The Golden State Valkyries defeated the Atlanta Dream 68-63 on Saturday night at Chase Center to win the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history and a championship in only their second season.
Jordan Robinson, an analyst on the "Girls Tripp" podcast, still sees the Dream as a team that's moving in the right direction.
This was Reese's third WNBA season but her first in Atlanta, as the Dream traded for her in April after she spent two years with the Chicago Sky. It was also her first trip to the playoffs.
"When you zoom out, this was still such a win of a season… This is Year 1 with Angel Reese," Robinson said . "You went to the Finals in your first year with Angel. So that is the beginning of something really impressive.
"I don't think there needs to be a blow-it-up or overhaul [or] get rid of the coach," Robinson added of an Atlanta team that went 30-14 and took the Finals to seven games in Reese's first season with the franchise.
Karl Smesko just finished his second season as Atlanta's head coach, and Robinson gave him a share of the credit.
"These past two years under Karl Smesko, 30-win seasons. Those are the franchise's best ever. You are making such good progress for a Dream team who honestly, during the past 10 years, have been struggling to find that identity, have been struggling to find the right coach, the right duo pairing," Robinson said.
Reese struck a similar tone after the loss, saying that "just because we didn't win today doesn't mean that we won't be champions in the future." She also looked ahead to the offseason with Smesko: "I'm sure he's going to see all of us this offseason, and I'm honestly looking forward to another year under Karl and his development and his system."
How close Atlanta came was central to Robinson's argument.
"Everybody calm down, don't overreact… There were still so many positives. You got to Game 7, you got to the Finals, you got to the final seconds. You were right there, so do not think this was a complete waste," Robinson said.
The Dream had reached the Finals three times before, in 2010, 2011 and 2013, and were swept each time. They won three games in this year's series against Golden State, including an 80-69 victory at State Farm Arena in Game 6 that forced the deciding game.
Robinson's final point was about the building: "You also proved that you deserve to be playing at State Farm Arena. That was a huge takeaway from these Finals, that you deserve the big space."
The Dream's main regular-season home this season, Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia, holds 3,500 fans and is the smallest venue in the league. Atlanta played every home playoff game at the roughly 17,000-seat State Farm Arena, and Finals Games 3, 4, and 6 were rescheduled around other events there.
Under a multi-year deal announced in October 2026, the Dream will play all of their home games at State Farm Arena starting with the 2027 season.
Every current Dream starter is under contract for next season, and five points separated Atlanta from the first championship in franchise history.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
