Brash baller Angel Reese trash-talking her way toward a WNBA championship

Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese candidly said at a Friday news conference that she thought her team had the mental edge over the Valkyries in the WNBA Finals. (Santiago Mejia/S.F. Chronicle) ATLANTA - There's something special about watching a young player emerge on the big stage. And that's what is happening with Angel Reese.Reese is seizing the moment, turning these Finals into a personal showcase, and becoming a superstar."You want to be able to come out every night and know that your work is going to show," Reese said. "I'm really confident within myself. Everybody knows that."Just doing whatever it takes to win, trusting my work and just building my confidence each game. As you can kind of see."We can see. The Angel Reese Experience is taking over the series, and the Golden State Valkyries had no answers for it in Games 2 and 3. Reese is an elite defender, has raised her offensive game and is nonstop energy: a trash-talking aggressive player who is crazy fun to watch. She has the Atlanta Dream team two wins from a championship.Reese was, of course, a star in college, winning a championship with LSU. But now, in leading the Dream through a 7-1 postseason run, she has elevated her game and her profile.Some people don't like it. Some people don't want their female sports stars to be brash, swaggering, trash-talking players who say what they think and back it up on the court.But others love it. And Reese is totally entertaining.Reese's national reputation was shaped three years ago in the weird vortex surrounding Caitlin Clark. When Reese beat Clark's Iowa team for the national championship in 2023 and did some chirping and hand gestures in the waning moments, it unleashed the same kind of toxicity that, unfortunately, has become a standard component for a portion of Clark's fan base. Even though Clark - a trash-talking, brash, hard-nosed player herself - defended Reese, Reese was portrayed as unsportsmanlike and worse. When she dropped to the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 draft, her detractors rejoiced.Three years later, Reese is having her moment and silencing her critics. She gives thoughtful, provocative answers. She seems to be having fun. Her teammates love her. Just 24, she's grown as a leader and as an all-around player."One of your thrills as a coach is to see your players be successful and have great moments," Dream coach Karl Smesko said. "To see Angel's growth this year has been wonderful to see."Reese is not afraid to stir the pot. She's done it on the court. And she did it in Friday's media session, saying the Valkyries were "playing into my mental game, where I can take their confidence and trying to do whatever to mess them up, having to guard me on one end and then, offensively, trying to get back on the other end."Reese said, "I think you can see it in their emotions, in their facial expressions … making sure we can find any little thing to get our edge and have leverage over them. I'll come to the timeout and say, ‘They're tired right now.' Just looking for small things." Dream forward Angel Reese, seen at practice Friday in Atlanta, has rediscovered her voice and her game this season after being traded from the Chicago Sky. (Santiago Mejia/S.F. Chronicle) Gabby Williams said she actually agrees with Reese."We have to show more fight, get that fire back in our bellies," Williams said. "So for Angel to say that, I'm not surprised, honestly. We did a lot of self-reflecting. I want to see the Golden State that I've seen all year."By way of praising Atlanta and the Dream fans, Reese also took a few shots at Chase Center."I think there's a clear difference between being in Atlanta and being in Ballhalla," Reese said. "Ballhalla doesn't intimidate me. But I feel like if I was on the other side and coming to Atlanta, I feel like it would be a little intimidating."Reese is clearly delighted by what's happening in Atlanta, where State Farm Arena sold out Games 3 and 4 with just a week's notice, after they were moved from a much smaller building. The scene on Wednesday was full of celebrities and local music stars and some risque local anthems.After two frustrating years in Chicago, Reese was vocally unhappy and all but forced a trade. Right now that trade, for which the Sky got two first-round picks in 2027 and 2028, looks like one of the worst ever.Reese is a perfect match for swag-surfing, hyped-up Atlanta, hungry for a sports star to connect with."Atlanta is like Gen Z, everybody knows what's going on," Reese said. "Like if you know, you know - that's the experience here. I don't know how to explain it but like everybody's cousins and brothers and sisters and just rallying together and want to see that team win. It's really cool."Reese felt like Atlanta would be a good fit, both on and off the court. She liked the players and what they were building with Smesko. And she liked the city."I knew being in Atlanta was going to be perfect for my brand," she said. "Being around your people, around culture, that's also important and it feels good. And I can do a lot in the community here. I knew what I was getting with the community and people, but I also wanted to make sure it was a basketball decision as well."I knew what I was getting when I was coming here. The culture here, the way they pour into everybody, coming out on a Wednesday when there's school and work the next day. I don't take that for granted. This championship would mean everything, not just for us but also for them. The city deserves it."Reese is confident. She's full of swagger. She's stealing the show. Can the Valkyries find a way to stop the Angel Reese Experience?SubscribeThere’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Brash baller Angel Reese trash-talking her way toward a WNBA championship.