The Atlanta Dream entered the postseason with the league's second-best offensive and defensive ratings. They looked like the biggest threat to a seemingly inevitable Lynx-Aces finals. The short-handed Indiana Fever had something to say about that, though.
Atlanta took care of business in its playoff opener, beating Indiana 80-68. The Fever entered the playoffs without Caitlin Clark, Aari McDonald, Sophie Cunningham, Sydney Colson, Chloe Bibby, and Damiris Dantas, so the Dream were the overwhelming favorites to win the series. The Fever forced a Game 3 with a surprising 77-60 win in Indiana and then beat the Dream by two points in Atlanta to advance to the semifinals.
It was a heartbreaking loss for the Dream—a team that exceeded expectations in the regular season and had its eyes set on a deep playoff run. The franchise hasn’t made it past the first round since 2018 and hoped to change that this year.
Nevertheless, rookie head coach Karl Smesko had an encouraging message after the game. “We’re here to bring a championship to the Dream. It’s going to be delayed. It’s not going to be denied,” he said in the postgame press conference.
Atlanta ended the season with a heartbreaking last-second loss
The game was close for all 40 minutes. Atlanta’s largest lead was eight and Indiana’s four. Neither team was able to create much separation, causing the game to be decided in the clutch.
The Dream entered the fourth quarter with a four-point lead. Indiana didn’t tie the game until 3:21 left in the final quarter on a tip by Bri Turner. After that, Brionna Jones and Rhyne Howard gave the Dream a five-point lead that the Fever overcame with three consecutive layups by Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull, and Aliyah Boston.
Down one point with 7.4 seconds left, the Dream had to inbound the ball in front of the Fever’s bench. They struggled to get the ball in, so they called a timeout. The second try didn’t end much better. Howard tried to get the ball to Jones, but Lexie Hall got the steal, forcing Naz Hillmon to send Odyssey Sims to the free throw line with 1.2 seconds left. Jones got one last tough shot off after the free throws, but didn’t make it.
The Dream still had a good season
While the way the season ended is incredibly disappointing, the Dream had a good year before. Smesko proved himself as a rookie head coach, implementing a strong system. Allisha Gray and Naz Hillmon had career years. The latter completely changed her game, adding a lethal 3-point shot to her arsenal.
Few championship-hopefuls win anything without dealing with a massive disappointment first. The Liberty lost in the first round in 2022 and then lost the 2023 Finals to the Aces before winning a title in 2024. Likewise, the Aces lost the finals in 2020 and then didn’t make it out of the second round in the next year before winning back-to-back titles.
The Dream still have a chance to come back and go on a deeper playoff run with the same core.