It’s hard to win without swagger.
No one understands that better than Angel Reese, who emphasized it after she and the Atlanta Dream forced the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history with a flashy, confidence-laden, aura-filled 80-69 win over the Golden State Valkyrieson Thursday, Oct. 29, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
“You could definitely tell we got our swagger back,” Reese told reporters when asked about her team’s mentality in the victory.
The answer was reminiscent of the viral football moment that came from 2014 when players from Warren De La Salle High School were interviewed by the local news before the Michigan State Championship game at Ford Field.
Linebacker Jahwuan Nelson ran in front of the camera and boldly proclaimed: “I think I got
my swagger back!” before offering a spirited dance. Nelson was referencing a line Jay-Z rapped in his 2007 song “All I Need” and again on “Otis,” his 2011 hit with Kanye West.
Years later, the clip and Jay-Z lyrics, have been evoked by Travis Kelce, Kyrie Irving, and Cam Newton, who have quoted or playfully replicated it after major victories.
Although Reese likely wasn’t thinking about the reference, the opening answer of her postgame news conference was a reminder of how confidence can lead to wins on the biggest stage. The Dream will need to carry that swagger over to Game 7 at the Chase Center in San Francisco to challenge the Valkyries in front of the WNBA’s most raucous fans and bring home the franchise’s first championship. Tipoff is a 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 31 (USA/Peacock).
Reese thanked the crowd at State Farm Arena for coming out and providing a boost of energy despite the last-minute 12:30 ET p.m. start. She finished the game with 15 points and 14 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the series, which is the second-most in Finals history.
"Just being able to set the tone early, I mean, we didn't have everybody come out at 12:30 for no reason," Reese said. "We appreciate the fan support on a weekday. They came out and supported us every single day, every single game. So we wanted to make sure we ended this right here."
Reese’s star power draws celebrities for Dream games like Usher, who gleefully jumped up and down to celebrate with her in the tunnel after the Game 6 win.
BIG GAME. BIG NAMES. 🔥
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 29, 2026
Usher and Angel Reese link up after the @AtlantaDream dub!#WNBASeason30 | #2026WNBAFinals pic.twitter.com/FWDnUOlLNm
Atlanta was led by Allisha Gray, who finished with 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3. It was the second-highest scoring playoff game in her career, and she became the second player in league history to make at least five 3s when facing elimination in the Finals.
“My plan was to come out aggressive from the jump. My teammates were really on me to just play my game,” Gray said. “The biggest thing was me staying locked in, and stepping up to the challenge.”
Potentially the most important arbiter of that challenge was Reese, who said she spoke to Gray during the trip back from the team’s Game 5 loss to the Valkyries and urged her to “act like a superstar," in preparation for the mental aspect of Game 6.
After all, swagger is all in the mind. It’s what emanates from confidence, and you could see it all over the Dream from the opening tip.
It takes swag to punch first
After back-to-back games of shooting less than 34% from the field, the Dream needed some shots to fall in Game 6. That’s exactly what happened as they established a 32-15 lead after the first quarter.
When Rhyne Howard hit back-to-back 3-pointers for Atlanta’s fifth and sixth make from beyond the arc eight minutes into the game, Reese made sure to flash three fingers on both hands in celebration after each shot as the crowd popped.
The celebrations were nonstop as the Dream’s momentum kept building.
As Reese said: Every time the Dream has punched first, they’ve won. And they just kept punching. She even hit a 3-pointer of her own to continue the barrage early in the second quarter, extending Atlanta's record to 16-0 whenever she connects from deep.
That’s what it took for the Dream to suffocate the Valkyries, who are known for their defense but provided non-existent ball pressure in the first quarter of their deflated performance.
Reese credited the strong start to Hillmon reminding her teammates to play with self-assurance.
“Naz really emphasized, remember who you are,” said Reese, who led LSU to its first NCAA title in 2023. “All of us have been superstars on a team at some point.”
Gray was always a quiet star even in the days she and four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson helped South Carolina to its first NCAA championship in 2017. But when she sent a 3-pointer flying from the corner of the court with just under a minute left in Game 6, she turned and roared at the crowd as it fell through the hoop.
Dream coach Karl Smesko gave credit to his players for the way they came out in the win, calling them “relentless,” and adding he knows they have the mindset to finish the job.
Gray even said she knows she has another level to tap into. But do the Valkyries?
Valkyries to extinguish confidence with physicality
Gabby Williams, who led Golden State with 26 points, acknowledged the energy the Dream opened with was the difference. She and Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase are relying on physicality to be the difference for them in Game 7.
“You set the tone with the physicality, I think, when you punch first,” Williams said. “When you aren't aggressive at the beginning and then you try to be later, that's when fouls start getting called. That's when you're out of position.
"They did a good job today of setting the tone early. Obviously we didn't. So it’s something to learn from. And what's great is we have another chance.”
Nakase, who said maybe her messaging was "foggy" entering Game 6, said she will be crystal clear that physicality will be key.
"This is the Finals," Nakase said. "The physicality is supposed to be ramped up. There are win-or-die."
Reese and Smesko criticized the officials for not managing the physicality in the Dream’s Game 4 and 5 losses. But if the Dream make 43% of their 3s again in Game 7 like they did Thursday, it might not be an issue.
“We're going to continue to shoot great," Reese said. "We're in a great mindset. All we needed was a little bit of swagger going into this. A little bit of confidence. And I think everybody's just in a really great headspace right now.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Angel Reese says Dream got their swagger back. Can it carry them to a title?
