The Las Vegas successfully beat the Minnesota Lynx Thursday night, besting the team that previously beat them three times in a match that saw A'ja Wilson contribute 31 points on her own and concluded in a clear 97-87 win. The game seemingly set the stage for a highly-anticipated WNBA Finals run between the two teams — but that's only on the table if the Atlanta Dream somehow stop playing basketball between now and then.
As much as the Aces are on a spectacular 13-win streak right now, and as much as Wilson is proving yet again she's the default MVP until she decides to benevolently give someone else another shot at the crown, the Dream have played a slow, steady, and dominant style of basketball all season long. There is little doubt they will continue to do so as playoffs dawn, and the team will pose a formidable challenge to anyone and everyone they meet on the court.
The Dream, who are currently tied with the Aces with 27 wins and 14 losses, have the ability to lock in the No. 2 seed ahead of the season's end on September 11. They will face the Los Angeles Sparks Friday night, a team they've already beaten twice, before hosting the Sun at home and rounding out their season in Connecticut on September 10.
The Atlanta Dream has everything they need for a Finals push
In some ways, it doesn't really matter if the Dream enter the playoffs in the No. 2 or No. 3 spot — they will reap the benefits of their hard work no matter what. The team's strong performance this season is a testament to their coach (Karl Smesko entered the WNBA for the first time this season after serving as the founding coach for Florida Gulf Coast women’s basketball team) and the offseason moves the Dream made this year.
Those changes brought Brionna Jones, Brittney Griner, and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough to Atlanta this season, a move that was seen as a big one, but that didn't necessarily attract the same degree of attention that other teams received when they made their own preseason announcements. Undeterred, the Dream did what they do best: hooping.
This is the Dream's first appearance at the playoffs since 2018; a run all the way to the Finals would be their first since 2013. The team has shut down doubters all season, and has everything they need to go all the way: a strong combination of veterans with playoff experience, star power that will pull their fans out on the road along with them, role players who know exactly what their position is, and dominance on both ends of the floor.
They also have something that you can't teach: the self-determination to prove doubters wrong, one game at a time. When they're on fire — and the Dream so often are — they play one of the most cohesive games of basketball the 2025 season has seen. While it's tempting to dream up an endgame scenario that pits Wilson and Collier against one another (and, admittedly, that's one that would be very exciting to see), counting out the Dream would be a colossal mistake — and it's not one anyone can afford to make.