ATLANTA - Angel Reese won the 2026 Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award, becoming the first player in Atlanta Dream history to receive the honor.
The WNBA announced the award on Thursday.
Reese got 46 of 74 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Gabby Williams finished second with 20 votes and Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson finished third with four votes.
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Reese joined the Dream in April after the Chicago Sky traded her. Chicago picked her with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 draft.
The 6-foot-4 forward averaged 16.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals in 43 regular-season games. She led the league in rebounds and offensive rebounds per game at 4.8.
She also set WNBA single-season records in total rebounds with 521, total offensive rebounds with 206 and double-doubles with 32.
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Reese is also playing in the first WNBA playoff series of her career as the No. 4 seed Dream lead the No. 5 Washington Mystics 1-0 in the first round. She had the first playoff double-double of her career with 13 points and 12 rebounds in Atlanta’s 92-77 Game 1 win on Sept. 27.
Now Atlanta will take on No. 8 New York Liberty after the Liberty upset the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx.
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