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2023 Atlanta Dream season

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2023 Atlanta Dream season
CoachTanisha Wright
ArenaGateway Center Arena
Attendance3,006 per game
Results
Record19–21 (.475)
PlaceT-3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish5th seed; Lost 1st Round 0–2 to Dallas
Team Leaders
PointsRhyne Howard – 17.5 ppg
ReboundsCheyenne Parker – 6.7 rpg
AssistsRhyne Howard – 3.5 apg

The 2023 Atlanta Dream season was the 16th season for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association, and their second season under head coach Tanisha Wright.

The Dream secured the third overall pick in the 2023 WNBA draft in the 2023 Draft Lottery. They entered the lottery with the 2nd best odds to get the first overall pick.[1]

Former assistant coach Christie Sides from the 2022 season left the team in the offseason after she was named the new head coach of the Indiana Fever.[2]

The Dream alternated losses and wins to begin the season and finished May with a 2–2 overall record. The pattern did not carry over into June where the team lost its first three games of the month. However, fortunes turned as the Dream won their next three. Again, the team was streaky, and lost their next three games. They won the final game of the month to finish with a 4–6 record in June. The Dream carried that momentum into July as they won six straight games to start the month, and extended their winning streak to seven games. They lost two games back to back against Connecticut but won two of their last three in the month to finish July 8–3. The Dream's good form did not carry over into August as they lost their first two games of the month. They did pick up a win before losing their next three. After stopping that losing streak with a win against Chicago, the Dream lost their next three games before ending the month with a win. A 3–8 August record left them in the hunt for a playoff spot entering the final month. They started September with an overtime loss against Minnesota before winning their next two games. The first of those wins secured them a playoff spot. They lost the final game of the regular season and finished in a three-way tie for fifth place. They finished September with a 2–2 record, which made their season record 19–21.

The Dream won the tiebreakers over both Minnesota and Washington. The tiebreaker was combined regular season record, where the Dream were 5–2. The Dream earned the fifth seed for the playoffs, which meant they would face off against the fourth seed Dallas Wings. In the first game, in Dallas, the Dream kept the game close, but ultimately came up short losing 82–94. The second game in Dallas was not as close and the Dream lost 74–101 to end their season. Their nineteen regular season wins were their highest total since 2018 and their playoff qualification was only their second in the last eight years.

Transactions

[edit]

WNBA draft

[edit]
Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
1 6 Haley Jones  United States Stanford
1 8 Laeticia Amihere  Canada South Carolina
2 15 Leigha Brown  United States Michigan

Transactions

[edit]
Date Transaction
December 20, 2022 Extended Head Coach Tanisha Wright and General Manager Dan Padover to 5 Year Extensions[3]
January 13, 2023 Extended Qualifying Offers to AD Durr and Beatrice Mompremier[4]
Traded Kristy Wallace to the Indiana Fever in exchange for Danielle Robinson[5]
January 21, 2023 Traded the #3 Overall Pick in the 2023 WNBA draft and a First-Round Pick in 2025 to the Dallas Wings in exchange for Allisha Gray[6]
February 1, 2023 Signed Nia Coffey and AD Durr[7]
February 3, 2023 Signed Monique Billings[8]
February 9, 2023 Traded Tiffany Hayes to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for the 6th Overall Pick in the 2023 WNBA draft[9]
Hired Vickie Johnson as Assistant Coach[10]
February 11, 2023 Claimed and Awarded Iliana Rupert of a Waivers[11]
February 21, 2023 Signed Beatrice Mompremier to the Qualifying Offer - Training Camp Contract[12]
February 24, 2023 Exercised 4th-Year Team Option on Aari McDonald
March 2, 2023 Signed Mikayla Pivec to a Training Camp Contract[13]
March 7, 2023 Signed Allisha Gray to a Contract Extension[14]
March 8, 2023 Signed Lorela Cubaj to a Training Camp Contract[15]
March 9, 2023 Signed Cheyenne Parker to a Contract Extension[14]
April 13, 2023 Signed Laeticia Amihere to a Rookie Scale Contract
April 17, 2023 Waived Beatrice Mompremier[16]
April 18, 2023 Signed Haley Jones and Leigha Brown to Rookie Scale Contracts
April 20, 2023 Signed Alaina Coates to a Training Camp Contract[17]
May 5, 2023 Waived Alaina Coates and Mikayla Pivec[18]
May 16, 2023 Traded Leigha Brown to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick[19]
May 18, 2023 Temporarily suspended the contract of Iliana Rupert due to Overseas Commitments[20]
June 3, 2023 Waived Lorela Cubaj[21]
June 5, 2023 Signed Taylor Mikesell[22]
July 3, 2023 Waived Taylor Mikesell[23]
July 4, 2023 Activated the temporarily suspended contract of Iliana Rupert due to Overseas Commitments[24]

