How Atlanta Dream’s vision for Angel Reese looks beyond obvious flaw

There are at least two ways of looking at Angel Reese’s role in the Atlanta Dream offense.

One is that the two-time All-Star forward, for all of her strengths, is a liability as a scorer, and that regardless of her status as one of the faces of the WNBA, the team is better served by limiting her field-goal attempts.

And then there’s the way that the Dream view Reese as they pursue their first WNBA title, which is to go in the opposite direction. In April, the Dream made the stunning trade with the Chicago Sky for her — believing she could put them over the top. And part of that plan revolves around her putting the ball in the basket with frequency.

“There’ll be more packages involving Angel as the season goes on,” coach Karl Smesko said.

It is not necessarily an intuitive decision. The numbers and visual evidence don’t necessarily endorse it. Reese gathers rebounds like no one else in the league and she can make plays at both ends of the floor. She has the vision and touch to deliver exquisite passes to teammates cutting to the basket.

But her shot, particularly at layup range, is a bit of a blemish on her game. It can look awkward. Many are released with little chance of falling through the rim.

Last year for the Chicago Sky, Reese took 258 shots from within 5 feet of the basket, or about 11 per game. It was the sixth-most attempts from that distance in the league. She made 51.6% of them, not what you want for what are among the highest-yielding shots on the floor.

Of players who attempted at least 150 shots from inside 5 feet, Reese shot the lowest percentage.

The other nine players in the top 10 for most shots from that range combined to make 60.6% of their shots from that distance.

That’s a pretty big gap between what the league’s most efficient scorers at the rim do and how Reese has fared.

This year, in her first two games with the Dream, she’s 8-for-17 (47.1%) on shots from inside 5 feet.

But Smesko sees beyond that. After the team’s practice Thursday at Core 4 Athletic Complex, I asked him about Reese’s finishing ability and whether it could be developed.

He first brought up what she already does — defend, control the paint, rebound, set screens and drive to the basket. It was perhaps his way of pushing back on the perception of Reese as a one-dimensional player.

“But she’s working on different aspects in her game just because she wants to be the best,” he said. “I’ve already seen development so far, and I think if she keeps working the way she is, that she’s going to be somebody that people are going to be talking about for MVP sometime very soon.”

It didn’t come across as idle praise, and Smesko’s skill at developing players’ offensive games lends more credence to his projection. (It was also an acknowledgment that, while she might be the game’s second-most recognized player behind Caitlin Clark, she isn’t at that level right now.)

And if it succeeds, it’s not hard to envision the Dream becoming a favorite to deliver a championship to Atlanta. They already finished tied for the WNBA’s second-best record last year in Smesko’s first season (before faltering in the first round of the playoffs). Adding the league’s best rebounder as she develops into a better finisher would be an enormous leap.

And, in her defense, it’s not like she’s incapable of scoring. She has a career 14.0 points per game average. And her shooting percentage in 2025 from inside 5 feet was a step forward from her 2024 rookie year (44.5%).

Her teammates have her back.

“My teammates will tell me, ‘We’re not going to pass it to you again if you don’t shoot this ball,’” Reese told media earlier this season.

Smesko’s vision for Reese and the Dream will undergo a rigorous test Sunday. The Dream open their home schedule against the defending champion Las Vegas Aces at State Farm Arena, one of five games they’ll play there this season away from their usual home at Gateway Center Arena in College Park. The game is sold out. It will be broadcast on NBC (WXIA-TV in Atlanta) in the network’s first WNBA game since 2002.

It’s a moment for the WNBA, the Dream and Reese.