The Atlanta Dream suffered a 64-55 loss against the Golden State Valkyries on Monday, marking their second straight defeat in the 2026 WNBA Finals. After taking a 2-1 series lead, the Dream have struggled to maintain their momentum.

Now, former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho has called out Angel Reese for failing to deliver when her team needs her most.

Emmanuel Acho Is Not Happy With Angel Reese’s Poor Performance

During a recent episode of the“Speakeasy” podcast, Acho criticized Reese for attracting attention with her strong performances but failing to maintain that same level of play.

Acho pointed out that Reese had earned the spotlight through her impressive performances and Atlanta’s earlier playoff success. However, he believes that once a player attracts that kind of attention, they must be prepared to face criticism when their performances decline.

“Angel, you can’t call for attention and hang up. And your game called for attention because your team had won seven out of eight consecutive playoff games. Angel, you can’t call for attention and hang up. Your game had called for attention. Absolutely balling. First three games of the WNBA finals.”

“You were averaging 21 points and 14 boards. Your game had called for attention, but you can’t call for attention and hang up because the last two games got to have them games. You’ve had more turnovers and made field goals. The [Atlanta] Dream live and die by Angel Reese. They were living, sitting on the throne. Yet these last two games, they’re gasping for oxygen because Angel hasn’t shown up,” Acho said during the segment.

In the first three games of the series against Golden State, Reese averaged 21.7 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. Her performances helped Atlanta establish itself as a serious contender for the championship.

However, things have changed over the last two games. Reese managed just 8 points in Game 4 before finishing with only 7 points in Monday’s Game 5 defeat.

Game 5 itself didn’t start badly for Atlanta. The Dream actually had a decent opening and led by 1 point after the first quarter. But their scoring slowed in the second quarter, and by halftime they trailed by 3 points. The Valkyries scored 39 points in the second half, and the Dream could not handle the pressure, losing the game.

During the podcast, Acho also offered some advice to the Dream star. He suggested that Reese should focus on performing at such a high level that those watching her games would have little reason to criticize her.

“So if you are going to show up, you always have to show up in the biggest moments. Because now the whole world isn’t necessarily watching, but the whole world is talking. With everybody talking about you, don’t give them nothing negative to say,” Acho added.

The Dream are already preparing for Game 6, which will be played on Thursday at State Farm Arena. They will have their home crowd behind them, and they will need every bit of that energy.