2008 Atlanta Dream season

2008 Atlanta Dream season
Coach	Marynell Meadors
Arena	Philips Arena
Attendance	8,316 per game
Results
Record	4–30 (.118)
Place	7th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Team Leaders
Points	Betty Lennox – 17.5
Rebounds	Érika de Souza – 6.6
Assists	Ivory Latta – 3.6
2009 season →

The 2008 Atlanta Dream season was the debut season for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association, and their first season under head coach, Marynell Meadors. The team name was unveiled on January 23, 2008, with the expansion draft held on February 6. The Atlanta Dream had seventeen straight losses. It was the longest losing streak to start a season in WNBA history. ^[1]

Transactions

Expansion draft

Main article: 2008 WNBA expansion draft

The list of players selected in the expansion draft were as follows:

Player	Nationality	Former WNBA Team
Carla Thomas	United States	Chicago Sky
Érika de Souza	Brazil	Connecticut Sun
Katie Feenstra	United States	Detroit Shock
Roneeka Hodges	United States	Houston Comets
Ann Strother	United States	Indiana Fever
LaToya Thomas	United States	Los Angeles Sparks
Kristen Mann	United States	Minnesota Lynx
Ann Wauters	Belgium	New York Liberty
Jennifer Lacy	United States	Phoenix Mercury
Kristin Haynie	United States	Sacramento Monarchs
Chantelle Anderson	United States	San Antonio Silver Stars
Betty Lennox	United States	Seattle Storm
Yelena Leuchanka	Belarus	Washington Mystics

Additionally, Atlanta immediately orchestrated three trades involving players in the expansion draft. ^[2]

Trade
To Atlanta Dream	To Detroit Shock
Ivory Latta	LaToya Thomas and the 18th pick in the 2008 WNBA draft
To Atlanta Dream	To Seattle Storm
Iziane Castro Marques and the 8th pick in the 2008 WNBA draft	Roneeka Hodges and the 4th pick in the 2008 WNBA draft
To Atlanta Dream	To Indiana Fever
24th pick in the 2008 Draft	Agreeing not to select specific unprotected Fever players

WNBA draft

See also: 2008 WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	8	Tamera Young	United States	James Madison
2	24	Morenike Atunrase	United States	Texas A&M
3	32	Danielle Hood	United States	Hartford

Trades and Roster Changes

Date	Transaction
February 6, 2008	Traded LaToya Thomas and a Second Round Pick in the 2008 WNBA draft to the Detroit Shock in exchange for Ivory Latta
	Traded Roneeka Hodges and a First Round Pick in the 2008 WNBA draft to the Seattle Storm in exchange for Iziane Castro Marques and a First Round Pick in the 2008 WNBA draft
	Agreed to not select any specific unprotected Indiana Fever players in exchange for the Fever's Second Round Pick in the 2008 WNBA draft [3]
February 25, 2008	Signed Tasha Butts
March 24, 2008	Signed Jennifer Lacy and Brittany Jackson to Training Camp Contracts
March 27, 2008	Signed Stacey Lovelace
April 9, 2008	Traded Ann Wauters, the draft rights to Morenike Atunrase, and a Second Round Pick in the 2009 WNBA draft to the San Antonio Silver Stars in exchange for Camille Little, the draft rights to Chioma Nnamaka and a Second Round Pick in the 2009 WNBA draft [4]
April 11, 2008	Signed Jessica Dickson to a Training Camp Contract
April 14, 2008	Signed Danielle Hood, Chioma Nnamaka, Tamera Young, and Jessica Dickson to Rookie Scale Contracts
April 18, 2008	Signed Dalila Eshe to a Training Camp Contract
April 22, 2008	Signed Jill Ingram to a Training Camp Contract
May 4, 2008	Waived Brittany Jackson and Dalila Este
May 5, 2008	Waived Tasha Butts
May 14, 2008	Waived Jill Ingram, Jessica Dickson, and Danielle Hood
May 15, 2008	Signed Katie Feenstra, Kristin Haynie, and Kristen Mann to Contract Extensions
May 16, 2008	Waived Carla Thomas
	Temporarily Suspend Yelena Leuchanka due to Overseas Commitments
Mau 28, 2008	Waived Chantelle Anderson
June 22, 2008	Traded Camille Little to the Seattle Storm in exchange for a Second Round Pick in the 2009 WNBA draft [5]
June 23, 2008	Signed Kasha Terry
July 4, 2008	Traded Kristen Mann to the Indiana Fever in exchange for Alison Bales [6]
July 8, 2008	Waived Stacey Lovelace
August 15, 2008	Signed Nikki Teasley [7]
September 12, 2008	Re-Signed Iziane Castro Marques