Roster Changes

[edit]

Roster

[edit]
2023 Atlanta Dream roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
F 7 Canada Amihere, Laeticia 6' 3" (1.91m) 185 lb (84kg) 07-10-2001 South Carolina R
F 25 United States Billings, Monique 6' 3" (1.91m) 192 lb (87kg) 12-15-1998 UCLA 5
F 12 United States Coffey, Nia Injured 6' 1" (1.85m) 182 lb (83kg) 1995-06-11 Northwestern 6
G 23 United States Durr, AD 5' 10" (1.78m) 151 lb (68kg) 04-05-1997 Louisville 2
G 15 United States Gray, Allisha Injured 6' 0" (1.83m) 167 lb (76kg) 1995-01-12 South Carolina 6
F 00 United States Hillmon, Naz 6' 2" (1.88m) 190 lb (86kg) 04-05-2000 Michigan 1
F 10 United States Howard, Rhyne 6' 2" (1.88m) 175 lb (79kg) 04-29-2000 Kentucky 1
G/F 13 United States Jones, Haley 6' 1" (1.85m) 187 lb (85kg) 05-23-2001 Stanford R
G 2 United States McDonald, Aari 5' 6" (1.68m) 141 lb (64kg) 1998-08-20 Arizona 2
C 32 United States Parker, Cheyenne 6' 4" (1.93m) 193 lb (88kg) 1993-08-22 Middle Tennessee 8
G 3 United States Robinson, Danielle 5' 9" (1.75m) 137 lb (62kg) 1989-05-10 Oklahoma 11
C 21 France Rupert, Iliana 6' 4" (1.93m) 189 lb (86kg) 07-12-2001 France 1
Head coach
United States Tanisha Wright (Penn State
Assistant coaches
United States Vickie Johnson (Louisiana Tech)
Australia Paul Goriss
United States Barbara Turner (Connecticut)
Athletic trainer

United States Natalie Trotter

Strength and conditioning coach

United States Drew Williams


Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Depth

[edit]
Pos. Starter Bench
PG Danielle Robinson Aari McDonald
SG Allisha Gray Haley Jones
SF Rhyne Howard AD Durr
PF Nia Coffey Naz Hillmon
Laeticia Amihere
C Cheyenne Parker Monique Billings
Iliana Rupert

Schedule

[edit]

Preseason

[edit]
2023 pre-season game log
Total: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
May: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
1 May 10 @ Washington L 76–88 Allisha Gray (14) Leigha Brown (8) Haley Jones (6) Entertainment and Sports Arena
3,612
0–1
2 May 14 Connecticut L 68–85 Allisha Gray (12) Cheyenne Parker (7) Danielle Robinson (4) Gateway Center Arena
N/A
0–2
2023 pre-season schedule

