‘Atlanta speaks for itself’: Angel Reese speaks on the city and joining Dream
With her new Dream teammates surrounding her on the dais, Angel Reese made a clear and concise statement Friday afternoon about why she came to Atlanta.
“I mean, Atlanta speaks for itself.”
And so the new era of the Dream kicked off, not only with Reese, but with new squad surrounding her: Allisha Gray, Brionna Jones, Naz Hillmon, Jordan Canada and Rhyne Howard.
It seemed a little unlikely that all of them would be sitting on the same stage, until the Dream announced the trade with the Chicago Sky to add Reese, an All-Star forward.
The Dream finished the season with a first-round loss to the Fever and general manager Dan Padover and the front office had to go to work to get better. And that started with retaining the core players on the stage.
It wasn’t just an introductory press conference for Reese; rather, it was a platform to showcase all of the core players on a new-look Dream roster that is looking to make a deeper playoff run this season.
“When we went into this offseason, we had two main priorities: to retain our core and to remain opportunistic. Over the last week, I’m thrilled to say we did both,” general manager Dan Padover said. “Keeping these players in Atlanta was just so important to us. the most special thing is that they stay here, they want to win for Atlanta and they want to win together.
“Then to have someone like Angel to come in and say, ‘Hey guys, I love what you’re doing. I love that city; let me jump in here.”
For Reese, joining a playoff-ready team opens the possibilities to become one of the elite teams in the WNBA. Reese, 23, is one of the top rebounders in the league, and her competitiveness will add to the Dream’s talent.
“Being able to push everybody every single day and also have a sisterhood that really pushes me,” Reese said. “Being around great vets is really important. I’ve talked to them since it was announced that I was traded here and they’ve been on me every day, like, ‘When are you coming?’
“Just my competitive edge every single day, every single practice, everything matters to me because I want to win at everything.”
About the Author
Rod Beard is the Senior Sports Editor for pro sports at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, joining the team after 20-plus years at The Detroit News, where he was a beat writer for the Pistons for seven years, after five years covering the Michigan men's basketball team.
