WNBA GMs make surprising championship call involving Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark

The WNBA’s annual GM survey asked executives one major question ahead of the season: Who will win the 2026 WNBA Finals? The defending champion Las Vegas Aces led the way with 40 percent of the vote, while the New York Liberty followed with 33 percent. The only other team to receive votes was the Atlanta Dream at 27 percent.

Notably, the Indiana Fever received no votes despite reaching the playoffs in back-to-back seasons and pushing Las Vegas to five games in last year’s semifinals. That disconnect is what makes the survey results so interesting.

Reese joins an Atlanta roster that already had playoff expectations before adding one of the league’s best rebounders and toughest interior players. After spending her first two seasons carrying a rebuilding Chicago team, she now enters a situation built to compete immediately.

MORE: Caitlin Clark no longer tops WNBA GMs’ franchise player rankings

Reese’s move to Atlanta changed the conversation

Reese’s individual production has never really been questioned. She led the league in rebounding during each of her first two WNBA seasons and established herself as one of the sport’s most physical and relentless forwards. The issue in Chicago was always team success. The Sky finished just 10-34 last season, tied for the league’s worst record.

Atlanta presents an entirely different situation. Instead of trying to elevate a rebuilding roster, Reese now becomes part of a veteran group expected to contend near the top of the standings. That change alone appears to have convinced several WNBA executives that the Dream are ready to make a serious Finals run.

Clark’s situation is different. Even after injuries limited her to 13 games in 2025, she still helped keep Indiana in the playoff picture and remains the centerpiece of one of the league’s fastest-growing franchises.

But the GM survey suggests executives still view the Fever as a step behind the league’s elite contenders heading into 2026. That only adds more intrigue to the first Fever-Dream showdown on June 4, when Clark and Reese meet again with even bigger expectations surrounding both teams.

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