ATLANTA (AP) — Angel Reese was surrounded by the love — and the talent — during her first news conference with the Atlanta Dream she felt was missing in her two years in Chicago.
The Dream acquired Reese
from the Sky on April 6. Chicago obtained first-round draft picks in 2027 and 2028. Atlanta also received the right to swap second-round picks with Chicago in 2028.
One of the WNBA's most recognizable stars, Reese led the league in rebounds in each of her two seasons with the Sky.
“I’m always gonna be grateful for that because I did experience a lot of great things,” Reese said Friday of her time in Chicago. “I enjoyed being able to grow within my first two years but I wanted more. I love to win, I love to compete and I wanted to be surrounded by people that can make me better.
“And I am not satisfied with what I am as a player and I felt like being around these kinds of players would help me be better. I can help them in different ways to help them win and that’s all I ever wanted. I don’t care about anything else that comes with it. I want to win and being able to come to an organization that really cared about their players.”
Reese was joined at the news conference by the five players Atlanta has re-signed this offseason. Guard Rhyne Howard said Reese, a two-time All-Star forward, could help Atlanta win a championship.
“Angel, I think is special for us because she could be exactly what we were missing,” Howard said.
Reese averaged 14.7 points and a league-best 12.6 rebounds last season. She joins a team that won a franchise-record 30 games last season under coach Karl Smesko before losing to Indiana in the playoffs.
Atlanta also re-signed Allisha Gray, Brionna Jones, Jordin Canada and Naz Hillmon.
Gray finished fourth in MVP voting last season. Howard became the fastest player in WNBA history to make 300 3-pointers. Hillmon was named Sixth Player of the Year and Jones was an All-Star.
The trade to Atlanta came after Reese expressed frustration late last season, with Chicago on the way to a 10-34 finish. She told the Chicago Tribune the Sky needed to improve their roster and added she “might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me” if that didn't happen. She later apologized to the team for the comments.
The Sky suspended Reese for half a game for comments deemed “detrimental to the team.” The team held her out for its final three games with a back injury, raising speculation about her future in Chicago.
Reese said the interest from the Dream “was mutual on both sides and I was able to choose a destination I really wanted to go to.”
General manager Dan Padover said adding Reese capped a successful offseason.
“When we went into this offseason, we had two main priorities,” Padover said. “That was retain our core. And to remain opportunistic. And over the last week, I’m thrilled to say we did both. Keeping these players in Atlanta was just so important to us. And the most special thing is that they want to stay here.
“And then to have someone like Angel come in and say ‘Hey guys, I love what you’re doing. I love that city. Let me jump in here.’ And to have this whole group as well as the others that are here today come together to try to build something and win a championship. That’s what sports is all about.”
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
