Angel Reese determined to lead something special for Atlanta Dream starting on big WNBA Finals stage

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Well before tipoff, Atlanta coach Karl Smesko could see it in his superstar’s face: a sheer focus and fierce determination fixed on a single purpose to take over in every aspect.

Angel Reese fully realized her team couldn’t afford to fall behind by two games to the Golden State Valkyries in the best-of-seven WNBA Finals as the series shifts to Atlanta, so she led the charge on both ends and grabbed back some momentum for the Dream as they evened the series at one game apiece Monday night.

“Even from going in the locker room, first person I made eye contact with was Angel and I’m like: ‘Oh, I like this look. I like this look,'” Smesko, Atlanta’s second-year coach, said with a chuckle. “She started off aggressive. One thing we try to do is just give her a couple more breaks during the game, so that she can just keep that intensity going throughout the entire game, and she was just fantastic. Just on both ends of the floor, just a superior performance.”

The Dream won Game 2 79-65 as Reese delivered 30 points and 16 rebounds and Rhyne Howard set a WNBA Finals single-game record with six steals. That smothering defense flustered the Valkyries into committing 19 turnovers that led to 24 points for Atlanta. Game 3 is Wednesday night.

Now that her team has finally won its first Finals game after an 0-10 showing, which spanned three previous berths, Reese understands the defense and grit it will take to slow down Gabby Williams and a Golden State team that takes the same kind of pride in its top-notch defense — and did all season long to earn the league's No. 2 seed in just the second year for the franchise.

Reese felt she had failed the Dream when the Vallkyries buckled down on her leading to a scoreless second half in a 68-64 Game 1 defeat Saturday. She made sure it went differently Monday.

“I was hungry. I wanted one and we let one slip away and you can’t do that, especially on the road,” Reese said. “This is a good environment and a good team. We all came together and we were pissed. We felt disappointed. We felt embarrassed, and we didn’t like the outcome of that last game.”

After Game 2, Golden State point guard Veronica Burton felt similar emotions given her team's season-high turnovers, noting: “It starts with me.”

“It’s controllable, it’s definitely controllable,” coach Natalie Nakase said afterward.

“Just credit to them their effort, their hustle, their fight. I thought they did an excellent job getting into those lanes and creating those turnovers.”

The 24-year-old Reese became the youngest player to have a 30-point, 15-rebound performance in a playoff game and one of just six players ever to accomplish the feat in the postseason — joining Jonquel Jones of Connecticut in 2019 and Breanna Stewart for Seattle in 2020 as the only others to do so on the Finals stage.

At every chance, Reese called for the ball.

“Just the energy that she brings for our team, we feed off of that,” said guard Jordin Canada, who contributed 13 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. “So when she’s in that mode, we know we’ve got to give her the ball to some form of capacity, and try to give her as much space as she can to attack and do what she does best.”

The Dream will now be counting on their home crowd after dealing with the noise from Golden State's loyal, supportive “Ballhalla” fans. Games 3 and 4 were moved to State Farm Arena to accommodate more people — the Hawks' arena can host some 17,000 — than Atlanta's regular 3,500-seat Gateway Center Arena. Chase Center, meanwhile, has attracted sellout crowds of 18,064 for every Valkyries game since they started as an expansion franchise last year.

One of these teams will capture its first championship, and Reese wants to lead the way in the Dream taking the next big step to building something special for the long term.

“I think it's just the start,” she said. “Throughout the entire year we just continued to stick together and know who we are and we have the city behind us, we have the team, we have the coaches and everybody rally behind us so it feels really good. It's just the next step of who Atlanta is and who Atlanta is going to continue to be for the next couple years.”

