Angel Reese has added the biggest individual honor of her career to a season that was already rewriting the record books.The Atlanta Dream forward was named the 2026 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday, becoming the first player in franchise history to win the award. The 24-year-old received 46 votes from a national panel of 74 sportswriters and broadcasters, finishing well ahead of Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams, who placed second with 20 votes. Las Vegas Aces center-forward A’ja Wilson received 4 votes.The award caps a dominant third WNBA season for Reese — and her first in an Atlanta uniform after the Dream acquired her from the Chicago Sky in a preseason trade on April 6. It is the kind of first-year impact teams dream about when they make blockbuster deals.Reese set league records this season for total rebounds (521) and double-doubles (32), while averaging a career-high 16.4 points and a league-best 12.1 rebounds across 43 games. She also finished third in the league in steals per game (1.8) and total steals (77), and set a career high with 32 blocked shots.Her rebounding transformed Atlanta’s defense. Behind Reese, the Dream ranked third in the WNBA in defensive rating (103.5) and allowed a league-low 9.5 second-chance points per game. Opponents simply could not get extra looks — when a shot went up, it ended with the ball in Reese’s hands.The honor arrives at a perfect time for Atlanta. The Dream just swept the Washington Mystics in the first round of the playoffs, closing out the series with a 93-75 win in Game 2 on Wednesday. It was Reese’s first playoff series victory, and Atlanta’s first semifinal trip since 2018.Now Reese and the Dream turn their attention to the New York Liberty in a best-of-five semifinal starting Sunday. Atlanta enters the series as one of the league’s hottest teams, having won 13 of its final 15 regular-season games.Reese is a three-time All-Star, and this award cements her status as the league’s premier two-way force. If the Dream keep playing defense the way they have all season, Sunday’s semifinal opener will be must-see basketball.