LSU Professional Athletes

Exactly 364 days after Angel Reese tweeted "manifesting the finals," the LSU alumna is there.

Reese carried the Atlanta Dream to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2013 this week, closing out the New York Liberty in three games with a playoff run that silenced doubters and validated every word of a prediction she made almost to the day. The series sweep was announced with a 22-point, 9-rebound, 2-block effort in Game 3 — an 85-83 road win in New York on Friday night — capping one of the more complete individual postseason stretches in recent WNBA memory.

The Series Breakdown

Reese opened the best-of-five semifinal on Sunday with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 blocks in a 92-82 Dream win — a performance that immediately drew history-making comparisons and put Atlanta firmly in command. Game 2 on Wednesday was tighter: the Dream needed overtime to escape with a 101-98 win, and it was Reese who stepped to the line and sank a pair of clutch free throws to seal it, finishing with 23 points, 7 rebounds, and a plus-11. Then came Friday's clincher — the 22-point performance that sent Atlanta through and triggered a wave of "apology" discourse aimed squarely at everyone who spent three years picking Reese apart.

Across the three games, Reese averaged 20.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.3 blocks per game in the sweep.

The Manifestation Arc

The backstory gives the moment its weight. On October 10, 2025, Reese — then watching the WNBA Finals from home after being traded out of Chicago — publicly declared she was manifesting a Finals trip. Pundits filed it alongside her other perceived overreaches. What followed was a year of work, a new city, and, ultimately, a sweep of the defending finalists.

"She manifested this," read the CBS Sports headline. It wasn't hyperbole.

After the game, Reese paid tribute to her mother and sent a message to Atlanta fans preparing for a Finals run. She also named WNBA Defensive Player of the Year during the regular season, meaning her case entering the Finals carries both offensive production and defensive credibility — a combination that has WNBA Finals MVP conversation already swirling.

The Bigger Picture for LSU

Reese is the lone Tiger making noise in the WNBA playoffs this week. Hailey Van Lith (Sun), Flau'jae Johnson (Storm), Aneesah Morrow (Tempo), and Ajae Petty (Wings) are all active in the league but were not part of this postseason run. The spotlight belongs entirely to Reese — and for now, that's more than enough.

Atlanta's first championship would be the capstone on the most talked-about individual arc in the 2026 WNBA season. For LSU fans who watched Reese dominate in Baton Rouge, Friday night in New York was a familiar sight: the ball in her hands when it mattered most, and the result going her way.

Angel Reese didn't just have a week — she had a landmark moment for a program, a franchise, and herself.

The LSU alumna capped a dominant debut season with the Atlanta Dream by winning the 2026 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award, becoming the first player in Dream franchise history to claim the honor. The announcement came in the middle of Atlanta's first-round playoff sweep of the Washington Mystics, compressing two historic milestones into a matter of days.

The Award

Reese's DPOY recognition caps her third WNBA season and first with Atlanta after being traded from the Chicago Sky. She helped the Dream earn the top seed in the playoffs — and backed her defensive reputation with production that made voters take notice. Back in August, Reese had publicly predicted she'd take home the award after a win over the Phoenix Mercury; she wasn't wrong. In accepting the honor, she was quick to credit her teammates, pointing out that defense in Atlanta was never a solo act.

The Sweep

On the court, Reese delivered the kind of two-game statement that playoff runs are built on.

In Game 1 on Sunday, Sept. 27 — her WNBA playoff debut — Reese posted 13 points and 12 rebounds in a 92-77 win, recovering from a slow start to impose her will in the second half. The double-double drew mixed reviews online given her shooting efficiency, but the impact on the glass and her plus-11 rating told the fuller story.

Game 2 on Wednesday, Sept. 30 left little room for debate. Reese finished with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals in a 93-75 blowout, ending the series with a plus-26 and helping Atlanta advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2016. The Dream's next test comes against the Liberty — a considerably taller order than the Mystics' frontcourt.

The sweep wasn't without its edge. A chippy finish to Game 2 drew attention when Reese and teammate Allisha Gray were caught on video taunting the Mystics after the final buzzer, drawing a response from veteran DeWanna Bonner. Reese later acknowledged the moment, saying she took a lesson from how she handled the celebration.

The Big Picture

For LSU fans, Reese's week reads like a highlight reel that never slows down. Three years into her pro career, she's now a franchise first, a playoff winner, and the league's top defensive player — all in a single breath. The semifinal matchup against the Liberty will test just how far this Dream run can go, but the Bayou Barbie has already punched her place in WNBA history.

No other LSU alumni saw notable action in the WNBA this period. Flau'jae Johnson (Storm), Aneesah Morrow (Tempo), Hailey Van Lith (Sun), and Ajae Petty (Wings) were not in playoff contention during the week.

