What you need to know about the first half of the Dream’s season

Adding a new piece to the puzzle

The Atlanta Dream has acquired two-time WNBA All-Star Angel Reese from the Chicago Sky in exchange for the Dream’s first-round picks in 2027 and 2028. As part of the trade, Atlanta also receives the right to swap second-round picks with Chicago in 2028. -Per Atlanta Dream PR

The alert came on April 6, and Atlanta fans instantly gave the Baltimore native a warm welcome.

In Reese’s introductory press conference with the team, she remarked that the city’s culture, people, and fans always made her feel at home, even while she was playing against the team.

“I love just being able to be here and feel loved and feel like the support is endless, and not just for me, but for everybody,” Reese said. “… I wanted to come here because the (core five) were here, and I’m just here to add to it.”

Head Coach Karl Smesko prioritized bringing back the core team after they fell to the Indiana Fever in the first round of the playoffs during the 2025 season. He wanted to, in his words, “run it back,” but this time bringing another essential piece to add to the team’s strengths.

Reese had to adjust to Smesko’s numbers-heavy coaching style and terminology during the preseason, but instantly fell into the fold. While center Brionna Jones was sidelined due to a right knee injury, Naz Hillmon and Reese shared frontcourt responsibilities.

Reese maintained her elite rebounding ability, averaging 11.5 rebounds per game. She surpassed 1,000 career rebounds – the fastest player in WNBA history to reach the milestone – tied Wings forward Jessica Shepard for the league lead in double-doubles and set a career high with six steals.

In almost every press conference or media availability, Reese doesn’t let a moment go by without expressing her gratitude for the opportunity to wear an Atlanta Dream uniform. Though she has also praised her previous two years with the Sky, she said she wasn’t satisfied and wanted to see more growth in her own play.

In Atlanta, she’s experienced just that.

“This organization is showing so much support. I was thinking about this morning, like, I just want to be a Dream forever because of the support that they’ve shown me from the fan base to my teammates and my coaches,” Reese said in a pregame media availability against the Chicago Sky. “It’s important, and I haven’t always had that. So, I’m just really grateful for it, and just the continued support here has really helped me.”

Fourth-quarter surges turn to late struggles

A recurring problem the Dream had to address was their start. Though the Dream were ranked No. 4 in the league standings and No. 1 in the Eastern Conference heading into July, they were finding ways to win but struggled to put teams away early.

Before their infamous West Coast road trip that kicked off their five-game losing streak, they had developed a knack for comeback wins. It was during the second half of the matchups that momentum shifted, and in the fourth quarter, they would come out on top.

Most of the time, that would work in their favor, allowing them to use all their pieces and build depth off the bench. Atlanta went on a four-game winning streak after defeating the Toronto Tempo on June 22 and established a faster start. Just as it seemed they had a system figured out, they took a trip to San Francisco to face the Golden State Valkyries and ran into bumps in the road that punished their original slow beginnings.

The light at the end of a tunnel

The Dream suffered a 77-66 loss to start their trip against the Valkyries, then faced them again and lost before falling to the Seattle Storm. Their July 2 loss to the Washington Mystics closed out their trip, during which the team vocalized their frustrations with the officiating.

“I can get fined, I don’t care, I’m just saying refs need to be better, we obviously need to be better, I’m not saying this is an excuse for our loss, but when you have things like this (poor calls) that happen in a momentum shift, that could be very frustrating,” Jordin Canada said after the game.

The team, along with Smesko, expressed that Reese had been on the receiving end of many missed calls, though the whistles were silent when other teams would foul them. Smesko remarked that they’ve had conversations with the refs to review their calls moving forward, but it hasn’t yielded much. Atlanta concluded they had to fight through the treatment and still play to their ability despite the calls not going their way.

When they returned to Atlanta, they fell once again to the Valkyries on July 4 in a close battle to the end to extend their skid by five, but seemed in positive spirits moving forward with a plan. Multiple players on the team expressed their frustrations and said there were no excuses for missing easy shots, like their free throws, or for starting out slow. Reese said she’s been learning from her teammates since they’ve been on the winning side of the game. And the conversations they’ve all had in the locker room have been progressive in figuring out how to get past the hump.

