2018 Atlanta Dream season

The 2018 WNBA season was the 11th season for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association. The team began its season on May 20, 2018 against the Dallas Wings.[1]

2018 Atlanta Dream season
Coach	Nicki Collen
Arena	McCamish Pavilion
Attendance	4,194 per game
Results
Record	23–11 (.676)
Place	1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	2nd seed; Lost in Semifinals to Washington (2–3)
Team Leaders
Points	Tiffany Hayes – 17.2 ppg
Rebounds	Jessica Breland – 7.9 rpg
Assists	Renee Montgomery – 3.7 apg
Media
Television	Fox Sports South (FS-S), Fox Sports Southeast (FSSE)
← 2017 season 2019 season →

The Dream started the season slowly, going 2–2 in May with both losses coming to Dallas. The team continued to not be able to build momentum in June, posting a 5–6 record. The team started well in the month, going on a three game win streak, but couldn't continue that run, winning just 2 of the final 7 games in the month. However, the Dream found another gear in July. The Dream went on an 8 game winning streak and head coach Nicki Collen was awarded the Coach of the Month. The team finished the month 9–2 and in prime playoff position. The team continued its run in August, going 6–1 with their only loss on the road against Phoenix. Collen was again voted coach of the month. However, on August 9th, the team lost their star Angel McCoughtry for the season with torn ligaments in her left knee. The team finished a franchise–best 23–11 which entered them into the 2018 WNBA Playoffs as the second seed.

As the second seed, Atlanta earned a double bye into the semifinal round. There, Atlanta faced off against the Washington Mystics. The Mystics were the third seed, finishing one game behind Atlanta in the regular season. The series was a close one, with the Mystics star Elena Delle Donne getting injured in game 3. However, the Dream were not able to capitalize and eventually lost the series 2 games to 3.

Transactions

WNBA Draft

The Dream made the following selections in the 2018 WNBA Draft.

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
2	15	Monique Billings	United States	UCLA
2	16	Kristy Wallace	Australia	Baylor
3	27	Mackenzie Engram	United States	Georgia

Trades and roster changes

Date	Details
January 16, 2018	G Bria Holmes to miss 2018 season due to pregnancy[2]
February 1, 2018	Signed G Renee Montgomery[3]
February 5, 2018	Signed F Jessica Breland[4]
February 8, 2018	Signed F Angel McCoughtry[5]
February 14, 2018	Re-signed F Damiris Dantas[6]
April 12, 2018	Dream receive 15th pick in 2018 WNBA Draft and a second round pick in 2019 WNBA draft in exchange for Bria Holmes.[7]
July 9, 2018	Dream receive Alex Bentley in exchange for Layshia Clarendon and a second round pick in 2019 WNBA draft.[8]

Roster

Atlanta Dream roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs G 20 Bentley, Alex 5' 7" (1.7m) 152 lb (69kg) 10-27-1990 Penn State 5 F 25 Billings, Monique 6' 4" (1.93m) 176 lb (80kg) 05-02-1996 UCLA R F 51 Breland, Jessica 6' 3" (1.91m) 164 lb (74kg) 02-23-1988 North Carolina 6 C 12 Dantas, Damiris 6' 3" (1.91m) 208 lb (94kg) 11-17-1992 Brazil 4 G 11 Dietrick, Blake 5' 10" (1.78m) 157 lb (71kg) 07-19-1993 Princeton 1 F 2 Elonu, Adaora 6' 1" (1.85m) 165 lb (75kg) 04-28-1990 Texas A&< R G 15 Hayes, Tiffany 5' 10" (1.78m) 155 lb (70kg) 09-20-1989 Connecticut 6 G/F 35 McCoughtry, Angel  6' 1" (1.85m) 160 lb (73kg) 07-10-1986 Louisville 8 C 34 McGee-Stafford, Imani 6' 7" (2.01m) 200 lb (91kg) 10-11-1994 Texas 2 G 21 Montgomery, Renee 5' 7" (1.7m) 141 lb (64kg) 12-02-1986 Connecticut 9 G 3 Prince, Alexis 6' 2" (1.88m) 178 lb (81kg) 02-05-1994 Baylor 1 G 7 Sykes, Brittney 5' 9" (1.75m) 155 lb (70kg) 02-07-1994 Syracuse 1 F/C 1 Williams, Elizabeth 6' 3" (1.91m) 199 lb (90kg) 06-23-1993 Duke 3 East: ATL • CHI • CON • IND • NY • WAS | West: DAL • LV • LA • MIN • PHO • SEA

