Reese, Howard and Canada Make All-Defense — Golden State Has Three Answers
GOATIFYThree Atlanta Dream players were named to the 2026 WNBA All-Defensive teams on October 15. That is impressive on its own. The twist is that their next opponent has exactly the same number of selections. Angel Reese and Rhyne Howard made the First Team, Jordin Canada took a Second Team place, and the Golden State Valkyries counter with Gabby Williams, Veronica Burton and Kiah Stokes.
The awards arrive two days before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on October 17. Atlanta's trio finished first, second and third in steals per game across the entire league. Golden State, meanwhile, allowed fewer points per game than any other team. Those are different ways to control a basketball game, and they set up a championship series where a missed passing angle or a second-chance rebound could matter as much as a star scorer's hot streak.
Reese's award reflects more than her record rebounding
Angel Reese was already the league's Defensive Player of the Year before Thursday's All-Defensive announcement. The First Team selection adds a different kind of recognition: it places her among the five defenders judged most impactful across the season, not simply at the top of a single statistical category. In her first year with Atlanta, Reese brought a possession-by-possession force that opponents had to plan around.
Her league-leading 3.4 defensive win shares came alongside 12.1 rebounds per game and 315 defensive rebounds for the season. The latter figure matters because a stop is not complete when a shot misses. It is complete when the defense owns the next possession. Atlanta relied on Reese to finish that sequence while still helping its guards pressure the ball and contest interior attempts. She also collected 77 steals and recorded 32 blocks, a career high.
The most revealing number in Atlanta's announcement may be its on/off figure: the Dream allowed 7.9 fewer points per 100 possessions with Reese on the floor than with her off it. That is a team statistic rather than a perfect measure of individual ability, because lineups and opponents change. Still, the size of the difference supports what the eye test suggests: her defensive value is not confined to a box-score rebound total.
There is a practical Finals question here. Golden State's Kiah Stokes is an accomplished rim protector, and its perimeter players can make entries into the paint uncomfortable. Reese can punish a possession with a rebound even when Atlanta does not create a clean first shot. But if the Valkyries keep her off the offensive glass, they remove one of the Dream's easiest ways to turn a difficult possession into points. That battle will tell us more about the series than another debate over whether a rebound looks spectacular.
Howard's 2.3 steals per game made the perimeter dangerous
Rhyne Howard led the WNBA with 2.3 steals per game in 2026. She also established an Atlanta franchise record for steals in a season, ranked third in defensive win shares at 3.2 and finished with 39 blocks. For a guard, that is an unusually broad defensive profile: she can challenge a pass on the perimeter and still affect a shot after an opponent gets past the first line.
Howard was a Second Team All-Defensive pick in 2025. Moving onto the First Team in 2026 is a meaningful progression, but the bigger story is how her anticipation fits with Atlanta's collective approach. A defender who aggressively jumps every passing lane can give up backdoor cuts. Howard's best possessions are not just the steals she completes; they are the passes opponents decide not to attempt because she is waiting in the gap.
That threat changes the geometry of an offense. Ballhandlers need safer angles and sometimes an extra dribble before starting a set. A wing may catch the ball a step farther from the basket. An entry pass to a post player arrives late enough for the defense to reset. Those small delays can be especially costly against a team with a strong rebounding presence behind its guards.
Atlanta also converts defensive pressure into offense. The Dream averaged 18.1 points off turnovers during the regular season. Not all of those points came from Howard, but her ability to create live-ball mistakes is central to that identity. Golden State will want to make her defend sustained possessions rather than feed Atlanta transition chances. A quick first pass is useful only if it is the correct pass; against Howard, impatience can become a fast break in the other direction.
Canada completed a steals sweep no other trio had managed
Jordin Canada's Second Team honor is easy to overlook beside two First Team teammates. It should not be. She finished second in the league at 1.9 steals per game, just behind Howard, while Reese ranked third at 1.8. No three teammates had previously occupied the top three spots in that category in the same WNBA season. That is not a normal distribution of defensive playmaking; it is an entire backcourt-and-frontcourt structure built around taking time and space away.
Canada's strength is the first few seconds of a possession. She can meet a ballhandler early, apply pressure without needing a trap on every play, and make the opposing guard start an action from a less comfortable spot. When a team is forced to begin its offense late, even an ordinary screen or handoff becomes more difficult to execute. Canada also ranked ninth in defensive win shares at 2.6, reinforcing that her impact extended beyond the occasional steal.
This is Canada's third career All-Defensive selection. Experience matters in a Finals setting because the opposition will test the same matchup repeatedly, looking for a weak side or a foul-prone defender. Canada has the footwork and anticipation to vary her pressure rather than treating every possession as a gamble. Atlanta needs that discipline: if she overcommits and a teammate must rotate, the Dream can surrender the open shot that its pressure was supposed to prevent.
The Dream's three honorees combined for 6.0 steals per game in the regular season. That does not mean Atlanta can expect six steals from them in every Finals contest; opponents will study the tendencies and adjust. It does mean Golden State must protect its passing lanes across all five positions. Even when Canada does not touch the ball, she can make the next decision more complicated for the player holding it.
Golden State has three honorees and the league's toughest scoring defense
Atlanta did not corner the market on defensive awards. Golden State also placed three players on the 2026 All-Defensive teams: Gabby Williams on the First Team, with Veronica Burton and Kiah Stokes on the Second Team. That symmetry is more than a neat Finals talking point. The Valkyries allowed a league-low 75.1 points per game and held opponents to 41.4% shooting from the field during the regular season.
Williams finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting and averaged 1.6 steals per game. Her versatility lets Golden State change assignments without giving up its defensive identity. Burton, also at 1.6 steals per game, was a major part of the perimeter resistance and posted a 95.7 defensive rating in the club's published breakdown. Stokes supplied the interior protection, averaging 1.7 blocks and recording 11 games with at least three blocks. Together, they give the Valkyries answers at the point of attack, on the wing and near the basket.
Golden State's team numbers extend beyond scoring. It led the league in opponent three-point percentage at 32.6%, opponent points in the paint at 31.1 per game and defensive rating at 99.1. Those categories describe a defense that can take away several different routes to a basket. Atlanta's task is to find offense without surrendering the transition opportunities it usually generates with its own pressure.
That is why the opening game in San Francisco on October 17 is so intriguing. Reese can create extra possessions on the glass, but Stokes can contest shots and box out. Howard and Canada can attack passing lanes, but Williams and Burton can answer with pressure of their own. Neither team's awards guarantee a clean performance. The winner of each small confrontation may change from quarter to quarter. Watch the turnover margin, offensive rebounds and points scored immediately after defensive stops. They are likely to reveal which style is actually imposing itself before the scoreboard makes the answer obvious.
Atlanta's three All-Defensive selections recognize a rare combination: Reese on the glass and around the rim, Howard anticipating passes, and Canada making ballhandlers work for every entry. Golden State's matching trio earned its honors by anchoring a defense that gave opponents almost nothing easy. The awards do not predict the Finals winner. They explain why this series could be decided by details that rarely dominate highlight reels: who secures the rebound, who protects the ball, and which team turns one defensive stop into the next possession's advantage.
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