The WNBA's final week of the regular season belonged, in no small part, to Baton Rouge. Angel Reese etched her name into the record books — again — while Flau'jae Johnson reminded anyone still sleeping on her rookie season to wake up. Two LSU alumnae, two very different team situations, one remarkable stretch of basketball.

Angel Reese: History, a Clinch, and a Scare

The headlines started Saturday when Reese hit her 500th rebound of the season in Atlanta's 106-81 demolition of the Chicago Sky — the team she played for before signing with the Dream. The milestone came alongside her 31st double-double of the season (23 points, 10 rebounds), extending her own WNBA single-season record in both categories. Head coach Karl Smesko has been vocal: in his view, the All-WNBA Defensive Team conversation is "case closed."

Reese wasn't done. On Monday, she posted 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 95-84 win over the New York Liberty at Barclays Center — a statement road win that had WNBA social feeds buzzing with MVP-level noise. Then came Wednesday's regular-season finale, a tenser 83-65 victory over the Liberty that officially locked up the No. 4 seed in the WNBA playoffs for Atlanta (31-13). The night had a frightening moment: Reese exited before halftime after taking a hit to the face from Sabrina Ionescu, who was subsequently punished by the league with a flagrant foul ruling. Reese did return, finishing with 6 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals.

The Dream enter the postseason as one of the league's hottest teams. Reese — who also won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2026 FIBA World Cup — told reporters she isn't satisfied. That should concern everyone Atlanta faces in the bracket.

Flau'jae Johnson: Lighting Up a Lost Season

Seattle's record-setting losing season has been a rough backdrop, but Johnson has consistently been the Storm's brightest spot. Monday's 29-point, 6-assist, 4-steal performance against Las Vegas was a showcase game — the kind of line that gets clipped and quoted when award voters convene. Even in a 98-77 loss, Johnson's individual impact was undeniable.

She added 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists in Thursday's 103-91 loss to Dallas, finishing the week as one of Seattle's most reliable contributors. CBS Sports profiled her this week as part of a broader feature on how Johnson flourished personally despite the Storm's historic futility — citing her resilience, her buy-in to Seattle's young rebuild, and her offseason plans, including Unrivaled. The framing wasn't consolation; it was recognition of a genuine breakout.

Johnson won't be playing playoff basketball this October, but she's done more than enough to establish herself as a cornerstone of Seattle's future — and one of the most compelling rookie stories of the 2026 season.

---

Two Tigers, two playoff-adjacent stories. Reese is hunting a championship. Johnson is building toward one. LSU's WNBA footprint just keeps growing.

Angel Reese Owns the Record Books

Angel Reese didn't ease back into the WNBA season. She detonated.

In her first game after returning from the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup — where she helped Team USA win gold — the LSU product dropped 30 points and 10 rebounds in just 25 minutes against the Connecticut Sun, leading the Atlanta Dream to a 103-59 blowout. The performance was efficient to the point of embarrassing: Reese shot 11-of-14 from the field and finished with her 30th double-double of the season, a new WNBA single-season record.

That's not a record in the sense of "most in a few years." That's all-time, and Reese got there in dominant fashion.

The win was also the largest in Dream franchise history, a 44-point margin that sent a clear message to the rest of the league. Reese's own postgame quote made the intent explicit: "Gotta leave a taste in everybody's mouth." Consider it done.

The record-setting night drew immediate attention to Reese's MVP candidacy. Former WNBA star Tina Thompson went on record stating she believes Reese already belongs in the conversation — and after a 30-10 line in 25 minutes, it's hard to argue otherwise. Reese also joined an exclusive club of just seven WNBA and NBA players to achieve a specific statistical feat in the 21st century, per reporting this week.

She followed that historic Thursday with another double-double Saturday, putting up 23 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks in a 106-81 Dream win over Chicago — a +26 performance that underscored just how locked in she is heading into October.

A Note of Concern for Atlanta

The Dream's playoff picture isn't entirely clean. Atlanta announced that four-time All-Star Brionna Jones will miss the remainder of the season due to injury — a significant loss in the frontcourt as the team prepares for the postseason. How much that affects the Dream's depth will be something to monitor, but with Reese playing at this level, Atlanta remains a genuine threat.

Flau'jae Johnson Lights Up the Box Score

Elsewhere in the LSU diaspora, Flau'jae Johnson had a big individual night Friday for the Seattle Storm — 25 points against Las Vegas — even as the team fell 114-77 in a lopsided loss. The Storm's -32 plus-minus for Johnson tells the broader story of the game, but the scoring output signals she remains a legitimate offensive contributor as Seattle closes out its season.

Aneesah Morrow suited up for Toronto against Indiana on Friday, though box score details were not available.

---

The bottom line for LSU fans: Angel Reese is playing the best basketball of her professional career at exactly the right time, and her record-setting week has the Dream — and the rest of the WNBA — taking notice.