Head coach Nicki Collen (Marquette) Assistant coaches Mike Peterson (Northwest Christian College) Darius Taylor (Michigan) Athletic trainer Jessica Cohen (Vanderbilt) Strength and conditioning coach Ashley Alexander (New Orleans) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured WNBA roster page

Game log

Preseason

2018 pre-season game log
May: 1–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 6 @ Chicago W 78–61 Hayes (16) Williams (7) Montgomery (7) Wintrust Arena 1–0 2 May 11 vs. Connecticut L 58–74 Clarendon (13) Williams (6) Montgomery (3) Webster Bank Arena 1,610 1–1
2018 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2018 game log Total: 23–11 (Home: 13–4; Road: 10–7)
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 78–101 3 Tied (14) Sykes (7) Hayes (6) College Park Center 5,907 0–1 2 May 23 @ Chicago W 81–63 Hayes (22) Breland (10) Williams (6) Wintrust Arena 6,147 1–1 3 May 26 Dallas L 80–87 McCoughtry (19) Breland (10) Hayes (4) McCamish Pavilion 4,749 1–2 4 May 29 Minnesota W 76–74 Hayes (20) Tied (7) Tied (5) McCamish Pavilion 3,785 2–2
June : 5–6 (Home: 3–1; Road: 2–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 5 June 3 Phoenix L 71–78 McCoughtry (21) Tied (10) Clarendon (3) McCamish Pavilion 3,795 2–3 6 June 5 Connecticut W 82–77 Hayes (22) Breland (9) Tied (4) McCamish Pavilion 2,830 3–3 7 June 8 @ Las Vegas W 87–83 Hayes (24) Tied (9) McCoughtry (6) Mandalay Bay Events Center 5,913 4–3 8 June 10 @ Seattle W 67–64 Hayes (23) Breland (14) 4 Tied (2) KeyArena 6,345 5–3 9 June 12 @ Los Angeles L 64–72 Hayes (16) Breland (6) Hayes (3) Staples Center 9,215 5–4 10 June 14 Indiana W 72–67 Hayes (23) Breland (13) McCoughtry (4) McCamish Pavilion 6,561 6–4 11 June 16 @ Indiana L 64–96 McCoughtry (19) McCoughtry (8) Clarendon (4) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 6,234 6–5 12 June 19 @ New York L 72–79 McCoughtry (39) McCoughtry (14) McCoughtry (4) Westchester County Center 1,627 6–6 13 June 22 Connecticut W 75–70 McCoughtry (25) Williams (10) Sykes (4) McCamish Pavilion 4,047 7–6 14 June 27 @ Chicago L 80–93 Montgomery (19) Breland (7) Montgomery (5) Wintrust Arena 8,521 7–7 15 June 29 @ Minnesota L 74–85 McGee-Stafford (15) Breland (10) Montgomery (6) Target Center 9,209 7–8
July : 9–2 (Home: 5–2; Road: 4–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 16 July 1 @ Indiana W 87–83 Sykes (20) Tied (6) Sykes (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 5,277 8–8 17 July 6 Seattle L 86–95 McCoughtry (26) Sykes (6) Dantas (5) McCamish Pavilion 3,935 8–9 18 July 8 Phoenix W 76–70 Hayes (18) Breland (12) McCoughtry (4) McCamish Pavilion 3,952 9–9 19 July 11 @ Washington W 106–89 McCoughtry (26) Breland (10) Breland (7) Capital One Arena 11,354 10–9 20 July 13 Indiana W 98–74 Hayes (16) Breland (8) McCoughtry (7) McCamish Pavilion 3,807 11–9 21 July 15 Washington W 80–77 Sykes (17) Breland (10) Bentley (4) McCamish Pavilion 3,880 12–9 22 July 17 @ Connecticut W 86–83 McCoughtry (24) Breland (11) Tied (4) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,555 13–9 23 July 19 New York W 82–68 Montgomery (24) Tied (12) McCoughtry (6) McCamish Pavilion 3,074 14–9 24 July 22 Seattle W 87–74 Williams (17) Tied (8) Hayes (5) McCamish Pavilion 4,916 15–9 25 July 24 @ Los Angeles W 81–87 McCoughtry (19) McCoughtry (7) Montgomery (6) Staples Center 9,324 16–9 26 July 31 Washington L 71–86 Hayes (18) Williams (9) Sykes (5) McCamish Pavilion 3,648 16–10
August : 6–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 3–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 27 August 3 Chicago W 89–74 McCoughtry (21) Breland (9) Bentley (7) McCamish Pavilion 5,120 17–10 28 August 5 @ Minnesota W 86–66 Hayes (28) Tied (8) Sykes (6) Target Center 9,333 18–10 29 August 7 Las Vegas W 109–100 Tied (22) Breland (11) Bentley (8) McCamish Pavilion 4,033 19–10 30 August 9 Los Angeles W 79–73 Breland (19) Breland (9) Bentley (8) McCamish Pavilion 4,235 20–10 31 August 11 Dallas W 92–82 Montgomery (24) Williams (9) 3 Tied (5) McCamish Pavilion 4,937 21–10 32 August 12 @ New York W 86–77 Montgomery (30) Tied (7) Sykes (4) Westchester County Center 2,362 22–10 33 August 17 @ Phoenix L 95–104 Bentley (24) Williams (8) Bentley (6) Talking Stick Resort Arena 11,177 22–11 34 August 19 @ Las Vegas W 93–78 Williams (20) Williams (7) Montgomery (9) Mandalay Bay Events Center 5,737 23–11
2018 season schedule

