Angel Reese must be feeling very vindicated at the moment. Despite all the vitriol she's been receiving even dating back to her days in college, Reese has soldiered on, worked on her game, and she's thriving at the grandest stage of the WNBA. On Friday night, she led the Dream to an 85-83 victory in Game 3 of their WNBA semifinal clash against the New York Liberty to complete the sweep in a five-game set — booking their ticket to the 2026 WNBA Finals.

Reese led her team in scoring with 22 points, and she added nine rebounds, three assists, one steal, and two blocks; never mind the fact that Allisha Gray missed another game due to a hand injury, Reese took it upon herself to set the tone for her team on defense, and timely buckets from DeWanna Bonner, Jordin Canada, and Rhyne Howard allowed the team to get over the hump.

It's a testament to the strength of Reese's support system that she continues to pay not much attention to her detractors and just keep playing her game. She credited her mother for helping her achieve her dreams, especially now that she's just four wins away from winning a WNBA title.

“Being a single mom, raising me and my brother kinda by herself. She did a lot of work on her own. For me to repay her by her living through me and being able to support me and show up. That's all I ask for. Support me, show up, and love me, and I'll give you the world,” Reese said in her postgame presser, via ESPN.

“That's just her. That's just who she is. She's not very hard on me. But she's very loving, and she's very caring, and she's very proud because she know the dark moments I've been through. I can pick up the phone at three o'clock in the morning, call her crying, and she's just been there for me.”

“I'm just so thankful to have a mom like that, that's just constantly being there for me.”

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