Angel Reese set another WNBA landmark as her Atlanta Dream engaged in a weekend waxing of the Indiana Fever.
Angel Reese won't cease making history in the paint.
Reese's latest landmark came in the Atlanta Dream's Saturday showdown against the Indiana Fever: with her sixth rebound of the day, Reese earned the 1,000th board of her career. Needing but 79 games to reach that landmark, Reese is the fastest to four digits in WNBA history, surpassing the 89 that Tina Charles needed.
Atlanta won the game 113-96 to tie league-leading Minnesota for the longest-active winning streak in the W at three.
"Just being able to come out and do what I do every single night just shows my consistency," Reese said in the aftermath. "A lot of times I'm really hard on myself about how, what I want to be and how great I want to be. But I'm just taking my time and just knowing I've done some great things and I'm patting myself of the back and knowing that I want more."
Angel Reese makes history 💪
— espnW (@espnW) June 20, 2026
Fastest player to reach 1K rebounds in WNBA history 🔥 pic.twitter.com/RLAVzdDUvk
The Latest Dreamy Landmark
Reese has kept busy with a change of address, sent south to Atlanta when the Chicago Sky traded her for draft picks.
The lack of double-double notwithstanding (Reese had "only" eight rebounds next to 18 points), Saturday's game was quintessential Reese: the historic rebound was part of a putback, one that saw Reese put in two of the 54 paint points that Atlanta registered.
Trademark Reese physicality was also on display as the Dream shut down the Fever after letting up an 80% success rate in the first quarter: she was charged with a flagrant one foul after a physical encounter with Damiris Dantas under the basket, but that came after an emphatic rejection Kelsey Mitchell toward the top of the fourth quarter, when Atlanta was putting the finishing touches on its win.
Angel Reese trash talked Caitlin Clark
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) June 20, 2026
Caitlin waved her off 👀 pic.twitter.com/gbfZZCWK5n
A date with the Fever, of course, wasn't complete without drama between Reese and Caitlin Clark: the two faces of the league exchanged mock pleasantries during first quarter action but cooler heads appeared to prevail. Reese went somewhat viral for her animated imitation to Clark's supposed foul-baiting during the teams' previous get-together on Thursday.
All that and more pales in comparison to the impact Reese continues to have on the Dream, which has recovered splendidly from last year's postseason disappointment. Entering Saturday night action, she's one of three players averaging both a double-double and at least 10 rebounds next to Aneesah Morrow and Jessica Shepard.
"I think people don't realize rebounding is harder than you think," Reese remarked. "Defensive rebounds are a little bit more easier, but going in and crashing every single time to get second-chance opportunities on the offensive end. You can look statistically, they're not just from my shots, they're from my teammates. It gives us more points, it gives us more opportunities."
Good Neighbors
With the win, Atlanta (11-4) took over the top spot in the Eastern Conference from the idle New York Liberty. Several special guests took in the takeover, as the Dream played the second of five games at State Farm Arena, home of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.
In front of a crowd that included members of the Hawks and the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, as well as basketball legend Dawn Staley, Atlanta left no doubt with a 9-0 fourth quarter run that boosted its lead to a game-high 22.
Rhyne Howard got the run started with three of her team-high 24 points via and-one while Jordin Canada had a serendipitous 12-point/assist double-double. It was part of an effort that saw Atlanta set a new franchise record in scoring, as all five Georgian starters were in double-figures, though Smesko was more impressed by the defensive crackdown.
"Indiana played offense at just an elite level that first half, just elite," Smesko noted. "For us to be able to just regroup at halftime, make some adjustments, you could see the difference on the floor. I thought that was a sign of maturity from our team. They weren't rattled. They understood that we needed to do some things and then they went out and executed it."
"I just thought we made so many more defensive plays in the second half, got so many more deflections. It was just a great team defensive effort that second half."
Reese next chance to add to her historic tally lands on Monday when the Dream hosts the Toronto Tempo at State Farm (7:30 p.m. ET, Peachtree Sports Network).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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