# 2023 Atlanta Dream season

The 2023 Atlanta Dream season was the 16th season for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association, and their second season under head coach Tanisha Wright.
The Dream secured the third overall pick in the 2023 WNBA draft in the 2023 Draft Lottery. They entered the lottery with the 2nd best odds to get the first overall pick.
Former assistant coach Christie Sides from the 2022 season left the team in the offseason after she was named the new head coach of the Indiana Fever.
The Dream alternated losses and wins to begin the season and finished May with a 2–2 overall record. The pattern did not carry over into June where the team lost its first three games of the month. However, fortunes turned as the Dream won their next three. Again, the team was streaky, and lost their next three games. They won the final game of the month to finish with a 4–6 record in June. The Dream carried that momentum into July as they won six straight games to start the month, and extended their winning streak to seven games. They lost two games back to back against Connecticut but won two of their last three in the month to finish July 8–3. The Dream's good form did not carry over into August as they lost their first two games of the month. They did pick up a win before losing their next three. After stopping that losing streak with a win against Chicago, the Dream lost their next three games before ending the month with a win. A 3–8 August record left them in the hunt for a playoff spot entering the final month. They started September with an overtime loss against Minnesota before winning their next two games. The first of those wins secured them a playoff spot. They lost the final game of the regular season and finished in a three-way tie for fifth place. They finished September with a 2–2 record, which made their season record 19–21.
The Dream won the tiebreakers over both Minnesota and Washington. The tiebreaker was combined regular season record, where the Dream were 5–2. The Dream earned the fifth seed for the playoffs, which meant they would face off against the fourth seed Dallas Wings. In the first game, in Dallas, the Dream kept the game close, but ultimately came up short losing 82–94. The second game in Dallas was not as close and the Dream lost 74–101 to end their season. Their nineteen regular season wins were their highest total since 2018 and their playoff qualification was only their second in the last eight years.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
| 1 | 6 | Haley Jones | United States | Stanford |
| 1 | 8 | Laeticia Amihere | Canada | South Carolina |
| 2 | 15 | Leigha Brown | United States | Michigan |

### Transactions

| Date | Transaction |
| December 20, 2022 | Extended Head Coach Tanisha Wright and General Manager Dan Padover to 5 Year Extensions |
| January 13, 2023 | Extended Qualifying Offers to AD Durr and Beatrice Mompremier |
| January 13, 2023 | Traded Kristy Wallace to the Indiana Fever in exchange for Danielle Robinson |
| January 21, 2023 | Traded the #3 Overall Pick in the 2023 WNBA draft and a First-Round Pick in 2025 to the Dallas Wings in exchange for Allisha Gray |
| February 1, 2023 | Signed Nia Coffey and AD Durr |
| February 3, 2023 | Signed Monique Billings |
| February 9, 2023 | Traded Tiffany Hayes to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for the 6th Overall Pick in the 2023 WNBA draft |
| February 9, 2023 | Hired Vickie Johnson as Assistant Coach |
| February 11, 2023 | Claimed and Awarded Iliana Rupert of a Waivers |
| February 21, 2023 | Signed Beatrice Mompremier to the Qualifying Offer - Training Camp Contract |
| February 24, 2023 | Exercised 4th-Year Team Option on Aari McDonald |
| March 2, 2023 | Signed Mikayla Pivec to a Training Camp Contract |
| March 7, 2023 | Signed Allisha Gray to a Contract Extension |
| March 8, 2023 | Signed Lorela Cubaj to a Training Camp Contract |
| March 9, 2023 | Signed Cheyenne Parker to a Contract Extension |
| April 13, 2023 | Signed Laeticia Amihere to a Rookie Scale Contract |
| April 17, 2023 | Waived Beatrice Mompremier |
| April 18, 2023 | Signed Haley Jones and Leigha Brown to Rookie Scale Contracts |
| April 20, 2023 | Signed Alaina Coates to a Training Camp Contract |
| May 5, 2023 | Waived Alaina Coates and Mikayla Pivec |
| May 16, 2023 | Traded Leigha Brown to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick |
| May 18, 2023 | Temporarily suspended the contract of Iliana Rupert due to Overseas Commitments |
| June 3, 2023 | Waived Lorela Cubaj |
| June 5, 2023 | Signed Taylor Mikesell |
| July 3, 2023 | Waived Taylor Mikesell |
| July 4, 2023 | Activated the temporarily suspended contract of Iliana Rupert due to Overseas Commitments |

