Angel Reese Draws Attention for Photo With NBA Legend After Dream Win
It might be early, but Angel Reese appears to have found a much happier home in Atlanta after helping the Dream achieve its fourth win of the young WNBA season.
Reese put together a solid overall performance, finishing with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds in the victory. Her four steals, four assists, and a block also aided Atlanta in picking up its 82-80 win over the Phoenix Mercury.
Phoenix held a 57-49 lead over the home team heading into the fourth quarter, but Atlanta finished strong, outscoring the Mercury, 33-23.
Reese came up big in the final minutes of the game, hitting a significant free throw to extend her team’s slim lead, and later stealing the ball on a bad Alyssa Thomas before the Mercury had a chance for a last-second shot to tie or win.
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Following the game, a photo surfaced showing Reese linking up with an NBA legend who was in Atlanta to watch her play. Julius “Dr. J” Irving stepped onto the court to congratulate Reese, hugging the WNBA star in a moment captured for the internet.
The WNBA shared the photo of Reese, all smiles, posing with the former NBA MVP, 11-time All-Star, Slam Dunk champion, who also won a championship in 1983 with the Philadelphia 76ers.
“GREATNESS Angel Reese posing with the legendary Julius Erving, after getting the defensive stop to secure @AtlantaDream’s win over Phoenix,” the WNBA photo’s caption read.
The image picked up over 2,800 likes on X, and many comments from fans and critics reacting to the image of the NBA legend with the two-time WNBA All-Star.
“THE AGENDA AGAINST ANGEL IS OBVIOUS AND WILL CONTRIBUTE TO HER GREATNESS!” one commenter said in the replies.
A critical commenter wrote, “Don’t ever compare Angel Reese with Julius Erving lmfao this is insulting.”
“Yall biggest star. She literally has it all and yall refs are trying to quiet her stardom but its all good. Can’t stop this train,” someone wrote.
“Y’all using these weird refs to execute your lame agenda towards her, she’s the worst officiated player in the league and it gets ridiculous every game,” a commenter suggested.
As part of her latest stat line, Reese was 6-for-16 on field goals, had four fouls and three turnovers, and played 17 minutes, the third most of any Dream player. More importantly, Atlanta is now 4-1 and leading the WNBA’s Eastern Conference ahead of Caitlin Clark and the 4-2 Indiana Fever.
Reese has often drawn criticism for poor shooting, or the “mebounds,” which are her grabbing her own rebounds on the missed shots. However, the offseason trade may have been a recipe for the sort of success Reese wanted to achieve in her career, particularly with reaching the postseason.
While she’s not a WNBA legend yet and her numbers may not be league-leading or jaw-dropping, she’s contributing to a team that looks much more capable of contending than the previous Chicago Sky squad, which struggled to win.
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This story was originally published May 24, 2026 at 5:24 PM.