WNBA star Angel Reese shared an embarrassing moment from training camp with her new team, the Atlanta Dream, where coach Karl Smesko made her shoot consecutive three-pointers before allowing drills to continue. This exercise initially upset Reese but later served as a turning point for her shooting improvement. Now in the WNBA Finals after sweeping the New York Liberty, Reese acknowledges the patience and focus on fundamentals that helped improve her performance, despite still being known for struggling with accuracy from long range.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Angel Reese has officially reached the WNBA Finals before Caitlin Clark, and gave fans a peek into the process that got her there after finishing off a three-game sweep of the New York Liberty in the semifinals on Friday, which included a training camp exercise that left her feeling "embarrassed' in front of her new Atlanta Dream teammates.
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that → reach → teammates
In the postgame news conference, Reese spoke about a moment in training-camp when Coach Karl Smesko stopped a drill and made her hit two consecutive 3-pointers before her teammates could continue.
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teammates → speak → pointers
Reese said the exercise left her upset with Smesko and worried about embarrassing herself in front of the team.
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exercise → say → team
"It's really hard for me to not want to rush success, and Karl told me how patient I had to be with it.
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I → want → it
I remember a very moment in training camp where we were going through drills and he stopped everybody and told me I had to make two in a row in front of everybody," Reese said.
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Reese → remember → everybody
"And you never want to shutdown your teammates, you never want to let your teammates down, and we couldn't resume the drill until I made two in a row, and I was upset with him that day for sure.
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I → want → him
Because I didn't want to let the team down, I didn't want to feel embarrassed and in how long it coulda took me to make them.
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it → want → them
Reese is known as a poor shooter, and is often mocked for missing easy shots in games.
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Reese → know → games
She has even gotten in on the jokes herself by launching merchandise under the brand "Mebounds" in 2025.
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She → get → 2025
The term is a mocking play on "rebounds," referring to the rebounds she collects after missing her own shots.
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she → mock → shots
Later in Friday's postgame news conference, Reese was asked how many shots she needed to make two consecutively.
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she → ask → two
"I don't know," Reese answered.
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Reese → know → ?
"It wasn't that many," Smesko said.
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Smesko → say → ?
"My teammates are cheering for me on the sideline, and I was pretty embarrassed," Reese added.
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Reese → cheer → sideline
Now, months later, she made two 3-pointers in Atlanta’s 85-83 victory over the New York Liberty, which completed a semifinal sweep and sent the Dream to their first Finals since 2013.
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which → make → 2013
Her recollection addressed an area of her game that has attracted scrutiny throughout her professional career.
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that → address → career
Reese publicly pushed back against criticism of her missed layups in November 2024, following a rookie season in which she made 39.1% of her shots.
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she → push → shots
Her shooting numbers since then show progress from that rookie season, with a more modest change during her first year in Atlanta.
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numbers → show → Atlanta
Reese made 45.1% of her shots this regular season, slightly below the 45.8% she made in her second season with Chicago.
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she → make → Chicago
She attempted 3-pointers more frequently with the Dream, but still made fewer than one in five during the regular season.
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She → attempt → season
She has made five of 13 playoff 3-point attempts (38.5%).
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She → make → attempts
That represents a stronger stretch across just five games.
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That → represent → games
Reese’s overall production grew in Atlanta.
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production → grow → Atlanta
She averaged a career-high 16.4 points, again led the WNBA in rebounding and won her first Defensive Player of the Year award.
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She → average → award
She finished Friday’s clinching victory with 22 points and nine rebounds.
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She → finish → points
The opportunity followed an April trade that sent Reese from Chicago to Atlanta for two first-round draft picks, with the Dream also receiving a future second-round pick swap.
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Dream → follow → swap
Chicago missed the playoffs in both of her seasons there and finished 10-34 in 2025.
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Chicago → miss → 2025
Atlanta already had a franchise-record 30-win season behind it and retained a core that included All-Star guards Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard and two-time WNBA champion Jordin Canada.
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that → have → Gray
Reese joined an established playoff team in Smesko’s second season as coach.
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Reese → join → coach
The Dream matched that 30-14 record this year and earned the fourth seed, giving them home-court advantage against Washington in the first round and New York in the semifinals.
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Dream → match → semifinals
Sixth-seeded Indiana drew defending champion Las Vegas immediately and lost the deciding game on the road.
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Indiana → seed → road
The Finals berth came despite Atlanta losing center Brionna Jones to a season-ending leg injury and playing the final two games against New York without Gray, who had a left hand injury.
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who → come → injury
Clark, who entered the WNBA alongside Reese in 2024, reached the playoffs first, during their rookie season.
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who → enter → season
She missed the entire 2025 postseason with an injury, when Indiana eliminated Atlanta before falling one win short of the Finals against Las Vegas.
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Indiana → miss → Vegas
This year, Clark averaged a career-high 22.3 points and helped lead the highest-scoring offense in WNBA history alongside Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston.
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Clark → average → Mitchell
Indiana finished 28-16 before its first-round elimination.
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Indiana → finish → elimination
Reese will now pursue her first WNBA championship, with the Finals scheduled to begin Oct. 17.
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Finals → pursue → championship
Atlanta is seeking its first title in franchise history.
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Atlanta → seek → history
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