Angel Reese, Dream Clinch 2026 WNBA Playoff Berth, Updated Bracket Picture and Standings

The Atlanta Dream extended their WNBA playoff streak to four seasons.

Atlanta is assured of a top-eight position with a 99-89 win over the Phoenix Mercury. Angel Reese scored a career-high 31 points and hauled in 14 rebounds for her 26th double-double of the season.

With the result he Dream sit fourth overall at 24-13.

2026 WNBA Standings

1. Minnesota Lynx (31-7); clinched

2. Golden State Valkyries (25-11); clinched

3. Las Vegas Aces (25-13); clinched

4. Atlanta Dream (24-13); clinched

5. Indiana Fever (24-14); clinched

6. New York Liberty (23-15)

7. Washington Mystics (21-15)

8. Dallas Wings (21-16)

9. Portland Fire (15-21)

10. Chicago Sky (15-22)

11. Los Angeles Sparks (13-24); eliminated

12. Phoenix Mercury (13-24); eliminated

13. Toronto Tempo (11-25); eliminated

14. Connecticut Sun (9-27); eliminated

15. Seattle Storm (7-30); eliminated

By this point, simply qualifying for the postseason doesn't count as success for the Dream. They didn't make it out of the first round in any of their last three trips, and they've won just one playoff game since 2018.

Especially with the core of the squad largely remaining for the last few years, Atlanta can't afford to keep hitting the same ceiling when it counts.

There might be some concern within the fanbase that that's exactly what will happen again this fall when it feels as though we've seen this story before.

Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard and Reese were all All-Stars, but none of the three has taken a huge leap on the court.

Howard is averaging 18.2 points per game, which is close to her scoring average between 2023-25 (17.4 points). Gray is a good offensive engine who's setting a career high with 19.4 points, but her three-point shooting (32.5 percent) has gone backwards. Reese is still a walking double-double (16.3 points, 12.0 rebounds), yet the same concerns about her inefficiency and lack of range remain.

Adding further worry for Atlanta is that some of the supporting players aren't matching the heights they enjoyed in 2025.

Sixth Player of the Year Naz Hillmon has regressed as a floor-spacer. Guard Te-Hina Paopao was shooting just 34.4 percent overall before she was sidelined by a right leg injury. Four-time All-Star Brionna Jones hasn't looked as sharp since suffering a torn meniscus while playing overseas.

It's not as though the sky is falling for the Dream. They rank third in net rating (plus-6.8), per WNBA.com, but it's impossible not to contrast their performance now with that of a season ago, when they tied for the league's second-best record (30-14) and were second in net rating (plus-9.3).

Reese is a big wild card too because she didn't make the playoffs in her two years with the Chicago Sky. She's unproven on that stage, and her limited range is the kind of thing an opposing team will try to target in a postseason series.

At their best, the Dream can compete with just about any other team in the league, but few will have them as Finals favorites. Should they fail to turn a corner, general manager Dan Padover may need to take a long, hard look at the roster construction.