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5 stats that prove Angel Reese deserved WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year award

Angel Reese captured her first WNBA Defensive Player of the Year honor on Thursday, securing 46 of the 74 available ballots. The achievement marks a historic milestone as she becomes the inaugural player from the Atlanta franchise to claim the accolade.

This distinction arrived just under a day after she contributed 15 points and seven rebounds to push Atlanta past Washington in Game 2 of their opening-round postseason matchup, clinching the 93-75 victory and advancing the squad to the league semifinals for the initial time this decade.

Several key metrics underlined her selection for the league's top defensive honor. For a third consecutive campaign, she paced the association in rebounds by averaging 12.1 per contest while capturing over 30 percent of available defensive boards during her floor time.

Additionally, she collected 77 steals to rank third overall, bolstered a fourth-best individual defensive rating of 100.0, and helped fuel an Atlanta unit that surrendered the second-fewest points per possession in the competition during a surge featuring seven consecutive victories.

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Atlanta Dream celebrate Angel Reese after AP Defensive Player of the Year honor