Atlanta Dream facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Atlanta Dream
Conference	Eastern
Leagues	WNBA
Founded	2008; 17 years ago (2008)
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)	Vickie Johnson Paul Goriss Barbara Turner
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 for women. They play in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team is based in the Atlanta metropolitan area and competes in the Eastern Conference.

The Atlanta Dream started playing in the 2008 WNBA season. Today, the team is owned by Larry Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair, and Renee Montgomery. Renee Montgomery is a former player for the Dream! Even though the city of Atlanta also has the NBA team, the Atlanta Hawks, the Dream is a separate team. The Dream plays their home games at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.

The Dream has been very successful, making it to the WNBA Playoffs eight times. They have even reached the WNBA Finals three times. Many talented players have played for the Dream. These include Angel McCoughtry, Shoni Schimmel, Betty Lennox, and Izi Castro Marques. The team made it to the WNBA Finals in 2010, 2011, and 2013. However, they didn't win the championship in those years.

The Dream's Journey: From Start to Now

How the Team Joined the WNBA

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 ABL eventually stopped playing.

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 also started looking 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 said Atlanta would get an expansion team. This was exciting news for basketball fans in the area!

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 also coached for another WNBA team, the Charlotte Sting.

The team needed a name! An online contest was held in December 2007. Fans could vote for names like "Dream," "Flight," "Surge," and "Sizzle." On January 23, 2008, the team announced its name: the Atlanta Dream. This name was inspired by the famous "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King Jr., who was from Atlanta. The team's original colors were sky blue, red, and white.

The Dream picked its first players in the expansion 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's first season in 2008 was tough. They lost their first 17 games in a row. This set a WNBA record for the most losses to start a season. But on July 5, they finally won their first game against the Chicago Sky. They finished that season with a record of 4 wins and 30 losses.

The Angel McCoughtry Years (2008–2019)

After a difficult first year, the Dream wanted to improve. Coach Marynell Meadors brought in new players like Sancho Lyttle, Nikki Teasley, Chamique Holdsclaw, Angel McCoughtry, and Michelle Snow. These new players made a big difference.

In 2009, the Dream made it to the playoffs with 18 wins and 16 losses. This was 14 more wins than the year before! They lost in the first round, but their coach, Marynell Meadors, won the Coach of the Year Award.

In 2010, the team continued to get better. They finished fourth in the Eastern Conference. They then won their playoff games and made it to the WNBA Finals! They played against the Seattle Storm, who were the best team in the league. The Storm won the series, but the Dream played very close games.

Before the 2011 season, the Dream added All-Star point guard Lindsey Harding. Even with this new player, the team started slowly because of injuries. But they bounced back and played very well after the All-Star break. They made it to the WNBA Finals again, but lost to the Minnesota Lynx.

During the 2011 season, the team's ownership changed. Kathy Betty sold the team to local investors Mary Brock and Kelly Loeffler.

In 2012, the Dream changed coaches. Fred Williams took over as head coach. The team finished with a good record but lost in the first round of the playoffs.

The Dream made it to the WNBA Finals for the third time in 2013. But they lost to the Minnesota Lynx again. After this season, Fred Williams's contract was not renewed.

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

On October 30, 2017, Nicki Collen became the new head coach. She had been an assistant coach for another WNBA team. 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. Star player Angel McCoughtry was recovering from an injury. The team finished with only 8 wins and 26 losses, which was the worst record in the Eastern Conference.

New Look and New Owners (2020–2021)

On October 18, 2019, the Dream changed their logo and team colors. This was the first time they updated their look since 2008.

Angel McCoughtry left the Dream in 2020 to play for another team. Other key players also decided not to play in the "bubble" season due to the pandemic. The Dream drafted a young star guard, Chennedy Carter, to help rebuild the team.

The Dream played a bit better in 2020 but still missed the playoffs. During this time, the WNBA and its players supported the Black Lives Matter movement. The team's owner at the time, Kelly Loeffler, had different views. In response, Dream players wore T-shirts that said "VOTE WARNOCK" to support her election opponent. This led to a big change. In February 2021, a new group of owners bought the team. This group included former Dream player Renee Montgomery!

The 2021 season also had many coaching changes. Nicki Collen left the team right before the season started. Mike Petersen became the interim coach, but he stepped down for health reasons. Darius Taylor then coached for the rest of the season.

The team also had player issues. Chennedy Carter was suspended and didn't play again that season. The Dream finished near the bottom of the standings again. After the season, two players, Courtney Williams and Crystal Bradford, were not re-signed. They were also suspended for some games in the 2022 season. In February 2022, the Dream traded Chennedy Carter to another team.

The Rhyne Howard Era (2022–Present)

To 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 then worked as an assistant coach for another team. She brought in new assistant coaches for her staff.

The Dream also announced new partners and sponsors. Microsoft and Xbox became partners. Emory Healthcare became the first-ever sponsor to have its logo on the Dream's jerseys.

The Dream looked for a new star player. They got the first pick in the 2022 WNBA draft. They chose Rhyne Howard from the University of Kentucky. Howard was a top college player. She averaged 20.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in her senior year. She was expected to be the new face of the franchise.

Where the Dream Plays: Arenas

The Atlanta Dream has played in a few different arenas over the years.

• 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. This was because of a scheduling conflict at Philips Arena.
• 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 in 2019. It was renamed State Farm Arena.
• After the 2019 season, the team decided to move again. They announced they would play at the new Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia. They started playing there in the 2021 season. They share this arena with the College Park Skyhawks, an NBA G League team.

Team Records: Season by Season

This table shows how the Atlanta Dream has performed each season. It includes their wins, losses, and how far they went in the playoffs.

Players of the Atlanta Dream

Current Roster

This is a list of the players currently on the Atlanta Dream team.

Other Player Rights

Sometimes, teams hold the rights to players who are not currently on their active roster.

Nationality		Name		Years pro		Last played		Drafted
		Dalma Ivanyi		5		2006		1999

Famous Former Players

Many great players have been part of the Atlanta Dream over the years. Here are some of them:

• Kalani Brown (2020-2021)
• Izi Castro Marques (2008–2011)
• Érika de Souza (2008–2015)
• Katie Feenstra-Mattera (2008)
• Lindsey Harding (2011–2012)
• Chamique Holdsclaw (2009)
• Ivory Latta (2008–2009)
• Shalee Lehning (2009–2011)
• Betty Lennox (2008)
• Camille Little (2008)
• Sancho Lyttle (2009–2017)
• Kristen Mann (2008)
• Angel McCoughtry (2009–2019)
• Coco Miller (2009–2011)
• DeLisha Milton-Jones (2014–2015)
• Shoni Schimmel (2014–2015)
• Michelle Snow (2009)
• Nikki Teasley (2008)

Coaches and Team Leaders

Team Owners

The Atlanta Dream has had different owners since it started:

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

Head Coaches

The head coach is in charge of the team on the court. Here are the coaches who have led the Atlanta Dream:

General Managers

The General Manager (GM) helps build the team by choosing players and making trades.

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

Assistant Coaches

Assistant coaches help the head coach with training and game strategies.

Team Statistics

This section shows important statistics for the Atlanta Dream each season, like points scored and rebounds.

How to Watch the Dream: Media Coverage

You can watch some Atlanta Dream games on TV. They are often shown on Bally Sports Southeast and Bally Sports South. Some games are also broadcast nationally on channels like ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, Ion Television, CBS, and CBS Sports Network.

Images for kids

• 

  Inside State Farm Arena, where the Dream played in 2019.

See also

In Spanish: Atlanta Dream para niños