Roster

2008 Atlanta Dream roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight From C 33 Bales, Alison 6' 7" (2.01m) 218 lb (99kg) Duke G/F 8 Castro Marques, Iziane 6' 0" (1.83m) 140 lb (64kg) Brazil F/C 14 DeSouza, Erika 6' 5" (1.96m) 190 lb (86kg) Brazil C 44 Feenstra, Katie 6' 8" (2.03m) 240 lb (109kg) Liberty University G 4 Haynie, Kristin 5' 9" (1.75m) 147 lb (67kg) Michigan State F 21 Lacy, Jennifer 6' 3" (1.91m) 175 lb (79kg) Pepperdine G 12 Latta, Ivory 5' 6" (1.68m) 143 lb (65kg) North Carolina G 22 Lennox, Betty 5' 8" (1.73m) 143 lb (65kg) Louisiana Tech G 9 Nnamaka, Chioma 6' 0" (1.83m) Georgia Tech G/F 43 Strother, Ann 6' 3" (1.91m) 166 lb (75kg) Connecticut G 42 Teasley, Nikki 6' 0" (1.83m) 159 lb (72kg) North Carolina F/C 35 Terry, Kasha 6' 3" (1.91m) 185 lb (84kg) Georgia Tech F 23 Young, Tamera 6' 2" (1.88m) James Madison University	Head coach Marynell Meadors (Middle Tennessee) Assistant coaches Katy Steding (Stanford) Fred Williams (Boise State) Sue Panek Athletic trainer Kara Dolling Strength and conditioning coach Jackie Ansley (Virginia Tech) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth

Pos.	Starter	Bench
C	Alison Bales	Katie Feenstra
PF	Érika de Souza	Jennifer Lacy
SF	Iziane Castro Marques	Tamera Young Ann Strother
SG	Betty Lennox	Kasha Terry Chioma Nnamaka
PG	Ivory Latta	Kristin Haynie Nikki Teasley

Schedule

Preseason

2008 Preseason Schedule
Total: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1) Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 1 May 3 Los Angeles L 80-86 Thomas, Young (15) Young (5) Ingram (4) Philips Arena 7,932 0-1 2 May 11 @ Phoenix L 84-97 Lennox (21) Lovelace (6) Haynie, Lennox (4) US Airways Center 1,845 0-2

Regular season

The Atlanta Dream lost their first game in franchise history, 67-100. Their opponent was the Connecticut Sun; the Sun delivered a 32-8 run that stretched into the second quarter to open a 17-point lead. The lead exploded to 34 points. At the conclusion of the game, the Dream were outrebounded 53-29. For the Dream, Stacey Lovelace had 11 points, five assists and four rebounds.

