ATLANTA -- The in-house public address announcer at State Farm Arena used the pregame introductions to officially cement the newest moniker for Angel Reese, who made her postseason Atlanta debut with another record-setting performance Wednesday in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals. Fans delighted as their "Queen of the South" hopped off the bench and confounded the visiting Golden State Valkyries for the next 40 minutes.
Four days earlier, and 2,100 miles away, the decibels echoed throughout Chase Center in San Francisco as the final buzzer sounded in Game 1. Chants of "Gab-by!" made it difficult to hear any conversation as the sellout crowd of 18,064 clad in violet strained its vocal cords after the Valkyries' victory. Gabby Williams was Ballhalla's heroine. Reese and Williams are the leaders of their respective teams after moving to new franchises last offseason. Both began their careers as first-round draft picks in Chicago and left after the relationships turned acrimonious.
"I think it's good to take a step back from those moments and appreciate where you are," Williams said. "I've always looked at that moment as the turning point of my career, and always just been really thankful that it went that way." She added: "I'm exactly where I need to be."
Reese's Finals have been nothing short of historic. After the Dream fell 0-1 in San Francisco, she demanded the ball in Game 2 and led the way with 30 points and 16 rebounds, joining Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart as the only players in Finals history with a 30-and-15 game. In a Game 3 win, she became the youngest WNBA player to record a double-double in her first three Finals contests. Six months ago, Reese was still a member of the Chicago Sky, which had drafted her No. 7 in 2024. After being named an All-Star and leading the league in rebounding in her second season, relations soured, and she was suspended for comments detrimental to the team.
The Sky traded Reese to the Dream before the 2026 WNBA draft for two first-round picks. "To be able to get a player of Angel's talent in Year 3 when you didn't draft them is really unique and special," Dream general manager Dan Padover told ESPN.
Source: ESPN General · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing