With an impressive 10-4 start to the season, the Atlanta Dream quickly established themselves as one of the top teams in the WNBA this season. After that stretch, the Dream slowed down a bit, losing six of their next eleven games. That allowed Minnesota, New York, and Phoenix to create some separation and claim the top three spots in the standings.
Atlanta isn’t far behind, however, and just made a massive statement with consecutive road wins without Rhyne Howard against the Mercury and Lynx. Beating two of the best teams in the league on the road without one of your top players is quite the accomplishment. If there was any doubt that the Dream could compete with the three established contenders, they did their best to erase it.
The Dream have beaten all of the top three teams now
After a tough loss to the Las Vegas Aces, the Dream bounced back quickly. Led by Allisha Gray’s 28 points, Atlanta got a 90-79 victory over a Mercury team that finally had all of its stars available.
The Dream followed up that win with a four-point win over the Lynx. Playing a physical game, the Dream neutralized the Lynx’s key scorers outside of Collier and withstood a second-half comeback from the league’s top team.
With that win, the Dream have now won at least one game against all of the top three teams in the league. Only the Seattle Storm accomplished that feat before the Dream.
Atlanta is well set up for the playoffs
With a 15-10 record, Atlanta is only one game behind Phoenix in the standings. Karl Smesko’s squad ranks fourth in offensive rating and sixth in defensive rating, thriving on both sides of the ball.
Allisha Gray has been one of the best players in the league all season long. Rhyne Howard was named an All-Star before her injury, and Brionna Jones also earned an All-Star nod as an injury replacement. Naz Hillmon is making a compelling case to be named Sixth Player of the Year. Brittney Griner had two big games against the Lynx and Mercury, and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough has looked much improved over her last three games.
The Dream’s roster features great star power, but those stars are also surrounded by the right role players. Atlanta’s depth allowed the team to overcome injuries. To start the season, rookie Te-Hina Paopao filled in for Jordin Canada, and Maya Caldwell slid into the starting lineup for Rhyne Howard when she injured her knee.
The Dream will make some noise in the playoffs, and potentially not just in the first round. If the season ended today, the Dream would have to go up against the Storm in the first round. Seattle has been strong most of the season behind All-Star-level play from Nneka Ogwumike, Gabby Williams, and Skylar Diggins. As of now, the Dream have a 1-1 record against the Storm.
While Seattle is one of the tougher first-round matchups any of the top four teams could face, it is a series the Dream can win. Beyond that, they have proven that they can beat even better teams as well and cause some trouble for Minnesota, New York, or Phoenix in the playoffs.
After the win over Minnesota, head coach Karl Smesko said, “I do think it’s important as you, you know, get into a playoff situation that you already have some experience winning big games on the road against the best teams. So, you know, there hasn’t been a better team than Minnesota this year…for us to come out and play as we did and get the win—I think it’s something that we’ll remember that we’re capable of.”