Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham has faced Angel Reese on the court many times. This season, the Fever battled the Atlanta Dream four times, splitting the series 2-2.
The Fever, however, are now out of the playoffs after the Las Vegas Aces eliminated them in the first round. Meanwhile, Reese and the Dream trail the Golden State Valkyries 1-0 in the WNBA Finals.
Cunningham had a lot to say about Reese in a recent episode of the Fever guard’s “No Hesitation” podcast. Cunningham and her co-host, renowned basketball trainer Drew Hanlen, discussed how Reese has improved her three-point shot in the playoffs.
Reese has shot just 18.9% from three throughout her WNBA career. However, that number has jumped to 35.7% (on 2.3 attempts) over six playoff games. Cunningham and Hanlen praised Reese’s hard work and the support she has received from Dream head coach Karl Smesko.
Cunningham acknowledged that Reese has never been a real threat from deep — at least until now.
“This is just me being frank: when you’re playing Atlanta, you’re okay with giving up the shot,” Cunningham said at the 29:09 mark. “You’re okay. You will live with her making threes.”
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Reese struggled from beyond the arc during the regular season, making 11 of 57 attempts across 43 games.
The three-time All-Star, however, has changed the narrative in the postseason. She’s significantly improved her efficiency from deep, going 5-for-14 heading into Game 2 of the finals.
Cunningham went on to praise Reese’s defensive prowess. At the same time, the Fever star believes her offense has nowhere to go but up.
“She is a great, great defensive player,” Cunningham said. “She blocks the [expletive] out of everybody. She rebounds the [expletive] out of the ball. She gets so much credit for that.
“Offensively, her game is going to grow.”
Reese and the Dream are now looking to even the series before it shifts to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4. Game 2 tips off at 8:00 p.m. ET Monday night at Chase Center.