### Roster Changes
## Roster
### Depth

| Pos. | Starter | Bench |
| PG | Danielle Robinson | Aari McDonald |
| SG | Allisha Gray | Haley Jones |
| SF | Rhyne Howard | AD Durr |
| PF | Nia Coffey | Naz Hillmon Laeticia Amihere |
| C | Cheyenne Parker | Monique Billings Iliana Rupert |

## Schedule
### Preseason

2023 pre-season game log Total: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1) :
May: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 10
@ Washington
L 76–88
Allisha Gray (14)
Leigha Brown (8)
Haley Jones (6)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 3,612
0–1
2
May 14
Connecticut
L 68–85
Allisha Gray (12)
Cheyenne Parker (7)
Danielle Robinson (4)
Gateway Center Arena N/A
0–2 :
2023 pre-season schedule :

### Regular Season

2023 game log Total: 19–21 (Home: 11–9; Road: 8–12) :
May: 2–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 20
@ Dallas
L 78–83
Rhyne Howard (20)
Cheyenne Parker (11)
Allisha Gray (7)
College Park Center 5,588
0–1
2
May 23
@ Minnesota
W 83–77
Allisha Gray (26)
Allisha Gray (10)
Howard McDonald (6)
Target Center 7,803
1–1
3
May 28
Indiana
L 87–90
Rhyne Howard (23)
Cheyenne Parker (6)
Allisha Gray (4)
Gateway Center Arena 3,209
1–2
4
May 30
Chicago
W 83–65
Rhyne Howard (20)
Coffey Parker (8)
Coffey Hillmon (4)
Gateway Center Arena 2,562
2–2 :
June
: 4–6 (Home: 1–4; Road: 3–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
5
June 2
Las Vegas
L 87–92
Cheyenne Parker (25)
Cheyenne Parker (11)
Aari McDonald (7)
Gateway Center Arena 3,209
2–3
6
June 9
New York
L 83–106
Allisha Gray (17)
Cheyenne Parker (7)
Haley Jones (5)
Gateway Center Arena 3,209
2–4
7
June 11
Connecticut
L 77–89
Cheyenne Parker (20)
Cheyenne Parker (14)
Haley Jones (4)
Gateway Center Arena 2,690
2–5
8
June 13
@ New York
W 86–79
Allisha Gray (16)
Cheyenne Parker (11)
Rhyne Howard (4)
Barclays Center 5,719
3–5
9
June 15
@ Connecticut
W 92–88 (OT)
Allisha Gray (27)
Allisha Gray (10)
Haley Jones (9)
Mohegan Sun Arena 4,316
4–5
10
June 18
@ Indiana
W 100–94
Allisha Gray (25)
Cheyenne Parker (7)
Nia Coffey (6)
Gainbridge Fieldhouse 4,024
5–5
11
June 20
@ Dallas
L 73–85
Howard Parker (15)
Monique Billings (7)
Jones Gray (4)
College Park Center 3,392
5–6
12
June 23
New York
L 80–110
Rhyne Howard (24)
Monique Billings (9)
Haley Jones (3)
Gateway Center Arena 3,209
5–7
13
June 28
@ Washington
L 86–109
Cheyenne Parker (23)
Cheyenne Parker (8)
Danielle Robinson (6)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 3,624
5–8
14
June 30
Washington
W 94–89
Allisha Gray (26)
Monique Billings (6)
Rhyne Howard (8)
Gateway Center Arena 3,209
6–8 :
July
: 8–3 (Home: 5–1; Road: 3–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
15
July 2
Los Angeles
W 112–84
Rhyne Howard (43)
Naz Hillmon (7)
Jones Robinson (5)
Gateway Center Arena 3,209
7–8
16
July 5
@ Los Angeles
W 90–79
Allisha Gray (23)
Cheyenne Parker (11)
Gray Howard Robinson (6)
Crypto.com Arena 5,912
8–8
17
July 7
@ Chicago
W 82–68
Allisha Gray (21)
Cheyenne Parker (10)
Danielle Robinson (6)
Wintrust Arena 7,911
9–8
18
July 9
@ Chicago
W 88–77
Rhyne Howard (32)
Cheyenne Parker (11)
Danielle Robinson (6)
Wintrust Arena 7,325
10–8
19
July 12
Seattle
W 85–75
Allisha Gray (19)
