Brionna Jones’ impact is prominent for the Dream in her return

Her teammates quickly noticed the impact.

“Seeing her on the sideline, playing against her all last year and my rookie year, and finally being able to play with her felt really good,” Angel Reese said. “… She’s a great leader for us, and we’re just really happy to have Bri back.”

That win over the Tempo marked the first time Jones shared the court with Reese, and in 11 minutes with those two on the court, the Dream outscored the Tempo by 12 points (33-21). The two are expected to anchor Atlanta’s frontcourt heading into the second half of the season.

While Jones was sidelined, Naz Hillmon stepped into that role alongside Reese and helped stabilize the position after thriving as the leader of the second unit.

Now that Jones has returned, Reese can shift back to her natural power forward position and have more freedom on the glass. It should also reduce some of the physical wear she runs into defensively, with Jones providing another strong rebounding presence and helping slow opponents in transition.

Coach Karl Smesko praised Jones’ basketball IQ following her return.

“She’s just such a smart player… she just understands spacing and where to move to help everybody function. She set good screens. Her post-ups were really good when people went to double her,” Smesko said. “She made the right decision defensively. She was really loud, communicated well. She played great for somebody who hasn’t played all season.”

Before returning, Jones said one of the biggest things she noticed from the bench was the importance of spacing and limiting turnovers. Even while sidelined, she found ways to contribute by communicating with teammates throughout games and practices.

In her second appearance against the Sky on July 19, Jones finished with six points and 10 rebounds off the bench. She also had the assist on Jordin Canada’s buzzer-beating layup that gave the Dream the two-point victory.

“Having Bri (Jones) back out on the floor, having another vet out there, and just the experience that she has, she means a lot to this team,” Canada said in the postgame press conference. “And we know Bri can do it all, especially on the defensive glass. So her coming in, getting the spot for this game and rebound, that was huge for us to be able to just grab the ball and have possession of it. And so that’s what Bri does.”

Jones acknowledged before her return that she wouldn’t immediately be back to All-Star form. Even so, the impact she’s already made with her experience, energy and depth has been evident.

“We’re getting our whole team together, now we want to see how good we can become,” Smesko said.