2018 Atlanta Dream season

Last updated

2018 Atlanta Dream season
Coach Nicki Collen
Arena McCamish Pavilion
Attendance4,194 per game
Results
Record23–11 (.676)
Place1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish2nd seed; Lost in Semifinals to Washington (2–3)
Team Leaders
Points Tiffany Hayes – 17.2
Rebounds Jessica Breland – 7.9
Assists Renee Montgomery – 3.7
Media
Television Fox Sports South (FS-S), Fox Sports Southeast (FSSE)

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]

Contents

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 9, 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

RoundPickPlayerNationalitySchool/team/country
215 Monique Billings Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States UCLA
216 Kristy Wallace Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Baylor
327 Mackenzie Engram Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Georgia

Trades and Roster Changes

DateTransaction
January 1, 2018Cored Angel McCoughtry
Exercised 4th-Year Team Option on Bria Holmes and Imani McGee-Stafford
Extended a Qualifying Offer to Damiris Dantas
January 16, 2018 Bria Holmes to miss season due to Pregnancy [2]
February 1, 2018Signed Renee Montgomery [3]
Signed Maggie Lucas to a training-camp contract
February 2, 2018Signed Jessica Breland [4]
February 8, 2018Signed Angel McCoughtry [5]
February 13, 2018Signed Adaora Elonu to a training-camp contract
February 14, 2018Signed Damiris Dantas [6]
March 9, 2018Signed Blake Dietrick to a training-camp contract
April 3, 2018Signed Elizabeth Williams to a Multi-Year Extension [7]
April 5, 2018Signed Yelena Leuchanka to a training-camp contract [8]
April 12, 2018Traded Bria Holmes to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for a Second Round Pick in 2018 and 2019 [9]
April 13, 2018Signed Alexa Hart and Rosemarie Julien to training-camp contracts
Waived Yelena Leuchanka [10]
April 18, 2018Signed Mackenzie Engram to a rookie-scale contract
April 19, 2018Signed Monique Billings to a rookie-scale contract
May 4, 2018Waived Alexa Hart [11]
May 13, 2018Waived Rosemarie Julien [12]
May 16, 2018Waived Mackenzie Engram
May 17, 2018Waived Adaora Elonu [13]
June 30, 2018Waived Maggie Lucas [14]
July 4, 2018Signed Alexis Prince to a 7-day contract [15]
July 9, 2018Traded Layshia Clarendon and 2nd Round Pick in the 2019 WNBA draft to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Alex Bentley [16]
July 11, 2018Signed Alexis Prince to a 2nd 7-day contract
July 18, 2018Signed Alexis Prince to a 3rd 7-day contract
July 25, 2018Signed Alexis Prince
August 7, 2018Signed Tiffany Hayes to a Multi-Year Extension [17]
August 10, 2018Signed Adaora Elonu to a 7-day contract [18]
August 17, 2018Signed Adaora Elonu

Roster

2018 Atlanta Dream roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
G 20 Flag of the United States.svg Bentley, Alex 5' 7" (1.7m)152 lb (69kg)1990-10-27 Penn State 5
F 25 Flag of the United States.svg Billings, Monique 6' 4" (1.93m)176 lb (80kg)1996-05-02 UCLA R
F 51 Flag of the United States.svg Breland, Jessica 6' 3" (1.91m)164 lb (74kg)1988-02-23 North Carolina 6
C 12 Flag of Brazil.svg Dantas, Damiris 6' 3" (1.91m)208 lb (94kg)1992-11-17 Brazil 4
G 11 Flag of the United States.svg Dietrick, Blake 5' 10" (1.78m)157 lb (71kg)1993-07-19 Princeton 1
F 2 Flag of Nigeria.svg Elonu, Adaora 6' 1" (1.85m)165 lb (75kg)1990-04-28 Texas A&M R
G 15 Flag of the United States.svg Hayes, Tiffany 5' 10" (1.78m)155 lb (70kg)1989-09-20 Connecticut 6
G/F 35 Flag of the United States.svg McCoughtry, Angel  Cruz Roja.svg6' 1" (1.85m)160 lb (73kg)1986-07-10 Louisville 8
C 34 Flag of the United States.svg McGee-Stafford, Imani 6' 7" (2.01m)200 lb (91kg)1994-10-11 Texas 2
G 21 Flag of the United States.svg Montgomery, Renee 5' 7" (1.7m)141 lb (64kg)1986-12-02 Connecticut 9
G 3 Flag of the United States.svg Prince, Alexis 6' 2" (1.88m)178 lb (81kg)1994-02-05 Baylor 1
G 7 Flag of the United States.svg Sykes, Brittney 5' 9" (1.75m)155 lb (70kg)1994-02-07 Syracuse 1
F/C 1 Flag of the United States.svg Williams, Elizabeth 6' 3" (1.91m)199 lb (90kg)1993-06-23 Duke 3
Head coach
Flag of the United States.svg Nicki Collen (Marquette)
Assistant coaches
Flag of the United States.svg Mike Peterson (Bushnell)
Flag of the United States.svg Darius Taylor (Michigan)
Athletic trainer
Flag of the United States.svg Jessica Cohen (Vanderbilt)
Strength and conditioning coach
Flag of the United States.svg Ashley Alexander (New Orleans)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured