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Golden State Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes, left, and Atlanta Dream guard Isobel Borlase, right, compete for possession of the ball during the first half of Game 2 of the WNBA basketball finals in San Francisco, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton (22) calls a play against the Atlanta Dream during the first half of Game 2 of the WNBA basketball finals, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Justine Willard)

Atlanta Dream forward Naz Hillmon, left, and Golden State Valkyries forward Laeticia Amihere (3) go for the ball during the second half of Game 2 of the WNBA basketball finals, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Justine Willard)

Golden State Valkyries center Kiah Stokes (41) blocks a shot by Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese (5) during the first half of Game 2 of the WNBA basketball finals Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in San Francisco. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese (5) reacts after an and-one foul during the second half of Game 2 of the WNBA basketball finals against the Golden State Valkyries, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Justine Willard)

Nearly a decade after Boeing unveiled its largest 737 Max jet, the company has cleared a major hurdle in its effort to bring the plane to airlines. The Federal Aviation Administration approved the Max 10 for passenger service Tuesday, ending years of delays.

The 737 Max 10’s certification represents another milestone in Boeing’s efforts to restore its reputation and financial footing after years of safety, quality and production challenges. With production approved, the aircraft can now be sold to domestic and foreign carriers.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the certification followed “extensive safety reviews,” including thousands of hours of test flights, and called it a major win for American manufacturing.

“To think that it took us almost 10 years to get here. We all probably had a little less gray hair 10 years ago," Duffy said during a visit to Boeing's manufacturing plant Tuesday in Everett, Washington.

The Max 10 is an important piece of the company's effort to regain ground in the narrow-body market. For airlines, the larger plane offers a way to carry more passengers on a single flight, potentially lowering costs per seat. For travelers, it could eventually mean more seats on popular routes, though the impact on fares will depend on how airlines deploy the planes and how much competition they face.

Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said during Duffy's visit that the certification "clears the path to deliver an airplane that will set a new standard in commercial aviation." The Max 10 will typically seat 185-210 passengers, according to Boeing, compared with 175-195 on the Max 9 and 160-180 on the Max 8.

“Today is a very, very special day. It caps years of hard work and dedication by many," Pope said. "It marks another major milestone in our recovery, and it unlocks a key to our future growth.”

The company expects to begin deliveries in 2027.

The single-aisle jet was introduced at the Paris air show in 2017 to help Boeing compete with rival Airbus. But technical and regulatory hurdles repeatedly delayed certification.

Boeing’s struggles have been particularly acute since two deadly crashes involving the smaller Max 8 killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019 off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia. In 2024, a panel flew off of an Alaska Airlines Max 9 in midair, renewing scrutiny of Boeing’s manufacturing and safety practices.

The delays have held up a key part of Boeing's business. More than 30 customers worldwide have ordered 1,555 Max 10s that Boeing has yet to deliver, accounting for more than 30% of its total 737 Max backlog.

Major customers include United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Ryanair. Alaska Airlines joined that list in January, ordering 105 Max 10s, with options for 35 more.

The Max 10 is intended to compete with Airbus’s A321neo model family, which entered service in 2017. The largest A321neo can carry more passengers and fly farther without refueling than the Max 10.

Still, Boeing designed the Max 10 to carry more passengers while burning less fuel than older aircraft — a potentially attractive combination for airlines facing soaring jet fuel costs amid the U.S. war with Iran. Those rising costs have put added pressure on airlines to control expenses.

Certification means the FAA has determined that the Max 10’s design meets safety standards, following engineering reviews and flight testing. But Boeing must continue to show it can consistently build the aircraft to the approved design, and each plane must be cleared before it can fly passengers.

The Max 10’s certification completes the lineup of four 737 Max models. The FAA cleared the Max 7 for airline operations in August.

Pope on Tuesday described the certification of both the Max 7 and Max 10 in the same year as a sign of the company’s resilience.

In the wake of the fatal Max 8 crashes, the FAA overhauled how it certifies Boeing aircraft. But over the past 18 months, the agency has gradually eased some of its restrictions on the company, increasing the limit on how many planes Boeing can produce. In July, the FAA also said Boeing could once again issue airworthiness certificates for its 737 Max and 787 planes at the end of production, allowing the company to take back some responsibility for determining whether finished aircraft are ready to fly.

FILE - The Boeing 737 MAX 10 performs a demonstration flight during the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, north of Paris, France, June 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)