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.
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
Round Pick Player Nationality School/team/country 2 15 Monique Billings UCLA 2 16 Kristy Wallace Baylor 3 27 Mackenzie Engram Georgia
Trades and Roster Changes DateTransaction January 1, 2018 Cored 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 February 1, 2018 Signed Renee Montgomery Signed Maggie Lucas to a training-camp contract February 2, 2018 Signed Jessica Breland February 8, 2018 Signed Angel McCoughtry February 13, 2018 Signed Adaora Elonu to a training-camp contract February 14, 2018 Signed Damiris Dantas March 9, 2018 Signed Blake Dietrick to a training-camp contract April 3, 2018 Signed Elizabeth Williams to a Multi-Year Extension April 5, 2018 Signed Yelena Leuchanka to a training-camp contract April 12, 2018 Traded Bria Holmes to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for a Second Round Pick in 2018 and 2019 April 13, 2018 Signed Alexa Hart and Rosemarie Julien to training-camp contracts Waived Yelena Leuchanka April 18, 2018 Signed Mackenzie Engram to a rookie-scale contract April 19, 2018 Signed Monique Billings to a rookie-scale contract May 4, 2018 Waived Alexa Hart May 13, 2018 Waived Rosemarie Julien May 16, 2018 Waived Mackenzie Engram May 17, 2018 Waived Adaora Elonu June 30, 2018 Waived Maggie Lucas July 4, 2018 Signed Alexis Prince to a 7-day contract July 9, 2018 Traded Layshia Clarendon and 2nd Round Pick in the 2019 WNBA draft to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Alex Bentley July 11, 2018 Signed Alexis Prince to a 2nd 7-day contract July 18, 2018 Signed Alexis Prince to a 3rd 7-day contract July 25, 2018 Signed Alexis Prince August 7, 2018 Signed Tiffany Hayes to a Multi-Year Extension August 10, 2018 Signed Adaora Elonu to a 7-day contract August 17, 2018 Signed Adaora Elonu
Roster
Depth Pos.StarterBench C Elizabeth Williams Imani McGee-Stafford PF Jessica Breland Damiris DantasMonique BillingsAdaora Elonu SF Angel McCoughtry Brittney SykesAlexis Prince SG Tiffany Hayes Alex Bentley PG Renee Montgomery Blake Dietrick
Schedule Preseason
| 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 Arena1,610 | 1–1
Regular season
| 1 | May 20 | @ Dallas | L 78–101 | 3 Tied (14) | Sykes (7) | Hayes (6) | College Park Center5,907 | 0–1 |- | 2 | May 23 | @ Chicago | W 81–63 | Hayes (22) | Breland (10) | Williams (6) | Wintrust Arena6,147 | 1–1 |- | 3 | May 26 | Dallas | L 80–87 | McCoughtry (19) | Breland (10) | Hayes (4) | McCamish Pavilion4,749 | 1–2 |- | 4 | May 29 | Minnesota | W 76–74 | Hayes (20) | Tied (7) | Tied (5) | McCamish Pavilion3,785 | 2–2
| 5 | June 3 | Phoenix | L 71–78 | McCoughtry (21) | Tied (10) | Clarendon (3) | McCamish Pavilion3,795 | 2–3 |- | 6 | June 5 | Connecticut | W 82–77 | Hayes (22) | Breland (9) | Tied (4) | McCamish Pavilion2,830 | 3–3 |- | 7 | June 8 | @ Las Vegas | W 87–83 | Hayes (24) | Tied (9) | McCoughtry (6) | Mandalay Bay Events Center5,913 | 4–3 |- | 8 | June 10 | @ Seattle | W 67–64 | Hayes (23) | Breland (14) | 4 Tied (2) | KeyArena6,345 | 5–3 |- | 9 | June 12 | @ Los Angeles | L 64–72 | Hayes (16) | Breland (6) | Hayes (3) | Staples Center9,215 | 5–4 |- | 10 | June 14 | Indiana | W 72–67 | Hayes (23) | Breland (13) | McCoughtry (4) | McCamish Pavilion6,561 | 6–4 |- | 11 | June 16 | @ Indiana | L 64–96 | McCoughtry (19) | McCoughtry (8) | Clarendon (4) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse6,234 | 6–5 |- | 12 | June 19 | @ New York | L 72–79 | McCoughtry (39) | McCoughtry (14) | McCoughtry (4) | Westchester County Center1,627 | 6–6 |- | 13 | June 22 | Connecticut | W 75–70 | McCoughtry (25) | Williams (10) | Sykes (4) | McCamish Pavilion4,047 | 7–6 |- | 14 | June 27 | @ Chicago | L 80–93 | Montgomery (19) | Breland (7) | Montgomery (5) | Wintrust Arena8,521 | 7–7 |- | 15 | June 29 | @ Minnesota | L 74–85 | McGee-Stafford (15) | Breland (10) | Montgomery (6) | Target Center9,209 | 7–8