Regular Season

[edit]
2023 game log
Total: 19–21 (Home: 11–9; Road: 8–12)
May: 2–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
1 May 20 @ Dallas L 78–83 Rhyne Howard (20) Cheyenne Parker (11) Allisha Gray (7) College Park Center
5,588
0–1
2 May 23 @ Minnesota W 83–77 Allisha Gray (26) Allisha Gray (10) Howard
McDonald (6)
Target Center
7,803
1–1
3 May 28 Indiana L 87–90 Rhyne Howard (23) Cheyenne Parker (6) Allisha Gray (4) Gateway Center Arena
3,209
1–2
4 May 30 Chicago W 83–65 Rhyne Howard (20) Coffey
Parker (8)
Coffey
Hillmon (4)
Gateway Center Arena
2,562
2–2
June : 4–6 (Home: 1–4; Road: 3–2)
July : 8–3 (Home: 5–1; Road: 3–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
15 July 2 Los Angeles W 112–84 Rhyne Howard (43) Naz Hillmon (7) Jones
Robinson (5)
Gateway Center Arena
3,209
7–8
16 July 5 @ Los Angeles W 90–79 Allisha Gray (23) Cheyenne Parker (11) Gray
Howard
Robinson (6)
Crypto.com Arena
5,912
8–8
17 July 7 @ Chicago W 82–68 Allisha Gray (21) Cheyenne Parker (10) Danielle Robinson (6) Wintrust Arena
7,911
9–8
18 July 9 @ Chicago W 88–77 Rhyne Howard (32) Cheyenne Parker (11) Danielle Robinson (6) Wintrust Arena
7,325
10–8
19 July 12 Seattle W 85–75 Allisha Gray (19) Nia Coffey (7) Howard
Robinson (5)
Gateway Center Arena
2,546
11–8
20 July 18 Minnesota W 82–73 Rhyne Howard (21) Nia Coffey (10) Rhyne Howard (7) Gateway Center Arena
2,394
12–8
21 July 20 @ Connecticut L 71–82 Rhyne Howard (22) Nia Coffey (13) Allisha Gray (7) Mohegan Sun Arena
8,054
12–9
22 July 22 Connecticut L 78–86 Rhyne Howard (22) Cheyenne Parker (8) Gray
Howard
Rupert (2)
Gateway Center Arena
3,209
12–10
23 July 25 Phoenix W 78–65 Durr
Gray (12)
Iliana Rupert (7) Haley Jones (5) Gateway Center Arena
3,209
13–10
24 July 27 @ New York L 84–95 Allisha Gray (25) Allisha Gray (8) Allisha Gray (6) Barclays Center
6,206
13–11
25 July 30 Washington W 80–73 Allisha Gray (27) Nia Coffey (9) Coffey
McDonald (5)
Gateway Center Arena
3,209
14–11
August : 3–8 (Home: 3–2; Road: 0–6)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
26 August 1 @ Las Vegas L 72–93 Cheyenne Parker (19) Cheyenne Parker (5) Rhyne Howard (6) Michelob Ultra Arena
8,366
14–12
27 August 3 @ Phoenix L 71–91 Cheyenne Parker (20) Cheyenne Parker (7) Aari McDonald (5) Footprint Center
7,564
14–13
28 August 6 Indiana W 82–73 Rhyne Howard (24) Cheyenne Parker (6) Allisha Gray (4) Gateway Center Arena
3,209
15–13
29 August 10 @ Seattle L 67–68 Rhyne Howard (20) Monique Billings (11) Gray
McDonald (3)
Climate Pledge Arena
7,649
15–14
30 August 12 @ Los Angeles L 74–85 Howard
Parker (17)
Cheyenne Parker (7) Danielle Robinson (5) Crypto.com Arena
7,119
15–15
31 August 13 @ Las Vegas L 65–86 Allisha Gray (19) Nia Coffey (10) Howard
Parker (4)
Michelob Ultra Arena
8,564
15–16
32 August 18 Chicago W 78–67 Cheyenne Parker (29) Gray
Parker (7)
McDonald
Robinson (7)
Gateway Center Arena
2,957
16–16
33 August 22 Las Vegas L 100–112 Rhyne Howard (27) Howard
Jones (6)
Howard
Jones
Robinson (5)
Gateway Center Arena
3,209
16–17
34 August 25 Los Angeles L 78–83 Cheyenne Parker (22) Monique Billings (10) Aari McDonald (5) Gateway Center Arena
2,957
16–18
35 August 27 @ Indiana L 80–83 Cheyenne Parker (24) Cheyenne Parker (10) Allisha Gray (4) Gainbridge Fieldhouse
4,034
16–19
36 August 29 Phoenix W 94–76 Cheyenne Parker (25) Billings
Howard
Parker (7)
Rhyne Howard (6) Gateway Center Arena
2,785
17–19
September : 2–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
37 September 1 @ Minnesota L 85–91 (OT) Cheyenne Parker (20) Monique Billings (10) Rhyne Howard (6) Target Center
7,114
17–20
38 September 6 Seattle W 79–68 Allisha Gray (18) Monique Billings (14) Howard
McDonald (7)
Gateway Center Arena
2,731
18–20
39 September 8 @ Washington W 80–75 Rhyne Howard (21) Rhyne Howard (12) Rhyne Howard (4) Entertainment and Sports Arena
4,210
19–20
40 September 10 Dallas L 77–94 Rhyne Howard (19) Monique Billings (7) Rhyne Howard (7) Gateway Center Arena
3,207
19–21
2023 season schedule

