SAN FRANCISCO — Angel Reese bounded off the court through a shadowy tunnel at Chase Center, thumbs and index fingers flexed to form a “W” in front of her face. “Dubs in the chat,” she exclaimed. Her team had just done something no other squad had managed this postseason: beat the Valkyries in Ballhalla.

​Leveling the Finals 1–1, the Dream took Game 2 in commanding fashion, downing the Valkyries 79–65 on Monday night. Atlanta sped up the tempo and flustered Golden State, scoring 24 points off 19 Valkyries turnovers (the most Natalie Nakase’s team has coughed up in a single game this season). In a contest punctuated by 14 lead changes, Reese made the difference, helping Atlanta pull away down the stretch. Finishing with 30 points and 16 rebounds, Reese joined Jonquel Jones, Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker, Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson as the only players to have such a stat line in the playoffs. Reese is the youngest to achieve the feat. 

​“She’s such a competitor, and we feed off of her energy. So I think tonight she set the tone for sure,” Jordin Canada said after Game 2. “She was talking to us throughout the whole game, keeping us confident. And at one point she was like, ‘I need the ball, I need the ball.’ And we gave her the ball, and she went to work.”

​Reese is at her best when she is irreverent; when she can stalk up the hardwood with a razor-sharp chip on her shoulder; when she can demand ferocity from her teammates. The Valkyries should have known what was to come when Reese stepped up to the free-throw line late in the first quarter and got into a heated exchange with—of all people—WNBA newcomer Aminata Gueye. The Golden State rookie played one minute of Game 2—and spent a good portion of those 60 seconds getting an earful from the Defensive Player of the Year—but that’s of no concern for Reese. She is indifferent about the source of her fuel; all that matters to Reese is that her furnace is radiating heat.

​“Even from going into the locker room, the first person I made eye contact with was Angel,” Karl Smesko said after Monday’s win. “And I’m like, ‘I like this look. I like this look.’”

​When Reese enters a game with a head full of steam and a determined gaze, it typically bodes well for her side. In the semifinals against the Liberty, Reese played enforcer, exchanging words with Sabrina Ionescu after the New York guard got into it with Atlanta rookie Isobel Borlase. She also chirped at Jones and Stewart (two players she says she deeply respects), and the intensity only encouraged her team to dig in deeper. “When we get between those lines it’s literally war,” Reese said after praising Stewart and Jones following the Dream’s decisive semifinal win.

While her game has developed and her accountability and command mirror that of a veteran, this is the same Reese who flashed the “you can’t see me” hand gesture and wryly pointed to her ring finger, staring down Caitlin Clark as LSU defeated Iowa in the 2023 NCAA national championship game. Since her collegiate career, Reese has faced harsh criticism for her competitiveness. Some have been purposefully obtuse about her on-court tenacity and brashness. But Reese should, without qualification, be hailed for what she is: utterly entertaining. Don’t we want to watch a generational talent leave it all out on the court? And if they’re a masterful trash talker, all the better. Rejoice, the WNBA has its endlessly endearing heel, and she showed up on Monday night in Ballhalla, when her team needed her most.

One of the great maestros of aura, Reese is excellent at conjuring a vibe shift. Unhappy with her Game 1 performance after going scoreless in the second half, Reese wouldn’t let another opportunity slip away. She came out firing on all cylinders, jolting the Dream awake after a drowsy Finals debut.

​“We felt disappointed. We felt embarrassed. And we didn’t like the outcome of that last game,” Reese said. “I bring a lot of energy in the locker room. If it’s just a joke, if it’s just talking s---, it’s just my energy. And I wanted to make sure I was ready and on my toes, and whatever the team needed tonight, I was willing to do.”

​Reese hasn’t had it easy against Kiah Stokes this series, with the two battling it out in the paint. But she was relentless, exploiting mismatches when she could. “She was definitely way more aggressive,” Stokes said of Reese’s elevation from Game 1. “She had a great game, but we got to do a better job.”

Heading to Atlanta for Game 3, Reese & Co. won’t have the antagonizing Ballhalla boos raining down to motivate them. They won’t have the bitter taste of a poor performance in their mouths to fuel their revenge. Instead, the Dream are returning home triumphant, fresh off a series-altering recovery. But if any player can light a fire with only two sticks, it’s Reese.

“I was hungry,” Reese said after Game 2. If Reese enters State Farm Arena with an appetite again on Wednesday night, the Valkyries better not let her feast.