| 16 | July 1 | @ Indiana | W 87–83 | Sykes (20) | Tied (6) | Sykes (7) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse5,277 | 8–8 |- | 17 | July 6 | Seattle | L 86–95 | McCoughtry (26) | Sykes (6) | Dantas (5) | McCamish Pavilion3,935 | 8–9 |- | 18 | July 8 | Phoenix | W 76–70 | Hayes (18) | Breland (12) | McCoughtry (4) | McCamish Pavilion3,952 | 9–9 |- | 19 | July 11 | @ Washington | W 106–89 | McCoughtry (26) | Breland (10) | Breland (7) | Capital One Arena11,354 | 10–9 |- | 20 | July 13 | Indiana | W 98–74 | Hayes (16) | Breland (8) | McCoughtry (7) | McCamish Pavilion3,807 | 11–9 |- | 21 | July 15 | Washington | W 80–77 | Sykes (17) | Breland (10) | Bentley (4) | McCamish Pavilion3,880 | 12–9 |- | 22 | July 17 | @ Connecticut | W 86–83 | McCoughtry (24) | Breland (11) | Tied (4) | Mohegan Sun Arena5,555 | 13–9 |- | 23 | July 19 | New York | W 82–68 | Montgomery (24) | Tied (12) | McCoughtry (6) | McCamish Pavilion3,074 | 14–9 |- | 24 | July 22 | Seattle | W 87–74 | Williams (17) | Tied (8) | Hayes (5) | McCamish Pavilion4,916 | 15–9 |- | 25 | July 24 | @ Los Angeles | W 81–87 | McCoughtry (19) | McCoughtry (7) | Montgomery (6) | Staples Center9,324 | 16–9 |- | 26 | July 31 | Washington | L 71–86 | Hayes (18) | Williams (9) | Sykes (5) | McCamish Pavilion3,648 | 16–10
| 27 | August 3 | Chicago | W 89–74 | McCoughtry (21) | Breland (9) | Bentley (7) | McCamish Pavilion5,120 | 17–10 |- | 28 | August 5 | @ Minnesota | W 86–66 | Hayes (28) | Tied (8) | Sykes (6) | Target Center9,333 | 18–10 |- | 29 | August 7 | Las Vegas | W 109–100 | Tied (22) | Breland (11) | Bentley (8) | McCamish Pavilion4,033 | 19–10 |- | 30 | August 9 | Los Angeles | W 79–73 | Breland (19) | Breland (9) | Bentley (8) | McCamish Pavilion4,235 | 20–10 |- | 31 | August 11 | Dallas | W 92–82 | Montgomery (24) | Williams (9) | 3 Tied (5) | McCamish Pavilion4,937 | 21–10 |- | 32 | August 12 | @ New York | W 86–77 | Montgomery (30) | Tied (7) | Sykes (4) | Westchester County Center2,362 | 22–10 |- | 33 | August 17 | @ Phoenix | L 95–104 | Bentley (24) | Williams (8) | Bentley (6) | Talking Stick Resort Arena11,177 | 22–11 |- | 34 | August 19 | @ Las Vegas | W 93–78 | Williams (20) | Williams (7) | Montgomery (9) | Mandalay Bay Events Center5,737 | 23–11
Playoffs
| 1 | August 26 | Washington | L 84–87 | Bentley (19) | Williams (14) | 5 Tied (2) | McCamish Pavilion5,086 | 0–1 |- | 2 | August 28 | Washington | W 78–75 | Bentley (22) | Breland (14) | Hayes (6) | McCamish Pavilion3,813 | 1–1 |- | 3 | August 31 | Washington | W 81–76 | Hayes (23) | Breland (11) | Montgomery (3) | Charles Smith Center3,867 | 2–1 |- | 4 | September 2 | Washington | 76–97 | Tied (12) | Breland (8) | Montgomery (10) | Charles Smith Center3,722 | 2–2 |- | 5 | September 4 | Washington | 81–86 | Bentley (16) | Breland (12) | Hayes (4) | McCamish Pavilion4,435 | 2–3
Standings
Playoffs
Statistics
Regular season 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
Playoffs Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Tiffany Hayes 5 5 33.6 44.4 37.5 80.0 6.2 3.4 1.4 0.2 16.4 Alex Bentley 5 0 24.0 44.4 32.0 75.0 2.0 2.0 0.6 0.0 15.6 Brittney Sykes 5 5 27.0 47.3 41.2 50.0 3.6 1.6 0.8 0.2 12.6 Elizabeth Williams 5 5 31.4 51.1 0.0 54.5 8.8 1.0 0.6 1.2 10.8 Jessica Breland 5 5 31.0 37.0 0.0 83.3 10.8 2.8 0.8 2.8 9.0 Renee Montgomery 5 5 31.6 29.3 28.6 84.6 2.0 4.2 0.2 0.2 8.6 Monique Billings 5 0 12.8 47.4 0.0 57.9 2.6 0.8 0.0 0.6 5.8 Imani McGee-Stafford 4 0 5.8 33.3 0.0 50.0 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 1.3 Adaora Elonu 1 0 4.0 0.0 0.0 50.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Blake Dietrick 3 0 5.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.3 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0
Awards and honors Recipient Award Date awarded Ref. Tiffany Hayes Eastern Conference Player of the Week June 11, 2018 July 23, 2018 August 6, 2018 Eastern Conference Player of the Month - July August 1, 2018 Angel McCoughtry Eastern Conference Player of the Week June 24, 2018 WNBA All-Star Selection July 17, 2018 Jessica Breland Eastern Conference Player of the Week July 15, 2018 Nicki Collen WNBA Coach of the Month - July August 2, 2018 WNBA Coach of the Month - August August 20, 2018 WNBA Coach of the Year August 28, 2018 Chris Sienko WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year August 28, 2018
References
External links THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE ATLANTA DREAM