Atlanta Dream facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Atlanta Dream
Conference	Eastern
Leagues	WNBA
Founded	October 17, 2007; 17 years ago (2007-10-17)
History	Atlanta Dream 2008–present
Arena	Gateway Center Arena
Location	College Park, Georgia
Team colors	Red, dark grey, light grey, light blue, white
Main sponsor	Emory Healthcare
General manager	Dan Padover
Head coach	Karl Smesko
Assistant(s)	Camryn Brown Chelsea Lyles LaToya Sanders Brandi Poole
Ownership	Larry Gottesdiener Suzanne Abair Renee Montgomery
Championships	0
Conference titles	3 (2010, 2011, 2013)
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The Atlanta Dream is a professional basketball team from the Atlanta metropolitan area in the USA. They play in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Dream are part of the Eastern Conference. The team started playing in the 2008 WNBA season.

The Atlanta Dream is owned by Larry Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair, and Renee Montgomery. Renee Montgomery used to play for the Dream! The team plays its home games at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia. Even though the NBA's Hawks are also in Atlanta, the Dream is a separate team.

The Dream has made it to the WNBA Playoffs ten times since they started. They have even reached the WNBA Finals three times! Many great players have been on the team. These include Angel McCoughtry, Shoni Schimmel, Betty Lennox, and Izi Castro Marques. The Dream made it to the WNBA Finals in 2010 but lost to the Seattle Storm. They also lost in the Finals in 2011 and 2013 WNBA Finals to the Minnesota Lynx.

Team History

How the Dream Started

Before the Atlanta Dream, there was another women's basketball team in Atlanta. It was called the Atlanta Glory. They played in a league called the American Basketball League (ABL) in the late 1990s. The Glory played for two seasons.

People in Atlanta wanted a WNBA team. In 2007, a group of business people and politicians worked hard to bring a team to the city. They needed many people to promise to buy season tickets. By July 2007, they had over 1,200 promises. They then looked for someone to own the team.

Dream game in 2008

On October 16, 2007, it was announced that Ron Terwilliger would be the owner. The very next day, the WNBA officially announced that Atlanta would get a new team!

On November 27, 2007, Marynell Meadors became the first head coach and general manager for the Dream. She had a lot of experience coaching college teams. She had also worked for other WNBA teams.

The team held a contest online to choose its name and colors. People could vote for "Dream," "Flight," "Surge," or "Sizzle." On January 23, 2008, the team name was announced as the "Dream." This name was inspired by the famous speech of Martin Luther King Jr., who was from Atlanta. The team colors were sky blue, red, and white.

The Dream picked players in a special draft on February 6, 2008. They chose one player from each of the 13 teams in the league. The team also made some trades to get players like Izi Castro Marques and Ivory Latta.

The Dream had a tough first season in 2008. They lost their first 17 games. This set a WNBA record for the most losses to start a season. On July 5, they finally won their first game against the Chicago Sky. They finished the season with 4 wins and 30 losses.

The Angel McCoughtry Years (2009–2019)

After a difficult first year, the team worked to get better. Coach Marynell Meadors brought in new players like Sancho Lyttle, Nikki Teasley, Chamique Holdsclaw, Angel McCoughtry, and Michelle Snow. In 2009, the Dream improved a lot. They won 18 games and made it to the playoffs. They lost in the first round. After this great improvement, Marynell Meadors won the Coach of the Year Award.

In October 2009, Kathy Betty took over as the team's owner. The team continued to get better in 2010. They finished fourth in their conference. The Dream then won their playoff games and reached the WNBA Finals! They played against the Seattle Storm, who were the best team that year. Seattle won the series, but all the games were very close.

Before the 2011 season, the Dream added All-Star point guard Lindsey Harding. The team started slowly because Angel McCoughtry was injured. But after the All-Star break, they played much better. They won 14 out of 19 games. They carried this success into the playoffs. They won their conference finals and returned to the WNBA Finals. However, they lost to the Minnesota Lynx in three games.

During the 2011 season, Kathy Betty sold the team to Mary Brock and Kelly Loeffler.

In 2012, the Dream had a record of 12 wins and 12 losses. Coach Marynell Meadors was replaced by Fred Williams. The team finished the season with 19 wins and 15 losses. They lost in the first round of the playoffs.

In 2013, the Dream made it to the WNBA Finals again. But they lost to the Minnesota Lynx once more. Fred Williams' contract was not renewed after this season.

