Angel Reese is the Associated Press WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, and she had to take the award from A’ja Wilson to get it. The AP announced its season awards on Sunday, and Reese was also named to the AP All-WNBA second team alongside her Atlanta Dream teammate Rhyne Howard.
Wilson had won Defensive Player of the Year in three of the previous four seasons. She still walked away with Player of the Year for the third straight season, the fourth of her career and the most by any player since the AP started handing out the awards in 2016. The defensive crown, though, now belongs to Reese.
The numbers backed her up. Angel Reese finished third in the league in steals, led the WNBA in rebounding for the third consecutive season and had the range to guard most positions on the floor. That combination is rare for a forward, and voters rewarded it.
She did not ease into Atlanta. She did not spend a season finding her footing. She came in and took a trophy Wilson had owned for years.
Reese moved to the Dream this offseason after two seasons with the Chicago Sky, and the change paid off right away. She made her third straight All-Star team and helped Atlanta lock up the No. 4 seed. She also helped Team USA win gold at the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup, where the Americans leaned heavily on their defense.
Howard earned her own spot on the second team, giving Atlanta two of the five players on the unit. The former No. 1 overall pick made her fourth All-Star team this season and was already building a defensive reputation, having been named to the WNBA All-Defensive Second Team last year as the first Dream player to earn an All-Defense honor since 2020. Paige Bueckers of Dallas, Jackie Young of Las Vegas and Gabby Williams of Golden State round out the second team.
The AP All-WNBA first team features Wilson, Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell of Indiana, Olivia Miles of Minnesota and Breanna Stewart of New York. Miles was a unanimous pick for Rookie of the Year after setting the WNBA record for points by a rookie, passing the mark Clark set in 2024. Clark was named Comeback Player of the Year after averaging 22.3 points and 8.3 assists, and Minnesota’s Cheryl Reeve won Coach of the Year for the third time.
For Angel Reese, the timing could not be better. The award arrives right before the first playoff run of her WNBA career, with the Dream heading into the postseason as a top four team.