Depth

Pos.StarterBench
C Elizabeth Williams Imani McGee-Stafford
PF Jessica Breland Damiris Dantas
Monique Billings
Adaora Elonu
SF Angel McCoughtry Brittney Sykes
Alexis Prince
SG Tiffany Hayes Alex Bentley
PG Renee Montgomery Blake Dietrick

Schedule

Preseason

2018 Schedule: Preseason
Total: 1–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1May 6@ Chicago W 78–61 Hayes (16) Williams (7) Montgomery (7) Wintrust Arena
1–0
2May 11vs. Connecticut L 58–74 Clarendon (13) Williams (6) Montgomery (3) Webster Bank Arena
1,610		1–1
2018 pre-season schedule

Regular season

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

Playoffs

2016 Playoffs: Total: 2–3 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–1)
WNBA Semifinals vs. Washington (Lost Series 2-3)
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1August 26 Washington L 84–87 Bentley (19) Williams (14)5 Tied (2) McCamish Pavilion
5,086		0–1
2August 28 Washington W 78–75 Bentley (22) Breland (14) Hayes (6) McCamish Pavilion
3,813		1–1
3August 31 Washington W 81–76 Hayes (23) Breland (11) Montgomery (3) Charles Smith Center
3,867		2–1
4September 2 Washington 76–97 Tied (12) Breland (8) Montgomery (10) Charles Smith Center
3,722		2–2
5September 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)2311.676–13–410–712–4
2 Washington Mystics (3)2212.647112–510–712–4
3 Connecticut Sun (4)2113.618213–48–99–7
4e – Chicago Sky 1321.382107–106–116–10
5e – New York Liberty 727.206164–133–146–10
6e – Indiana Fever 628.176172–154–133–13

Notes

(#) – Conference Standing, Playoff Seeds shown to the right of team name
x – Clinched Playoff Berth
e – Eliminated from playoffs

Playoffs

First round
Single elimination
(Aug. 21)		Second round
Single elimination
(Aug. 23)		Semifinals
Best-of-5
(Aug. 26 – Sept. 4)		 WNBA Finals
Best-of-5
(Sept. 7 – Sept. 12)
1 Seattle Storm 3
4 Connecticut Sun 865 Phoenix Mercury 2
5 Phoenix Mercury 1015 Phoenix Mercury 961 Seattle Storm 3
8 Dallas Wings 833 Washington Mystics 0
2 Atlanta Dream 2
3 Washington Mystics 963 Washington Mystics 3
6 Los Angeles Sparks 756 Los Angeles Sparks 64
7 Minnesota Lynx 68

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

Statistics

Legend
  GPGames 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 gameTeam leaderLeague leader