Michael Cooper became the new coach in 2014. He led the team to the playoffs in 2014 and 2016. He was fired after the team missed the playoffs in 2017.

On October 30, 2017, the Dream hired Nicki Collen as their new head coach. Collen helped the Dream finish first in the Eastern Conference in 2018. They had a great record of 23 wins and 11 losses. They lost in the Semifinals that year.

The 2019 season was tough for the Dream. Angel McCoughtry was still recovering from an injury. The team finished with only 8 wins and 26 losses. This was the worst record in the Eastern Conference.

New Look and Changes (2020–2021)

On October 18, 2019, the Dream showed off a new logo and new team colors. This was the first time their look had changed since 2008.

Star player Angel McCoughtry left the Dream in 2020 to play for another team. Other key players also decided not to play that season. The Dream picked a young star guard named Chennedy Carter in the 2020 WNBA draft to help rebuild the team.

The Dream played a little better in 2020 but still missed the playoffs. They had 7 wins and 15 losses. During this time, the WNBA and its players decided to support important social causes. The team's owner, Kelly Loeffler, had different views. Because of this, the players wore special shirts to support a different candidate in an election. In February 2021, a new group of owners bought the team. This group included former Dream player Renee Montgomery.

Coach Nicki Collen left the Dream just before the 2021 season. Mike Petersen became the interim head coach. But he stepped down in July for health reasons. Darius Taylor then took over as interim coach.

The team also faced issues with player Chennedy Carter. She was suspended in July 2021 and did not play again that season. The Dream finished with 8 wins and 24 losses and missed the playoffs. After the season, Courtney Williams and Crystal Bradford were not re-signed due to an off-court incident.

In February 2022, the Dream traded Chennedy Carter to the Los Angeles Sparks. They received Erica Wheeler and some draft picks in return.

The Rhyne Howard Era (2022–Present)

To help turn the team around, the Dream hired Tanisha Wright as their new head coach on October 12, 2021. Wright had played in the WNBA for 12 years. She had also been an assistant coach for another team.

The Dream also announced new partners and sponsors. Microsoft and Xbox became partners in April 2022. Emory Healthcare became the first-ever main jersey sponsor. Their logo appeared on the Dream's jerseys starting in the 2022 season.

The Dream wanted a new star player. They got the first pick in the 2022 WNBA draft. They chose Rhyne Howard from Kentucky. Howard was a top college player. She averaged 20.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in her senior year.

In 2025, the Dream signed Brittney Griner, a 10-time All-Star, for one year.

Home Arenas

The Dream has played in several different arenas. From 2008 to 2016, they played at Philips Arena in downtown Atlanta. They shared this arena with the Atlanta Hawks. In 2013, when they made it to the WNBA Finals, they had to play some home games at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth. This was because of a scheduling conflict.

In 2017 and 2018, Philips Arena was being renovated. So, the Dream played their home games at McCamish Pavilion at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The team returned to the renovated Philips Arena, which was renamed State Farm Arena, for the 2019 season. After the 2019 season, the team decided not to return to State Farm Arena. They had disagreements with the Hawks' management. On October 18, 2019, the Dream announced they would move to the new Gateway Center Arena in College Park. They started playing there in the 2021 season. They share this arena with the College Park Skyhawks, another basketball team.

Season Records

This table shows how the Atlanta Dream has performed each season.

Team Players

Current Roster

Former Players

Many talented players have been part of the Atlanta Dream. Here are some of them:

• Kalani Brown (2020-2021)
• Izi Castro Marques (2008–2011)
• Érika de Souza (2008–2015)
• Lindsey Harding (2011–2012)
• Chamique Holdsclaw (2009)
• Ivory Latta (2008–2009)
• Betty Lennox (2008)
• Sancho Lyttle (2009–2017)
• Angel McCoughtry (2009–2019)
• Shoni Schimmel (2014–2015)
• Michelle Snow (2009)

State Farm Arena

Coaches and Staff

Team Owners

• Ron Terwilliger (2008–2009)
• Kathy Betty (2010)
• Mary Brock and Kelly Loeffler (2011–2021)
• Larry Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair, and Renee Montgomery (2021–present)

Head Coaches

General Managers

• Marynell Meadors (2008–2012)
• Fred Williams (2012–2013)
• Angela Taylor (2014–2016)
• Chris Sienko (2017–2021)
• Dan Padover (2021–present)

Assistant Coaches

Images for kids

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  State Farm Arena

See also

In Spanish: Atlanta Dream para niños