ATLANTA — The Atlanta Dream may have been taking on the Las Vegas Aces on Monday night, but State Farm Arena in Atlanta was awash with pink as the players took the court.
In a celebration of girlhood and women's sports, the WNBA partnered with Barbie to bring Barbie's Dream House to Atlanta on Aug. 3. The collaboration was timed with the release of Mattel's newest Barbie, an Angel Reese lookalike.
From photobooths and pink merchandise to Reese's blush and shoes, it was a pink wonderland inside the arena. The Aces, coming off a championship season, beat the Dream 109 to 87 in a fast-paced game that had fans on their feet with "Atlanta's Dream House" towels in hand.
These Barbies are basketball players
Before the game, fans could stop in the State Farm Arena apparel store for pink merchandise,
Barbie-themed jerseys and "Angel" hats in the iconic Barbie script.
There was a station for fans to get makeovers (thanks to an additional partnership with Atlanta small businesses) or take a photo inside a faux doll box.
The pre-game included performances from tutu-clad dance troops and Dream players warming up in Barbie-themed shirts. As the players were introduced to the court, they said the iconic "Hi, Barbie!" line.
And the theme didn't stop there.
As the stadium announcer called the game, the real Angel Reese Barbie sat on his shoulder as part of the action. During a commercial break, young girls competed in a (miniature) dunk contest to see who would bring the Barbie home.
From 'Bayou Barbie' to reality
Reese is only the second WNBA player in league history to be honored with a Barbie, the first being Sue Bird, the Seattle Storm legend who played in the league for two decades.
But unlike Bird, Reese's Barbie comes while she is still relatively early in her career.
Reese earned the nickname "Bayou Barbie" during her time at Louisiana State University, and at one point she and her legal team tried to trademark the name. The request hit the legal desk at Mattel and was ultimately denied, but the nickname stuck throughout her time at LSU. When her team won the NCAA women's basketball national championship in 2023, the team's social media account posted a photo of Reese in the style of the recent Barbie movie, and said "This Barbie is a National Champion."
She brought the nickname with her when she was traded to the Atlanta Dream in April, now going by "Atlanta Barbie."
In July, Mattel announced a new signature Angel Reese Barbie sporting Reebok's Angel Reese 1 Basketball Shoes and pink gear, complete with a matching shoe set for fans.
The doll honors her work through the Angel C. Reese Foundation, as well as her skill on the court, as she "champions equity for girls and underrepresented communities that have historically been limited," Mattel said.
Barbie, WNBA celebrate same moments of girlhood
The collaboration comes at a time when female athletes are embracing their femininity without sacrificing strength or power.
Reese has defended focusing on her appearance before and during games, often wearing makeup to play and sporting fashion-forward outfits as she enters the stadium. She is just one of many female athletes to argue "feminine" attributes and interests only enhance their gametime performance.
Tennis legends Coco Gauff and Serena Williams have integrated fashion into their brand and performance. Track star Queen Harrison says makeup is part of her pre-race routine. Skier Eileen Gu and fellow WNBA star Caitlyn Clarke have attended Prada fashion shows. Alysa Liu's dyed striped hair was part of her gold medal Olympic performance.
Barbie is doing the same. In a renaissance launched by the 2023 movie, Barbie is refocusing on how dolls can represent a wide variety of women and step away from societal beauty standards, including by supporting women's sports.
The WNBA's viewership is on an exponential rise, going up 12% year-over-year, as of the first half of the 2026 season, according to the Sports Business Journal. 73 million people have watched a WNBA game this season, the largest number ever.
Fans inside State Farm Arena were wearing "Everyone Watches Women Sports" gear, made from Togethxr, a brand co-founded by Sue Bird in response to online claims that women's sports don't have an audience. Now in a collaboration with Nike, the phrase has come to represent all female sports, from the WNBA to WNSL to the World Cup and beyond.
On Monday, young female athletes got to see not only themselves represented on the court, but also by the doll in their hands.
"Having my own Barbie doll is a true dream come true for me. It's such an incredible honor because it's about showing girls that there are no limits to what they can achieve," Reese said in a statement following the Barbie release. "I've never let anyone else define what's possible for me, and every challenge I've faced has only made me stronger. I hope this doll reminds girls to be unapologetically themselves, embrace every part of who they are, and go after their dreams with confidence."
Irene Wright covers Atlanta sports teams as the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Barbie and the WNBA celebrate girlhood at Atlanta Dream game