“I think everybody’s just pouring into each other and trying to figure out how we can get over this hump in the easiest way that’s possible, but I just think that we just continue to work,” Reese said. “We’re gonna just have to continue to work and put our heads down. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves because nobody else feels sorry for us, and I don’t think we do feel sorry for ourselves. I think everybody’s hungry to suit up again and play another game.”

It was the very next game against the Storm on July 10 that the Dream found their first win since June 22. They capitalized on starting out the gate, knocking down free throws consistently and increasing their steals, to put together a much-needed win and snap their losing streak.

“I think this past week, we’ve been very intentional about getting back to Atlanta Dream basketball and doing what works best for us,” Canada said after the game. “So, as much as we can get stops and get out in transition, that’s when we do our best.”

Awards and Accomplishments

Breakout star: Atlanta’s breakout star came off the bench with rookie Madina Okot effectively providing depth on both ends of the floor. Reese has been taking Okot under her wing and both have shown they work well together on the offensive glass. Averaging 6.5 points per game, 3.8 rebounds and shooting 60.9% from the field, Okot is providing a spark in her first year with a team that’s made it a priority to develop her growth.

Team MVP: Allisha Gray has shown that her consistency can carry the offense significantly. Gray is averaging 19.1 points per game, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists entering the second half. She also moved up to the top five in franchise history for points with 2,528, which she achieved after scoring 16 of her 29 points in the first half against Chicago to enter the All-Star break.

Most Improved: Hillmon is building on her standout performance from 2025, averaging 9.2 points per game, 4.6 rebounds and shooting 29.5% from beyond the arc just in the first half, compared with 32.1% for all of last season. Though Hillmon hasn’t been able to lead the second unit due to Jones’ absence, she’s been able to step up in the starting role of the frontcourt almost effortlessly. Hillmon recorded a perfect game in the team’s second-to-last matchup before the break against Toronto, shooting 8-of-8 from the field, 4-for-4 from 3-point range and 4-for-4 at the free throw line. She finished with a career high 24 points in 25 minutes played in that game.

Quiet force: Canada has continued to guide the team effectively on the floor, while building a solid campaign for herself. She’s averaging 11.7 points per game, 3.6 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 2.2 steals heading into the second half. Smesko and all of her teammates have expressed how she was cheated out of a spot on the All-Star ballot because of the impact she has on the team and their overall growth. The recent case to solidify her campaign came on the final possession of the final game before the All-Star break for the Dream against the Sky, when Canada hit the game-winning layup at the buzzer off an assist from Jones.

Notable mention: Isobel Borlase has also found her footing with Atlanta. Averaging 4.8 points per game off the bench, the Australian native has also shown she can be a spark for the team in clutch moments and drive off the momentum with clean looks and communication on the floor. Smesko has continuously praised her efforts, saying that, with every game, she’s becoming increasingly comfortable and that her talents are starting to show in return. He’s also been making good on his promise to give her more quality minutes off the bench, especially towards the latter half of their early season.

Rhyne Howard, even though she hasn’t looked like herself in the past few games, has built a strong campaign for her fifth year in the league, averaging 17.6 points per game, 3.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 steals.

Moving forward

Entering the All-Star break, the Dream have three All-Stars in their arsenal with Howard, Reese and Gray representing. Though they were short on fan votes to better their chances for a starting spot, their overall performance gave them an edge to easily be the next in line on the reserves list.

The Dream are now sitting at No. 1 in the Eastern Conference and No. 5 in league standings. With a 16-10 record (tied with the Fever for the best in the East), the Dream have fixed their slow starts, but have now traded them in for slower second halves of their matchups.

Since their win against Seattle to get back in the win column, they’ve hit the ground running, establishing themselves early to get points on the board. However, they would come out of the halftime break with less flow and momentum, which would cost them in the final seconds of the game as they tried to play catch-up.

In their final game to close out the season’s first half, Smesko gave his evaluation on the Dream’s season thus far, and what he’s looking to see moving forward.

“I think we have a really good team. I think there’s a lot of really good teams in the league, and I don’t think there is a lot of separation between the very top teams and the teams near the bottom of the standings,” Smesko said. “... Hopefully, we come back, recharge, well rested … But we’re gonna have to just pitch something every day, lock in on that, get better at that, and feel like when we’re getting to the end of the season, that we’re the best version of the Atlanta Dream that we can be. And I think if we get to the best version of what we can be, I think just about anything is possible with this team.”