Playoffs

2018 playoff game log Total: 2–3 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–1)
WNBA Semifinals: 2–3 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 August 26 Washington L 84–87 Bentley (19) Williams (14) 5 Tied (2) McCamish Pavilion 5,086 0–1 2 August 28 Washington W 78–75 Bentley (22) Breland (14) Hayes (6) McCamish Pavilion 3,813 1–1 3 August 31 Washington W 81–76 Hayes (23) Breland (11) Montgomery (3) Charles Smith Center 3,867 2–1 4 September 2 Washington 76–97 Tied (12) Breland (8) Montgomery (10) Charles Smith Center 3,722 2–2 5 September 4 Washington 81–86 Bentley (16) Breland (12) Hayes (4) McCamish Pavilion 4,435 2–3
2018 playoff schedule

Standings

#	Eastern Conference	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
1	Atlanta Dream (2)	23	11	.676	–	13–4	10–7	12–4
2	Washington Mystics (3)	22	12	.647	1	12–5	10–7	12–4
3	Connecticut Sun (4)	21	13	.618	2	13–4	8–9	9–7
4	e – Chicago Sky	13	21	.382	10	7–10	6–11	6–10
5	e – New York Liberty	7	27	.206	16	4–13	3–14	6–10
6	e – Indiana Fever	6	28	.176	17	2–15	4–13	3–13

Notes

(#) – Conference Standing, Playoff Seeds shown to the right of team name

x – Clinched Playoff Berth

e – Eliminated from playoffs

	First round: Single elimination (Aug. 21)				Second round: Single elimination (Aug. 23)				Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4)				WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 7 – Sept. 12)
									1 Seattle Storm	3
									5 Phoenix Mercury	2
					4 Connecticut Sun	86
					5 Phoenix Mercury	96
	5 Phoenix Mercury	101
	8 Dallas Wings	83
													1 Seattle Storm	3
													3 Washington Mystics	0
	6 Los Angeles Sparks	75
	7 Minnesota Lynx	68
					3 Washington Mystics	96
					6 Los Angeles Sparks	64
									2 Atlanta Dream	2
									3 Washington Mystics	3

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

Semifinals

Team	1	2	3	4	5
1 Seattle Storm	91	91	66	84	94
5 Phoenix Mercury	87	87	86	86	84

Team	1	2	3	4	5
2 Atlanta Dream	84	78	81	76	81
3 Washington Mystics	87	75	76	97	86

