Angel Reese has officially reached the WNBA Finals before Caitlin Clark, and gave fans a peek into the process that got her there after finishing off a three-game sweep of the New York Liberty in the semifinals on Friday, which included a training camp exercise that left her feeling “embarrassed’ in front of her new Atlanta Dream teammates.
In the postgame news conference, Reese spoke about a moment in training-camp when Coach Karl Smesko stopped a drill and made her hit two consecutive 3-pointers before her teammates could continue.
Angel Reese #5 of the Atlanta Dream reacts after making a basket during the first quarter of Game 3 of the WNBA Playoffs semifinals against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center on Oct. 9, 2026, in New York City. (Getty Images)
Reese said the exercise left her upset with Smesko and worried about embarrassing herself in front of the team.
“It’s really hard for me to not want to rush success, and Karl told me how patient I had to be with it. I remember a very moment in training camp where we were going through drills and he stopped everybody and told me I had to make two in a row in front of everybody,” Reese said.
“And you never want to shutdown your teammates, you never want to let your teammates down, and we couldn’t resume the drill until I made two in a row, and I was upset with him that day for sure. Because I didn’t want to let the team down, I didn’t want to feel embarrassed and in how long it coulda took me to make them. But now it’s like so easy.”
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Angel Reese of the Atlanta Dream celebrates a three-point shot during the second half against the Dallas Wings at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, on May 12, 2026. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Reese is known as a poor shooter, and is often mocked for missing easy shots in games. She has even gotten in on the jokes herself by launching merchandise under the brand “Mebounds” in 2025. The term is a mocking play on “rebounds,” referring to the rebounds she collects after missing her own shots.
Later in Friday’s postgame news conference, Reese was asked how many shots she needed to make two consecutively.
“I don’t know,” Reese answered.
“It wasn’t that many,” Smesko said.
“My teammates are cheering for me on the sideline, and I was pretty embarrassed,” Reese added.
Now, months later, she made two 3-pointers in Atlanta’s 85-83 victory over the New York Liberty, which completed a semifinal sweep and sent the Dream to their first Finals since 2013.
Her recollection addressed an area of her game that has attracted scrutiny throughout her professional career. Reese publicly pushed back against criticism of her missed layups in November 2024, following a rookie season in which she made 39.1% of her shots.
Her shooting numbers since then show progress from that rookie season, with a more modest change during her first year in Atlanta. Reese made 45.1% of her shots this regular season, slightly below the 45.8% she made in her second season with Chicago.
She attempted 3-pointers more frequently with the Dream, but still made fewer than one in five during the regular season. Her 19.3% success rate from beyond the arc was only slightly above last year’s 18.2%.
She has made five of 13 playoff 3-point attempts (38.5%). That represents a stronger stretch across just five games.
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Angel Reese of the Atlanta Dream reacts after a 3-pointer during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Sparks at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Ga., on July 13, 2026. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
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Reese’s overall production grew in Atlanta. She averaged a career-high 16.4 points, again led the WNBA in rebounding and won her first Defensive Player of the Year award. She finished Friday’s clinching victory with 22 points and nine rebounds.
The opportunity followed an April trade that sent Reese from Chicago to Atlanta for two first-round draft picks, with the Dream also receiving a future second-round pick swap. Chicago missed the playoffs in both of her seasons there and finished 10-34 in 2025.
Atlanta already had a franchise-record 30-win season behind it and retained a core that included All-Star guards Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard and two-time WNBA champion Jordin Canada. Reese joined an established playoff team in Smesko’s second season as coach.
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The Dream matched that 30-14 record this year and earned the fourth seed, giving them home-court advantage against Washington in the first round and New York in the semifinals. Sixth-seeded Indiana drew defending champion Las Vegas immediately and lost the deciding game on the road.
The Finals berth came despite Atlanta losing center Brionna Jones to a season-ending leg injury and playing the final two games against New York without Gray, who had a left hand injury.
Clark, who entered the WNBA alongside Reese in 2024, reached the playoffs first, during their rookie season. She missed the entire 2025 postseason with an injury, when Indiana eliminated Atlanta before falling one win short of the Finals against Las Vegas.
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This year, Clark averaged a career-high 22.3 points and helped lead the highest-scoring offense in WNBA history alongside Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston. Indiana finished 28-16 before its first-round elimination.
Reese will now pursue her first WNBA championship, with the Finals scheduled to begin Oct. 17. Atlanta is seeking its first title in franchise history.
