Angel Reese won the 2026 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award on October 1, 2026, the first player in Atlanta Dream history to take it.
She received 46 of 72 votes from media members. Gabby Williams of Golden State finished second with 20. A’ja Wilson was third.
The numbers behind it are the ones people have spent two years arguing about. She led the league at 12.1 rebounds a game. Her 521 rebounds on the season are a WNBA single season record. Her 206 offensive rebounds are a WNBA record. She pulled 26 in one game, also a record. She averaged 1.8 steals, third in the league, and Atlanta finished with the third best defensive rating in the WNBA.
She is 24, and this is her first season in Atlanta after the Dream acquired her from Chicago in April. The team is in the semifinals for the first time since 2018.
Her coach, Karl Smesko, put it plainly. “She’s not afraid of any challenge. She relishes these opportunities and steps up in big moments.”
Rebounding is the least glamorous thing a forward does, and it is the part of Reese’s game that has been talked down the most. It is now the part the league voted best.