Nia Coffey (7)
Howard Robinson (5)
Gateway Center Arena 2,546
11–8
20
July 18
Minnesota
W 82–73
Rhyne Howard (21)
Nia Coffey (10)
Rhyne Howard (7)
Gateway Center Arena 2,394
12–8
21
July 20
@ Connecticut
L 71–82
Rhyne Howard (22)
Nia Coffey (13)
Allisha Gray (7)
Mohegan Sun Arena 8,054
12–9
22
July 22
Connecticut
L 78–86
Rhyne Howard (22)
Cheyenne Parker (8)
Gray Howard Rupert (2)
Gateway Center Arena 3,209
12–10
23
July 25
Phoenix
W 78–65
Durr Gray (12)
Iliana Rupert (7)
Haley Jones (5)
Gateway Center Arena 3,209
13–10
24
July 27
@ New York
L 84–95
Allisha Gray (25)
Allisha Gray (8)
Allisha Gray (6)
Barclays Center 6,206
13–11
25
July 30
Washington
W 80–73
Allisha Gray (27)
Nia Coffey (9)
Coffey McDonald (5)
Gateway Center Arena 3,209
14–11 :
August
: 3–8 (Home: 3–2; Road: 0–6)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
26
August 1
@ Las Vegas
L 72–93
Cheyenne Parker (19)
Cheyenne Parker (5)
Rhyne Howard (6)
Michelob Ultra Arena 8,366
14–12
27
August 3
@ Phoenix
L 71–91
Cheyenne Parker (20)
Cheyenne Parker (7)
Aari McDonald (5)
Footprint Center 7,564
14–13
28
August 6
Indiana
W 82–73
Rhyne Howard (24)
Cheyenne Parker (6)
Allisha Gray (4)
Gateway Center Arena 3,209
15–13
29
August 10
@ Seattle
L 67–68
Rhyne Howard (20)
Monique Billings (11)
Gray McDonald (3)
Climate Pledge Arena 7,649
15–14
30
August 12
@ Los Angeles
L 74–85
Howard Parker (17)
Cheyenne Parker (7)
Danielle Robinson (5)
Crypto.com Arena 7,119
15–15
31
August 13
@ Las Vegas
L 65–86
Allisha Gray (19)
Nia Coffey (10)
Howard Parker (4)
Michelob Ultra Arena 8,564
15–16
32
August 18
Chicago
W 78–67
Cheyenne Parker (29)
Gray Parker (7)
McDonald Robinson (7)
Gateway Center Arena 2,957
16–16
33
August 22
Las Vegas
L 100–112
Rhyne Howard (27)
Howard Jones (6)
Howard Jones Robinson (5)
Gateway Center Arena 3,209
16–17
34
August 25
Los Angeles
L 78–83
Cheyenne Parker (22)
Monique Billings (10)
Aari McDonald (5)
Gateway Center Arena 2,957
16–18
35
August 27
@ Indiana
L 80–83
Cheyenne Parker (24)
Cheyenne Parker (10)
Allisha Gray (4)
Gainbridge Fieldhouse 4,034
16–19
36
August 29
Phoenix
W 94–76
Cheyenne Parker (25)
Billings Howard Parker (7)
Rhyne Howard (6)
Gateway Center Arena 2,785
17–19 :
September
: 2–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
37
September 1
@ Minnesota
L 85–91 (OT)
Cheyenne Parker (20)
Monique Billings (10)
Rhyne Howard (6)
Target Center 7,114
17–20
38
September 6
Seattle
W 79–68
Allisha Gray (18)
Monique Billings (14)
Howard McDonald (7)
Gateway Center Arena 2,731
18–20
39
September 8
@ Washington
W 80–75
Rhyne Howard (21)
Rhyne Howard (12)
Rhyne Howard (4)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,210
19–20
40
September 10
Dallas
L 77–94
Rhyne Howard (19)
Monique Billings (7)
Rhyne Howard (7)
Gateway Center Arena 3,207
19–21 :
2023 season schedule :

### Playoffs

2023 playoff game log :
First Round vs. Dallas Lost Series: 0–2
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 15
@ Dallas
L 82–94
Rhyne Howard (36)
Billings Parker (8)
Robinson Parker (4)
College Park Center 5,053
0–1
2
September 19
@ Dallas
L 74–101
Rhyne Howard (21)
Allisha Gray (7)
Allisha Gray (6)
College Park Center 4,798
0–2 :
2023 playoff schedule :

