Remember me
The only difference was that Angel Reese wore red instead of blue.
The Chicago Sky traded Reese, a two-time All-Star forward, to the Atlanta Dream in early April. Reese's impact was immediately felt, as her new No. 5 Dream jersey sold out in minutes, and the Dream's ticket demand multiplied by 15 (via StubHub).
The trade couldn't be officially graded until Reese took the floor for the Dream — and, really, for years to come. But after one game, it's an A-plus. Just as she did so many times for the Sky, Reese recorded a double-double in her Dream debut: 11 points and 14 rebounds, as the Dream erased a 17-point halftime deficit to beat the Minnesota Lynx, 91-90.
According to Dream PR, "Angel Reese officially recorded her 50th career double-double. Reese hit this milestone in only 65 games, the fewest of any player in WNBA history. At 24 years old, Reese is also the second youngest to hit this career milestone, only behind Tina Charles."
Reese has also led the WNBA in rebounds in each of her first two seasons.
Atlanta's three-time All-Star guard Allisha Gray called Reese "the missing piece" to ESPN's Kendra Andrews, and Reese showed why Gray believes that in the waning seconds against the Lynx.
Atlanta led 91-90 with 5.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Lynx gained possession from a jump ball on their end of the floor, and rookie Olivia Miles darted a pass to a wide-open Emese Hof, but Reese closed in quickly and blocked the shot to win the game as the buzzer sounded.
Along with her 11 points and 14 rebounds, Reese tallied three blocks, two assists, and two steals. Reese shot 4-for-11 from the floor and three-for-six at the free-throw line.
"It was tough for me, obviously, because I didn't finish well tonight, and I was really hard on myself, but this is what basketball is," Reese told reporters. "We talk about it all the time, about next best action and being able to be ready for the next possession. I knew I needed to come up for my teammates on the last possession and get that block — no matter what happened before that."
The Dream will travel to Dallas to play the Wings (1-0) on Tuesday night before hosting the defending champion Las Vegas Aces for their home opener next Sunday, May 17, at 1:30 p.m. EST on NBC and Peacock.