Playoffs

[edit]
2023 playoff game log
First Round vs. Dallas
Lost Series: 0–2
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Series
1 September 15 @ Dallas L 82–94 Rhyne Howard (36) Billings
Parker (8)
Robinson
Parker (4)
College Park Center
5,053
0–1
2 September 19 @ Dallas L 74–101 Rhyne Howard (21) Allisha Gray (7) Allisha Gray (6) College Park Center
4,798
0–2
2023 playoff schedule

Standings

[edit]
# Team
W L PCT GB Conf. Home Road Cup
1 xLas Vegas Aces 34 6 .850 18–2 19–1 15–5 9–1
2 xNew York Liberty 32 8 .800 2 16–4 15–5 17–3 7–3
3 xConnecticut Sun 27 13 .675 7 14–6 13–7 14–6 7–3
4 xDallas Wings 22 18 .550 12 11–9 11–9 11–9 6–4
5 xAtlanta Dream 19 21 .475 15 11–9 11–9 8–12 6–4
6 xMinnesota Lynx 19 21 .475 15 12–8 9–11 10–10 5–5
7 xWashington Mystics 19 21 .475 15 9–11 12–8 7–13 5–5
8 xChicago Sky 18 22 .450 16 5–15 7–13 11–9 3–7
9 eLos Angeles Sparks 17 23 .425 17 9–11 10–10 7–13 5–5
10 eIndiana Fever 13 27 .325 21 5–15 6–14 7–13 2–8
11 eSeattle Storm 11 29 .275 23 8–12 4–16 7–13 4–6
12 ePhoenix Mercury 9 31 .225 25 2–18 8–12 1–19 1–9

Notes

(#) – League Standing
x – Clinched playoff berth
e – Eliminated from postseason contention
Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

Playoffs

[edit]
Round One:
Best-of-3
Semifinals:
Best-of-5
Finals:
Best-of-5
         
1 Las Vegas Aces 2
8 Chicago Sky 0
1 Las Vegas Aces 3
4 Dallas Wings 0
4 Dallas Wings 2
5 Atlanta Dream 0
1 Las Vegas Aces 3
2 New York Liberty 1
2 New York Liberty 2
7 Washington Mystics 0
2 New York Liberty 3
3 Connecticut Sun 1
3 Connecticut Sun 2
6 Minnesota Lynx 1

Bold Series winner

Statistics

[edit]
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Regular Season

[edit]
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Rhyne Howard 39 39 32.9 .385 .352 .788 4.9 3.5 1.3 0.6 17.5
Allisha Gray 38 38 32.7 .465 .356 .824 4.9 3.1 1.1 0.4 17.1
Cheyene Parker 40 38 26.7 .483 .278 .829 6.7 1.8 1.1 1.5 15.0
Aari McDonald 24 9 23.5 .402 .321 .762 2.0 3.0 0.6 0.0 7.9
Nia Coffey 31 31 21.9 .432 .402 .625 4.8 1.5 0.5 1.2 6.9
Danielle Robinson 32 27 21.6 .461 .290 .750 2.2 3.3 0.7 0.1 5.8
Monique Billings 39 9 16.7 .407 .000 .836 5.0 0.8 0.4 0.3 4.8
AD Durr 36 0 10.9 .380 .322 .769 1.1 0.7 0.3 0.1 4.8
Naz Hillmon 40 3 13.5 .509 .000 .852 3.4 0.7 0.2 0.1 4.1
Haley Jones 40 6 14.6 .337 .214 .756 2.4 2.3 0.4 0.3 3.7
Laeticia Amihere 20 0 7.4 .405 .000 .537 1.0 0.2 0.3 0.5 2.8
Taylor Mikesell 6 0 4.8 .500 .429 1.000 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.0 2.8
Iliana Rupert 20 0 7.9 .353 .273 .625 2.0 0.5 0.4 0.4 1.8
Lorela Cubaj 3 0 6.3 .000 .000 .000 2.3 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0


