Angel Reese was awarded the WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year, receiving 46 out of 74 votes, significantly ahead of second-place Gabby Williams with 20 votes. Critics argue that this outcome reflects biased media coverage rather than objective performance metrics, noting that while the Atlanta Dream maintained their strong defensive record after acquiring Reese, they did not show a dramatic improvement in defense or overall win percentage compared to previous seasons. The article suggests that players like A'ja Wilson, who received only four votes despite her versatile defensive skills, deserved more recognition for their contributions to team success.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-02,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese deserved consideration for the WNBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
asserted
Reese → deserve → award
Her rebounding, effort and ability to force turnovers gave voters plenty of reasons to put her in the conversation.
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rebounding → force → conversation
Apparently, putting her in the conversation wasn’t enough.
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putting → put → conversation
Reese received 46 of the 74 votes for the award announced Thursday.
asserted
Reese → receive → award
Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams finished second with 20.
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Williams → finish → 20
Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson, the best defender in the WNBA as far as I’m concerned, received four.
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I → concern → four
Reese received more than 11 times as many votes as Wilson and more than twice as many as Williams.
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Reese → receive → Williams
The result fits a suspicion I’ve had about Reese’s coverage for a long time: too many members of the media want her to be an elite player so badly that they oversell what she actually does.
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she → fit → what
An award decided by sportswriters and broadcasters gives them something convenient to point to when anyone questions that assessment.
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anyone → decide → assessment
"Of course she’s elite.
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she → ’ → ?
Look at the award we gave her."
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we → look → her
Atlanta was already winning 30 games and playing elite defense
The Dream finished 30-14 this season.
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Dream → win → defense
They ranked third in defensive rating, allowing 103.5 points per 100 possessions.
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They → rank → possessions
But how much better did Atlanta get after adding Reese this past offseason?
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Atlanta → get → Reese
Last year, the Dream finished... 30-14.
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Dream → finish → ?
Surely the team's defense improved by adding the Defensive Player of the Year, right?
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defense → improve → Year
The Dream ranked second in defensive rating, allowing 98.9 points per 100 possessions in 2025.
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Dream → rank → 2025
Atlanta already had one of the league’s best defenses before Reese arrived, and the team was actually a little worse defensively this year.
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team → have → defenses
That doesn’t mean Reese made Atlanta worse.
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Atlanta → mean → ?
Rosters change, opponents change and comparing defensive ratings across seasons requires accounting for many variables.
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comparing → change → variables
But anyone selling her arrival as a dramatic transformation has to explain why the Dream finished with the same number of wins and a slightly worse defensive rating.
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Dream → sell → wins
Reese helped Atlanta allow a league-low 9.5 second-chance points per game, she averaged an impressive 1.8 steals and she led the league in defensive win shares.
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she → help → shares
But she also joined a 30-win team that already played elite defense.
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that → join → defense
A’ja Wilson deserved a lot more than four votes
Wilson gives a defense options that Reese doesn’t provide at the same level.
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Reese → deserve → level
She can protect the basket, switch onto a guard and defend a possession that takes her well away from the paint.
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that → protect → paint
Against Indiana in August, Wilson guarded Caitlin Clark with the game on the line in overtime and forced the turnover that set up Chelsea Gray’s winning 3-pointer.
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that → guard → pointer
Aces coach Becky Hammon said after the game: "I’ll take that matchup … any day."
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I → say → matchup
I don't think the Atlanta Dream want Reese trying to defend Clark on the perimeter with the game on the line.
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game → think → line
In fact, if that matchup happened, it would mean some very poor coaching and execution from the Dream.
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it → happen → Dream
Reese’s activity around the basket is valuable, but Wilson’s ability to handle that assignment is a major reason she's the league's best defender.
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she → handle → assignment
Wilson led the league in blocks for the fifth consecutive season, averaging 1.9 blocks per game, while Reese averaged just 0.7.
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Reese → lead → 0.7
Wilson actually averaged more defensive rebounds per game (7.5) than Reese (7.3), while adding 1.4 steals per game.
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Wilson → average → game
The defensive rebounding comparison tends to get lost amid the celebration of Reese’s rebounding records.
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comparison → tend → records
Of her 521 rebounds this season, 206 came on offense.
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206 → come → offense
Those are valuable possessions to create, but they aren’t defensive stops and shouldn't factor into a Defensive Player of the Year conversation.
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they → create → conversation
And, of course, there are the "mebounds" Reese gets when she misses a layup and rebounds her own shot.
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she → be → shot
Wilson has advanced statistics supporting her case, too.
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Wilson → have → case
CBS Sports’ Jack Maloney explained that he voted for Reese while acknowledging that Wilson led the league in defensive VPM, an advanced metric estimating a player’s impact on preventing points.
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Wilson → explain → points
Gabby Williams had a serious argument, too.
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Williams → have → argument
She regularly took the opponent’s toughest scoring assignment for Golden State’s top-ranked defense.
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She → take → defense
…and 30 more, not listed.
The Aporia
