Angel Reese has kept the WNBA Finals rolling. Does the MVP title belong to her win or lose?
As the WNBA drifts into uncharted territory on the calendar, Angel Reese won’t cease. Is it enough to make history in the championship round whether her Atlanta Dream finds euphoria or a nightmare in the finale?
Reese is one of the primary reasons why the WNBA’s 30th season has survived: not only has she kept up with a consistent scoring pace established upon her return from a victorious World Cup run with the United States women’s national club, but she’s grabbing rebounds at a historic rate.
Reese needed but six games to set the WNBA Finals record for most total boards in a series, carrying 78 against the Golden State Valkyries heading into the winner-take-all final on Saturday night by the Bay (8 p.m. ET, USA/CNBC/Peacock). It’s fair to say she’s partly assisted by the series reaching an unprecedented sixth game but her average haul of 13 is second-best in a Finals series behind the 15 that Sylvia Fowles pulled in for the victorious Minnesota Lynx in 2017.
While the hoisters of the nameless WNBA Finals trophy have yet to be determined, Reese’s efforts create an intriguing paradox: has the individual triumph already been decided?
Photo credit: Jineen Williams, Ballislife
The Case For It
It feels like an unexpected Finals, featuring the fellers of finesse from defense-happy Atlanta and Golden State, should have an unexpected MVP, and there’d be nothing more jaw-dropping than having the victor already decided before the final game.
If we’re still considering its literal definition, no one has defined the middle initial of MVP better than Reese in this series. Look no further than the apparent fact Atlanta wins and losses are partly decided by Reese’s newfound ability to succeed from deep: having hit only seven triples in her first two professional tours in Chicago, Reese has 21 between this regular season and tournament alone. Atlanta is a perfect 16-0 in games where at least one lands in her -point column.
From the minute Reese’s shift south tipped off the 2026 WNBA offseason frenzy, she was viewed as an instant difference-maker. The Dream had gotten a lot done since Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard began collaborating in 2023, but even a mere playoff series victory proved elusive. The fact Reese got an already talented team to within 40 minutes of an elusive championship hoist after last year’s crushing disappointed brings, you guessed it, value to the cause and has undoubtedly shifted Georgia’s place in the league hierarchy for the better.
Also working in Reese’s favor is the fact that Golden State has taken on a bit of a heroine-by-committee approach to the series, partly out of necessity due to the fact that Atlanta is the one team that can match its suffocating defensive nature. A combination of popularity and practicality would probably tip the award to Gabby Williams (who helped steal Game 1 and gave all she could in an ultimate futile Valkyrie comeback on Thursday) but when Reese’s work is the primary reason the series has reached its historic limit, it should well be considered before a ballot is filled in purple pen.
ANGEL REESE DELIVERED AT HOME TO HELP FORCE GAME 7 SATURDAY NIGHT 15 PTS 14 REB (game-high) 6 AST (game-high) She now has the most rebounds (78) in a WNBA Finals series https://t.co/5zJXzuHN2X
— NBA (@NBA) October 29, 2026
The Case Against It
One could argue the history alone keeps the suspense alive: if Alyssa Thomas couldn’t swipe the title from Emma Meeseman in 2019, it’s probably never going going to happen. An MVP from the losing team isn’t exactly common among the major sports (it has never happened in the WNBA) but it’s been so long since the phenomenon was staged (2003 Anaheim Mighty Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Gigure is the last to do it in the commonly accepted four major North American sports leagues) that it’s fair to wonder if we’ll ever see it again.
Drama, then, should nonetheless persist with the MVP properly attached to a series victor. Reese and Williams appear to be the primary contenders owing to the devoted bases their talents have garnered on each coast and beyond. If Atlanta wins, Reese will undoubtedly be the favorite to hoist the individual honor when the confetti flies. Should the title head West, there’s no use in Reese raining on the Valkyrie parade, even indirectly. This feels like a throat-clearing gesture from the Dream, anyway. If Reese wants revenge in the event of a loss, the current Georgian set-up hints at ample opportunities for her on the road ahead.
Even if the Dream pulls this off, one could make an argument that some of Reese’s teammates are making their own cases to swipe the award from her grasp. Howard’s offensive breakout has matched her defensive games, particularly in Thursday’s matinee madness (6-of-11 from the field, including a 4-of-6 performance from deep). Gray’s work with her injured fingers could also be considered, even if it took her a few games to literally get the ball rolling again. If the title was bestowed NHL-style (which accounts for all postseason action, not just the showings in the Finals), it’d be hard not to nominate master facilitator and defender Jordin Canada.
Conclusion
While Reese no doubt lingers at the top of many penciled ballots heading into Saturday’s finale, under no circumstance should she be a lock for the MVP award win or lose. What Reese has done in this series has been historic and memorable. She can clinch the MVP award in similar fashion but one of the requirements of that endgame is undoubtedly a win.
Besides, for all of Reese’s brilliance in these Finals, there are no doubt certain opportunities she’d love to have back, such as the brutal 4-of-20 output in Atlanta’s most recent losses in Games 4 and 5. That makes it hard to grant her the MVP award by default and a genuine competitor like Reese would probably like to have earned the title no other way.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
The post Divine Intervention: Is Angel Reese WNBA Finals MVP No Matter What? appeared first on Ballislife.com.
