​Angel Reese returns from World Cup with major opportunity waiting for Dream originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Angel Reese spent the last few weeks trying to win a championship for her country. Thursday night, she returned to the pursuit of another one. Reese and the Atlanta Dream resumed their WNBA season against the Connecticut Sun following the league’s break for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.For Reese, the return comes with considerably more at stake than simply getting reacclimated to WNBA basketball.Atlanta entered Thursday at 26-14, tied with the Indiana Fever and sitting squarely in the battle for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.The Dream have already clinched a postseason berth. Where they will begin the postseason is another matter. Atlanta’s official account welcomed Reese and the Dream back as the league resumed play:The timing also puts Reese immediately back in the spotlight after she helped Team USA win gold in Germany. She doesn’t have much time to celebrate it.Angel Reese returns to an Atlanta team with championship expectationsThe Dream aren’t merely trying to sneak into the playoffs.Welcome us back home, Angel 🙌Tune in NOW Dream vs. Sun NOW! pic.twitter.com/0s07W6Qayp— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) September 17, 2026Atlanta has established itself as one of the WNBA’s better teams.The Dream entered Thursday having won seven of their previous 10 games, and their 26 victories already represent one of the strongest seasons in franchise history.Reese has been at the center of it.The former LSU star entered the World Cup break averaging 16.1 points and a league-leading 12.4 rebounds per game. She has also rewritten the WNBA record book. Reese broke the league’s single-season records for total rebounds, offensive rebounds and double-doubles, continuing the rebounding dominance she displayed from the moment she entered the league.Then came the World Cup.Reese joined Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and the rest of a loaded American roster in Germany. Team USA went undefeated and defeated France 97-79 in the championship game.It was Reese’s first gold medal with the senior national team. Thursday brought an immediate transition from international basketball to the pressure of the WNBA playoff race.MORE: Lauren Betts brings elegant look to tunnel as WNBA action returnsDream’s frontcourt suddenly belongs even more to ReeseAtlanta also returned from the break with some bad news. Veteran center Brionna Jones will miss the remainder of the season because of the left leg injury she suffered against Connecticut in August. Jones appeared in only nine games this season after beginning the year recovering from offseason meniscus surgery.Her absence matters for several reasons.One is Reese.At 6-foot-3, Reese naturally fits at power forward, but Jones’ injury has forced Atlanta to use her extensively at center.That is