2008 Regular Season Total: 4–30 (Home: 1–16; Road: 3–14)
May: 0–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 0–2) Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 1 May 17 @ Connecticut 67-100 Lennox (17) Haynie, Lennox (7) Lovelace (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,420 0-1 2 May 23 Detroit 76-88 Lennox (21) de Souza (18) Latta (3) Philips Arena 11,609 0-2 3 May 25 Los Angeles 56-74 Castro Marques (17) de Souza, Feenstra (6) Haynie, Latta (4) Philips Arena 11,186 0-3 4 May 27 @ Washington 74-80 Lennox (29) de Souza, Lennox, Little, Lovelace (3) Latta (6) Verizon Center 6,231 0-4
June: 0–11 (Home: 0–6; Road: 0–5) Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 5 June 3 Minnesota 81-85 Lennox (28) Feenstra (9) Lennox (8) Philips Arena 5,844 0-5 6 June 6 Chicago 72-86 Latta (17) Little (7) Latta, Lennox (5) Philips Arena 7,418 0-6 7 June 7 @ Chicago 70-91 Lacy (18) Lacy (10) Lennox (4) UIC Pavilion 3,182 0-7 8 June 11 New York 77-81 Lennox (28) Lennox (7) Latta (6) Philips Arena 5,936 0-8 9 June 13 Indiana 67-76 Young, Latta (14) Lacy, Young (5) Latta (6) Philips Arena 8,167 0-9 10 June 16 @ Houston 79-88 Lennox (29) Lennox (11) Young (3) Reliant Arena 6,139 0-10 11 June 18 San Antonio 66-81 Lovelace (18) Young (13) Young (7) Philips Arena 6,225 0-11 12 June 20 @ Washington 61-72 Lennox (18) Lennox (9) Latta (4) Verizon Center 7,448 0-12 13 June 22 Detroit 76-97 Latta (26) Young (11) Latta (10) Philips Arena 7,865 0-13 14 June 27 @ Connecticut 101-109 (OT) Lennox (44) Lennox (9) Lennox (7) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,612 0-14 15 June 29 @ Detroit 92-100 Young (26) Lennox (8) Latta (5) Palace of Auburn Hills 8,798 0-15
July: 3–9 (Home: 1–5; Road: 2–4) Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 16 July 1 Phoenix 79-97 Lennox (18) Lovelace, Young (7) Latta (5) Philips Arena 9,795 0-16 17 July 3 Houston 65-72 Lennox (15) Feenstra (9) Haynie, Strother (3) Philips Arena 7,430 0-17 18 July 5 Chicago 91-84 Lacy, Latta (18) Young (8) Haynie (11) Philips Arena 8,468 1-17 19 July 9 @ Minnesota 73-67 Lennox (24) Bales (11) Haynie (5) Target Center 5,893 2-17 20 July 11 @ San Antonio 74-82 Lennox (22) Bales (9) Lennox (4) AT&T Center 10,943 2-18 21 July 13 @ Chicago 66-79 Feenstra (21) Feenstra (8) Feenstra, Haynie, Lennox (2) UIC Pavilion 2,907 2-19 22 July 16 @ Indiana 81-77 Castro Marques (24) Bales (11) Haynie (7) Conseco Fieldhouse 9,303 3-19 23 July 18 @ Sacramento 73-77 Haynie (12) Feenstra (8) Haynie (4) ARCO Arena 7,236 3-20 24 July 19 @ Phoenix 84-110 Latta (18) Terry (11) Latta (3) US Airways Center 7,913 3-21 25 July 22 Sacramento 66-79 Terry, Latta (15) Terry (9) Haynie (4) Philips Arena 10,431 3-22 26 July 25 Washington 75-81 Castro Marques (23) Bales (7) Haynie (3) Philips Arena 8,279 3-23 27 July 27 New York 76-86 Lennox (18) de Souza (11) Latta (5) Philips Arena 8,759 3-24
August: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1) Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record Summer Olympic break 28 August 29 Connecticut 72-98 Lennox (19) de Souza, Feenstra (6) Haynie (6) Philips Arena 11,442 3-25 29 August 30 @ Indiana 72-87 Lennox (27) Bales (5) Haynie (5) Conseco Fieldhouse 9,280 3-26
September: 1–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 1–2) Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 30 September 2 Seattle 69-83 Lennox (25) de Souza (8) Latta (4) Philips Arena 7,390 3-27 31 September 5 @ New York 71-82 Lennox (28) Lennox (7) Castro Marques (4) Madison Square Garden 7,039 3-28 32 September 8 Indiana 77-81 Lennox (19) Bales (9) Castro Marques (6) Philips Arena 7,706 3-29 33 September 11 @ Los Angeles 83-72 Castro Marques (23) Bales (9) Latta (10) Staples Center 9,060 4-29 34 September 12 @ Seattle 72-77 Young (20) Feenstra, Haynie, Terry (5) Latta (4) KeyArena 9,686 4-30