Waived/Released during the season
Traded during the season
Acquired during the season

Playoffs

[edit]
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Rhyne Howard 2 2 37.5 .431 .458 .667 3.5 2.0 2.0 0.5 28.5
Allisha Gray 2 2 36.0 .424 .385 .700 7.0 4.0 1.5 0.5 20.0
Cheyenne Parker 2 2 33.5 .323 .500 .750 6.5 2.0 1.0 2.0 13.0
Monique Billings 2 2 23.5 .286 .000 .625 7.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 4.5
Haley Jones 1 0 3.0 1.000 .000 1.000 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.0
Aari McDonald 2 0 18.0 .273 .250 .000 1.0 2.5 1.0 0.0 3.5
Danielle Robinson 2 2 22.0 .200 .000 .750 1.5 4.0 1.0 0.0 2.5
Iliana Rupert 1 0 14.0 1.000 .000 .000 3.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 2.0
AD Durr 2 0 5.0 .500 .000 1.000 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 2.0
Naz Hillmon 2 0 14.0 1.000 .000 .000 2.0 1.0 0.5 0.0 1.0
Laeticia Amihere 1 0 3.0 .000 .000 .000 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Awards and honors

[edit]
Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
Allisha Gray WNBA All-Star July 1 [25]
Cheyenne Parker WNBA All-Star July 1 [25]
Rhyne Howard WNBA All-Star Injury Replacement July 11 [26]
Tanisha Wright Coach of the Month - July August 2 [27]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Dream to Select Third in 2023 WNBA Draft". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  2. ^ "Indiana Fever Hire Christie Sides as Head Coach". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  3. ^ "WNBA's Atlanta Dream Make Long-Term Commitment to Head Coach and General Manager". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  4. ^ @RachGall (January 13, 2023). "The Atlanta Dream have extended Qualifying Offers to AD Durr and Beatrice Mompremier. @Winsidr" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ "Fever Acquire Guard in Trade with Atlanta Dream". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  6. ^ "Atlanta Dream Land Allisha Gray". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  7. ^ "Nia Coffey and AD Re-Sign with Atlanta". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  8. ^ "Monique Billings Re-Commits to Atlanta". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  9. ^ "Connecticut Sun Acquire Rights to Tiffany Hayes". sun.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  10. ^ "Atlanta Dream Hires Vickie Johnson as Assistant Coach". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  11. ^ "Dream Awarded Iliana Rupert on Waivers". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  12. ^ "Beatrice Mompremier Signs Qualifying Offer with Atlanta". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  13. ^ "Atlanta Dream Sign Mikayla Pivec to Training Camp Contract". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Atlanta Dream Sign Allisha Gray to Contract Extension". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  15. ^ "Atlanta Dream Sign Lorela Cubaj to Training Camp Contract". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  16. ^ @ATLDreamPR (April 17, 2023). "The Atlanta Dream have waived forward Beatrice Mompremier" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ "Atlanta Dream Sign Alaina Coates". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  18. ^ @ATLDreamPR (May 5, 2023). "The Atlanta Dream have waived center Alaina Coates and guard Mikayla Pivec" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "Connecticut Sun Acquires Leigha Brown in Trade with Atlanta Dream". sun.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  20. ^ @AtlantaDream (May 18, 2023). "Our 2023 Start of Season Roster is here! #DoItForTheDream 🅰️🔥" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ^ "Atlanta Dream Waive Lorela Cubaj". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  22. ^ "Atlanta Dream Add Taylor Mikesell". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  23. ^ @AtlantaDream (July 3, 2023). "Thank you, @TMikesell23 ♥️" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ @AtlantaDream (July 4, 2023). "The Atlanta Dream have activated center Iliana Rupert. #atlantadream" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. ^ a b "Connecticut Sun's Alyssa Thomas, Washington Mystics' Elena Delle Donne Highlight Reserves For 2023 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  26. ^ "Atlanta Dream's Rhyne Howard to Replace Washington Mystics' Elena Delle Donne in 2023 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game". wnba.com. WNBA. July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  27. ^ Kennedy, Alex (August 2, 2023). "Breanna Stewart, A'ja Wilson are WNBA Players of the Month for July". basketballnews.com. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
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