the possession look like a favorable opportunity for the Sun center. But Reese had other plans.
She blocked Griner’s first attempt, only for the veteran center to collect the offensive rebound and try again. However, Reese denied her a second time before ripping the ball away from Griner to complete the sequence with a steal.
It was the kind of defensive sequence that encapsulated what Reese was talking about. She wasn’t simply protecting the rim or grabbing a rebound. She provided help for rookie Madina Okot, held her ground against one of the league’s biggest centers, forced multiple misses, and then created an extra possession for Atlanta.
That one play is just one example of how dominant Angel Reese has been throughout the 2026 season, which has helped her become a leading name in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation.
Reese leads the league in rebounding at 12.1 rebounds per game while also holding three WNBA single-season records for total rebounds with 521, offensive rebounds, and double-doubles with 32. Those numbers have made her one of the league’s most productive players around the glass, but her DPOY case extends beyond simply collecting rebounds.
For such an honor, voters and analysts don’t just look at individual numbers. They also consider a player’s overall defensive impact on her team, which again makes Reese’s case stronger.
She currently has the best defensive rating differential in the league at -15.5. In simple terms, that means Atlanta’s opponents score 15.5 more points per 100 possessions when Reese is off the floor compared to when she is on it. Her individual impact also comes within a Dream defense that has remained among the league’s best, with Atlanta ranking second in the WNBA in defensive rating at 103.5, per StatMuse. Yet, what perhaps makes her case even more compelling is the mindset behind her production.
After becoming the first player in WNBA history to record 500 rebounds in a single season a week ago, Angel Reese made it clear that reaching another historic milestone was not enough to satisfy her. Speaking with Amazon Prime‘s sideline reporter Kayla Grey, the third-year star made her ambitions clear.
“I’m not satisfied,” she said. “This is just the beginning. This is the start; This is year three for me. I want to be in the league for a good amount of time. I want to win championships; I want to break records.”
That said, according to an X post by I Talk Hoops, Reese is now the favorite to win the 2026 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award.
“Angel Reese is now the favorite to win the 2026 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award. Just a few weeks ago, her odds were as high as +18000,” the post read.
So, Reese gave the message. Now the numbers have given it something to stand on.