WNBA Finals

Team	1	2	3
1 Seattle Storm	89	75	98
3 Washington Mystics	76	73	82

Statistics

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

Statistics are accurate as of September 20, 2018.
Source:[9]

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Tiffany Hayes	31	29	28.9	.441	.321	.817	3.6	2.7	1.2	0.2	17.2
Angel McCoughtry	29	28	27.6	.420	.276	.836	6.0	3.0	1.3	0.6	16.5
Renee Montgomery	34	34	27.5	.389	.371	.881	1.7	3.7	1.3	0.1	10.3
Brittney Sykes	29	7	20.7	.411	.268	.663	3.5	2.3	0.3	0.6	9.7
Elizabeth Williams	33	32	26.8	.548	.000	.563	5.8	1.4	0.8	1.8	9.1
Alex Bentley	16	0	20.8	.376	.310	.529	1.5	3.4	0.9	0.1	8.7
Jessica Breland	34	34	26.4	.428	.000	.750	7.9	2.0	1.1	1.9	8.3
Damiris Dantas	19	0	13.4	.433	.238	.722	2.4	0.8	0.4	0.0	5.4
Alexis Prince	2	0	3.0	.600	1.000	.000	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.5
Monique Billings	32	0	11.0	.441	.000	.750	2.8	0.4	0.4	0.0	3.3
Imani McGee-Stafford	29	2	10.5	.453	.000	.467	3.4	0.6	0.4	0.4	2.9
Blake Dietrick	26	0	7.2	.343	.391	.667	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.0	1.4
Adaora Elonu	1	0	1.0	.000	.000	.000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Tiffany Hayes	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week	June 11, 2018	[10]
Angel McCoughtry		June 24, 2018	[11]
Jessica Breland		July 15, 2018	[12]
Angel McCoughtry	WNBA All-Star Selection	July 17, 2018	[13]
Tiffany Hayes	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week	July 23, 2018	[14]
	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month - July	August 1, 2018	[15]
Nicki Collen	WNBA Coach of the Month - July	August 2, 2018	[16]
Tiffany Hayes	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week	August 6, 2018	[17]
Nicki Collen	WNBA Coach of the Month - August	August 20, 2018	[18]
	WNBA Coach of the Year	August 28, 2018	[19]
Chris Sienko	WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year	August 28, 2018	[20]

References

1. "Atlanta Dream 2018 Season Schedule". WNBA.com. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
2. "Bria Holmes to Miss 2018 Season Due to Pregnancy". dream.wnba.com. January 16, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
3. "Atlanta Dream Sign Two-Time WNBA Champion Renee Montgomery". dream.wnba.com. February 1, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
4. "Atlanta Dream Sign Forward Jessica Breland". dream.wnba.com. February 5, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
5. "Angel McCoughtry Announces Return to Atlanta Dream, WNBA". dream.wnba.com. February 8, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
6. "Damiris Dantas Re-Signs with Atlanta Dream". dream.wnba.com. February 14, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
7. "Atlanta Dream Trade Bria Holmes to Connecticut Sun". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
8. "Dream Trade Layshia Clarendon, Draft Pick to Sun For Alex Bentley". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
9. "Team Stats". wnba.com. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
10. "Phoenix's Griner, Atlanta's Hayes Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
11. "Atlanta's McCoughtry, Minnesota's Moore Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. June 25, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
12. "Atlanta's Breland, Los Angeles' Parker Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
13. "2018 WNBA All-Stars Announced; Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker To Serve As Player-Captains". wnba.com. WNBA. July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
14. "Atlanta's Hayes, Dallas' Cambage Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
15. "Atlanta's Hayes, Seattle's Stewart Named WNBA Players Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
16. "Atlanta's Collen Named WNBA Coach Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
17. "Atlanta's Hayes, Los Angeles' Parker Named WNBA Players of the Week". wnba.com. WNBA. August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
18. "Dream's Nicki Collen Named August Coach Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
19. "Atlanta's Nicki Collen Named 2018 WNBA Coach Of The Year". wnba.com. WNBA. August 28, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
20. "Atlanta's Chris Sienko Named 2018 WNBA Basketball Executive Of The Year". wnba.com. WNBA. August 28, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.

External links

• THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE ATLANTA DREAM