Arya News - Angel Reese led the league in rebounding with the Dream.
Angel Reese proved to be everything the Atlanta Dream needed and more in her first season with the franchise. Now, she has the hardware to prove it.
Reese won the WNBA"s Defensive Player of the Year award Thursday, the league announced. She received 46 of 74 votes for the honor.
Gabby Williams finished as the runner-up behind Reese, picking up 20 votes. Three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner A"ja Wilson finished third, taking home four votes.
While Reese has developed a reputation as one of best rebounders the game has ever seen — leading the league in the stat in each of her three seasons — that hasn"t led to defensive recognition until 2026. Despite her excellence on the glass, Reese has never been named to a WNBA All-Defensive team or received votes for Defensive Player of the Year prior to this season.
Rebounds, unsurprisingly, played a role in Reese finally achieving the honor this season, as she once again led the WNBA with 12.1 rebounds per game. She also set two records, pulling down the most rebounds in a single season (521) and the most offensive rebounds in a single season (206). She also set the single-game rebound record after pulling down 26 during an August game against the Los Angeles Sparks .
Her success went beyond that, though, as the WNBA highlighted in its release announcing Reese"s win.
Reese"s impact was evident across every defensive measure. She finished the regular season first in the WNBA in Defensive Win Shares (3.39) and fourth in defensive rating (100.0), while Atlanta allowed 7.9 fewer points per 100 possessions with Reese on the floor, the largest defensive on/off differential among Dream rotation players.
With the win, Reese also becomes the first player in Dream history to take home the award.
Reese"s on-court contributions were a significant reason the Dream once again posted one of the best records in the WNBA. With the regular season done — and an award already in hand — Reese will now see if she can add a championship ring to her collection.