Regular season

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
Tiffany Hayes 312928.9.441.321.8173.62.71.20.217.2
Angel McCoughtry 292827.6.420.276.8366.03.01.30.616.5
Renee Montgomery 343427.5.389.371.8811.73.71.30.110.3
Brittney Sykes 29720.7.411.268.6633.52.30.30.69.7
Elizabeth Williams 333226.8.548.000.5635.81.40.81.89.1
Alex Bentley 16020.8.376.310.5291.53.40.90.18.7
Jessica Breland 343426.4.428.000.7507.92.01.11.98.3
Damiris Dantas 19013.4.433.238.7222.40.80.40.05.4
Alexis Prince 203.0.6001.000.0001.00.00.00.03.5
Monique Billings 32011.0.441.000.7502.80.40.40.03.3
Imani McGee-Stafford 29210.5.453.000.4673.40.60.40.42.9
Blake Dietrick 2607.2.343.391.6670.50.40.30.01.4
Adaora Elonu 101.0.000.000.0000.00.00.00.00.0

Playoffs

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
Tiffany Hayes 5533.644.437.580.06.23.41.40.216.4
Alex Bentley 5024.044.432.075.02.02.00.60.015.6
Brittney Sykes 5527.047.341.250.03.61.60.80.212.6
Elizabeth Williams 5531.451.10.054.58.81.00.61.210.8
Jessica Breland 5531.037.00.083.310.82.80.82.89.0
Renee Montgomery 5531.629.328.684.62.04.20.20.28.6
Monique Billings 5012.847.40.057.92.60.80.00.65.8
Imani McGee-Stafford 405.833.30.050.02.00.00.00.31.3
Adaora Elonu 104.00.00.050.00.00.00.00.00.0
Blake Dietrick 305.00.00.00.01.30.70.00.00.0

Awards and honors

RecipientAwardDate awardedRef.
Tiffany Hayes Eastern Conference Player of the Week June 11, 2018 [19]
July 23, 2018 [20]
August 6, 2018 [21]
Eastern Conference Player of the Month - July August 1, 2018 [22]
Angel McCoughtry Eastern Conference Player of the Week June 24, 2018 [23]
WNBA All-Star Selection July 17, 2018 [24]
Jessica Breland Eastern Conference Player of the Week July 15, 2018 [25]
Nicki Collen WNBA Coach of the Month - July August 2, 2018 [26]
WNBA Coach of the Month - August August 20, 2018 [27]
WNBA Coach of the Year August 28, 2018 [28]
Chris Sienko WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year August 28, 2018 [29]

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. ↑ "Elizabeth Williams Signs Multi-Year Contract Extension with Atlanta Dream". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Atlanta Dream Sign Yelena Leuchanka to training-camp contract". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Atlanta Dream Trade Bria Holmes to Connecticut Sun". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  10. ↑ Dull, Ben. "Atlanta Dream waive Leuchanka, sign Hart and Julien". highposthoops.com. High Post Hoops. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Atlanta Dream Waive Alexa Hart". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Atlanta Dream Waive Rosemarie Julien". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Atlanta Dream Waive Mackenzie Engram, Adaora Elonu". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Atlanta Dream Waive Maggie Lucas". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Atlanta Dream Sign Guard Alexis Prince". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Dream Trade Layshia Clarendon, Draft Pick to Sun For Alex Bentley". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Tiffany Hayes Signs Multi-Year Extension With Dream". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Atlanta Dream Sign Adaora Elonu to Seven-Day Contract". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Phoenix's Griner, Atlanta's Hayes Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Atlanta's Hayes, Dallas' Cambage Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Atlanta's Hayes, Los Angeles' Parker Named WNBA Players of the Week". wnba.com. WNBA. August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Atlanta's Hayes, Seattle's Stewart Named WNBA Players Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Atlanta's McCoughtry, Minnesota's Moore Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. June 25, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  24. ↑ "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.
  25. ↑ "Atlanta's Breland, Los Angeles' Parker Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  26. ↑ "Atlanta's Collen Named WNBA Coach Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  27. ↑ "Dream's Nicki Collen Named August Coach Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Atlanta's Nicki Collen Named 2018 WNBA Coach Of The Year". wnba.com. WNBA. August 28, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Atlanta's Chris Sienko Named 2018 WNBA Basketball Executive Of The Year". wnba.com. WNBA. August 28, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.