Standings

Eastern Conference	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
Detroit Shock x	22	12	.647	–	14–3	8–9	16–4
Connecticut Sun x	21	13	.618	1.0	13–4	8–9	13–7
New York Liberty x	19	15	.559	3.0	11–6	8–9	11–9
Indiana Fever x	17	17	.500	5.0	11–6	6–11	12–8
Chicago Sky o	12	22	.353	10.0	8–9	4–13	10–10
Washington Mystics o	10	24	.294	12.0	6–11	4–13	6–14
Atlanta Dream o	4	30	.118	18.0	1–16	3–14	2–18

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

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Betty Lennox	34	33	29.7	41.5	35.8	85.5	4.2	2.4	1.3	0.1	17.5
Ivory Latta	34	31	28.2	36.2	34.4	80.2	2.1	3.6	1.3	0.0	11.4
Erika de Souza	12	8	23.1	58.5	0.0	61.5	6.6	0.7	1.4	1.8	9.3
Iziane Castro Marques	29	20	23.1	35.3	30.9	81.4	2.2	1.8	0.9	0.2	9.3
Tamera Young	33	15	22.6	33.3	32.5	69.1	4.2	1.2	0.9	0.3	7.3
Katie Feenstra	33	4	14.0	53.5	0.0	75.0	3.9	0.3	0.9	0.8	6.7
Stacey Lovelace	15	7	17.2	40.4	41.7	69.2	3.6	1.0	1.1	0.7	6.1
Jennifer Lacy	33	22	18.3	38.9	19.0	67.3	2.7	0.8	0.6	0.2	5.7
Alison Bales	17	9	22.3	40.5	33.3	67.7	6.0	0.6	0.9	1.7	4.8
Camille Little	13	2	17.0	42.0	40.0	59.3	3.1	0.7	0.8	0.5	4.8
Kasha Terry	20	8	13.8	47.4	0.0	60.6	3.2	0.5	0.5	0.6	4.6
Kristen Mann	13	8	17.2	40.9	50.0	100.0	1.5	1.1	0.6	0.3	3.5
Kristin Haynie	33	3	14.7	31.6	31.3	75.0	1.7	2.5	0.9	0.1	2.8
Ann Strother	21	0	7.6	35.3	36.8	66.7	0.6	0.3	0.2	0.1	1.9
Chioma Nnamaka	12	0	7.0	23.1	18.2	66.7	1.0	0.2	0.4	0.0	1.3

References

1. "Worst start to a WNBA season, team". guinnessworldrecords.com. Guinness World Records. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
2. "Atlanta Dream Expansion Draft". Archived from the original on August 20, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
3. "Atlanta Dream Build Inaugural Roster With 13 Picks In 2008 Expansion Draft". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
4. "San Antonio Acquires Ann Wauters, Morenike Atunrase In Draft Day Trade With Atlanta". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
5. "Seattle Storm trades for Atlanta's Camille Little". oursportscentral.com. Our Sports Central. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
6. "Dream Acquire Center Alison Bales In Trade With Indiana Fever". oursportscentral.com. Our Sports Central. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
7. "Atlanta Dream Signs Free Agent Point Guard Nikki Teasley". tarheeltimes.com. Tar Heel Times. Retrieved July 6, 2022.