From promise to possibility: Dream chart their next step
If Karl Smesko had his way, the Dream would still be playing. The first-year WNBA head coach would be drawing up game plans for a semifinals matchup with the No. 2 seed Las Vegas Aces, preparing for Game 3 at Gateway Center Arena.
That’s not the reality. But it doesn’t erase what the Dream built in 2025.
The Dream carried a bold vision into the 2025 campaign. With Smesko taking over and marquee offseason additions Brittney Griner, Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough joining forces with stars Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray, the goal was nothing short of a championship run.
Few expected the Dream to double their win total from a year ago, post a franchise-best 30 victories and finish tied for the WNBA’s second-best record. Even fewer imagined they would lock in the No. 3 playoff seed, despite losing to the No. 6 seed Indiana Fever in the best-of-three, first-round series.
“I thought if healthy, we had a team that could compete with anybody,” Smesko said after the Dream’s Aug. 23 win over the New York Liberty, which set the franchise’s single-season record for wins. “If you have that type of team, you should get wins along the way and hopefully be in a good position once the playoffs come.”
Health, though, was never a guarantee. Dream guard Jordin Canada missed the first seven games with knee injuries and eight others in August with a right hamstring injury. Howard sat 10 games in the heart of the season with a left knee injury. Griner lost three games to a neck injury that happened Aug. 1 before returning to the court as a key reserve in place of Naz Hillmon.
Still, the Dream adapted. Lineups shifted, rotations bent, but the season never broke.
As Smesko and general manager Dan Padover sat side by side for the team’s postseason exit interview Wednesday, they were proud of the team, and they carried a huge sense of optimism about what lies ahead for the franchise.
“I think going in every week or two throughout the (regular season) stretch, we had to play with different lineups, and that’s the nature of the WNBA,” Padover said. “Injuries happen, things happen, but what our coaches and players were able to do, not knowing who was going in every night, but really playing together as a group, I thought was very impressive down the stretch.”
Smesko echoed Padover: “You wish you were still playing, but you still have an appreciation for everything that was accomplished this year,” he said. “We’re really excited about the future.”
In addition to the Dream’s historic regular season and this year’s playoff seeding, the franchise earned its third consecutive postseason appearance, brought playoff basketball to Atlanta for the first time since 2018 and marked the first time it happened at Gateway Center Arena. The franchise also witnessed the growth and further transformation from players like Gray, Howard and Hillmon, who won this year’s Sixth Player of the Year award.
But as a team, the Dream improved leaps and bounds from the 2024 campaign. By the end of last season, the Dream’s offense sputtered near the bottom of the league. They ranked 11th in offensive rating, last in effective field goal percentage and next to last in 3-point shooting. They struggled to move the ball, finishing 12th in assists, and rarely stretched defenses, sitting near the bottom in 3s made and attempted.
In Smesko’s first season, the Dream climbed into elite company. By the end of the regular season, the Dream ranked second in both offensive and defensive rating, fifth in scoring and third in points allowed. They erupted for 421 3s, pounded the glass for 390 offensive boards and dominated the defensive side with a league-best 1,219 rebounds. Their 1,609 total rebounds also led the WNBA.
Padover stood at the center of Dream’s turnaround, and Tuesday the league recognized it. He collected his third WNBA Executive of the Year award — his first with the Dream — after reshaping the franchise with bold free-agency moves and cornerstone draft picks like Howard and Hillmon in 2022.
But Padover was quick to deflect the credit. For him, the Dream’s rise wasn’t about one decision or one voice.
“I think Karl (Smesko) and the coaching staff did an awesome job of getting this group together,” Padover said. “I think our players really bought in. They were focused. And it takes everybody to have the type of year we had.”
Even after a record-setting first season, Smesko sees more ahead. He said he believes growth starts with him as he prepares for his second year on a WNBA sideline.
Smesko, who turns 55 in eight days, leaned on Padover to navigate the unknowns of his rookie season. That guidance, he said, helped steady the franchise and gave him space to grow. With a year of experience now behind him, Smesko said he expects the chemistry built within the roster to carry forward.
“He (Padover) guided me through this first year of me not knowing exactly how everything was going to play out,” Smesko said. “He’s been a tremendous resource to help the team be successful. … I think the players feel comfortable in the system now. … I think the advantage we have going forward now is, I believe, all the players on our roster think that’s more than possible as well.”
