After Angel Reese was limited to seven points in the Atlanta Dream's 64-55 loss to the Golden State Valkyries in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Monday, Oct. 26, head coach Karl Smesko tore into the officiating crew and the physicality allowed on Reese specifically.
"I do want to have Angel (Reese's) back here," Smesko said after the Valkyries to a 3-2 series lead, one win away from a title. "The contact they allow on Angel compared to everybody else is just ridiculous."
Reese became the youngest player in WNBA history to record three consecutive double-doubles to open the WNBA Finals, including a 30-point, 16-rebound performance in the Dream's Game 2 win. But Reese has struggled to match her production after the Valkyries amped up their physicality,
scoring eight or less points in the Dream's back-to back losses.
"A lot of us are getting fouled and they're not calling it," said Reese, who finished with seven points, 15 rebounds and five assists in the loss after recording five points in the first quarter. "We're talking to the ref after and they're saying, 'Oh, we'll get you next time.' So it is a little frustrating, especially in the moment of it."
Reese, the 2026 Defensive Player of the Year, was limited to eight shot attempts and four free-throw attempts on Monday. The Dream collectively shot 11-of-14 from the free-throw line — compared to 10-of-13 for the Valkyries — but Smesko said Atlanta "should have gone to the foul line six to eight more times."
Smesko believes the missed calls didn't end there.
"To miss double dribbles and travels, multiple that always led to points, you can't be at this level and make that many mistakes," Smesko, who'll likely get fined for his comments, said. "There's things that are on us, like missing shots we should make, but at the same time, (officiating) needs to be a whole lot better... And I'm kind of tired of some of the excuses that I'm hearing."
Reese was called for four personal fouls on Monday, including three offensive fouls that led to three turnovers.
As the Dream trailed 49-42 with 7:43 remaining in the game, Reese was called for an offensive foul for making contact with Golden State reserve Cecilia Zandalasini as she drove toward the basket. Reese threw her hands up in frustration after the call and Smesko joined Reese in shaking his head in disproval.
"I know I have the mismatch, especially we were talking about matchups," Reese said. "So when I do switch on the post and I'm a lot stronger than the opponent, I should be able to turn and they're calling an offensive foul, but I'm getting pushed before that. So that is frustrating for sure."
OFFENSIVE FOUL ON ANGEL REESE 😬🚨
— USA Sports (@usasports) October 27, 2026
Reese gets whistled for the foul#WNBAonUSA 🏆 | Dream 💭 | Valkyries ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/43H1xhuVWx
Reese said she noticed she started receiving a different whistle in Game 4.
"It definitely shifted when we went up 2-1 and things shifted. I don't know what happened, but it definitely took a big turn," Reese said.
"I mean, I'm kind of used to it because this is happening throughout the season, so I have to just continue to play through it," she said. "But honestly, for my teammates, when they're getting slapped to the ground or goggles knocked off, it is frustrating and trying to keep them in and keep them confident. But yeah, we'll figure it out. We're going to have to just continue to push through the physicality and hopefully it goes our way next."
When asked about the physicality of the game, Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase simply said, "It's a finals."
"I mean, both teams really want to win this," Nakase said. "And you guys even said from the beginning of the Finals, this is two defensive-minded teams. So what are two defensive-minded teams? They like physicality, so that's part of it. You guys act like I'm shocked. I ain't shocked about this. You have an Atlanta Dream team that's well coached that has dogs. I mean, same as us."
The best-of-seven series shifts now shifts to Atlanta for Game 6 of the WNBA Finals at the State Farm Arena on Thursday. The Dream must win to force a winner-take-all Game 7 in San Francisco on Saturday.
"Our backs are against the wall," Reese said. "But when we get to go home and play in front of our home crowd again and being able to get a couple of days of rest and get back to Atlanta Dream basketball. I feel good about ourselves. And I think everybody in the locker room is dialed in to who we are. So as long as we're all on the same page, we can do it. We still believe in the locker room that we can do it."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dream coach blasts officiating, says contact on Angel Reese is ‘ridiculous’