## Standings

| # | Team vte | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
| 1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 34 | 6 | .850 | – | 18–2 | 19–1 | 15–5 | 9–1 |
| 2 | x – New York Liberty | 32 | 8 | .800 | 2 | 16–4 | 15–5 | 17–3 | 7–3 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 27 | 13 | .675 | 7 | 14–6 | 13–7 | 14–6 | 7–3 |
| 4 | x – Dallas Wings | 22 | 18 | .550 | 12 | 11–9 | 11–9 | 11–9 | 6–4 |
| 5 | x – Atlanta Dream | 19 | 21 | .475 | 15 | 11–9 | 11–9 | 8–12 | 6–4 |
| 6 | x – Minnesota Lynx | 19 | 21 | .475 | 15 | 12–8 | 9–11 | 10–10 | 5–5 |
| 7 | x – Washington Mystics | 19 | 21 | .475 | 15 | 9–11 | 12–8 | 7–13 | 5–5 |
| 8 | x – Chicago Sky | 18 | 22 | .450 | 16 | 5–15 | 7–13 | 11–9 | 3–7 |
| 9 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 17 | 23 | .425 | 17 | 9–11 | 10–10 | 7–13 | 5–5 |
| 10 | e – Indiana Fever | 13 | 27 | .325 | 21 | 5–15 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 2–8 |
| 11 | e – Seattle Storm | 11 | 29 | .275 | 23 | 8–12 | 4–16 | 7–13 | 4–6 |
| 12 | e – Phoenix Mercury | 9 | 31 | .225 | 25 | 2–18 | 8–12 | 1–19 | 1–9 |
Notes
    (#) – League Standing
    x – Clinched playoff berth
    e – Eliminated from postseason contention
    Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

## Playoffs

| Round One: Best-of-3 | Round One: Best-of-3 | Round One: Best-of-3 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 |
| 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 2 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Chicago Sky | 0 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Chicago Sky | 0 | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Dallas Wings | 0 | | | |
| 4 | Dallas Wings | 2 | 4 | Dallas Wings | 0 | | | |
| 5 | Atlanta Dream | 0 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Atlanta Dream | 0 | | | | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 |
| | | | | | | 2 | New York Liberty | 1 |
| 2 | New York Liberty | 2 | | | | | | | 2 | New York Liberty | 1 |
| 7 | Washington Mystics | 0 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Washington Mystics | 0 | 2 | New York Liberty | 3 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 1 | | | |
| 3 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Minnesota Lynx | 1 | | | | | | |
Bold Series winner

## Statistics
### Regular Season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Rhyne Howard | 39 | 39 | 32.9 | .385 | .352 | .788 | 4.9 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 17.5 |
| Allisha Gray | 38 | 38 | 32.7 | .465 | .356 | .824 | 4.9 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 17.1 |
| Cheyene Parker | 40 | 38 | 26.7 | .483 | .278 | .829 | 6.7 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 15.0 |
| Aari McDonald | 24 | 9 | 23.5 | .402 | .321 | .762 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 7.9 |
| Nia Coffey | 31 | 31 | 21.9 | .432 | .402 | .625 | 4.8 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 6.9 |
| Danielle Robinson | 32 | 27 | 21.6 | .461 | .290 | .750 | 2.2 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 5.8 |
| Monique Billings | 39 | 9 | 16.7 | .407 | .000 | .836 | 5.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 4.8 |
| AD Durr | 36 | 0 | 10.9 | .380 | .322 | .769 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 4.8 |
| Naz Hillmon | 40 | 3 | 13.5 | .509 | .000 | .852 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 4.1 |
| Haley Jones | 40 | 6 | 14.6 | .337 | .214 | .756 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 3.7 |
| Laeticia Amihere | 20 | 0 | 7.4 | .405 | .000 | .537 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 2.8 |
| Taylor Mikesell$^‡$ | 6 | 0 | 4.8 | .500 | .429 | 1.000 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.8 |
| Iliana Rupert | 20 | 0 | 7.9 | .353 | .273 | .625 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.8 |
| Lorela Cubaj$^‡$ | 3 | 0 | 6.3 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
$^‡$Waived/Released during the season $^†$Traded during the season $^≠$Acquired during the season

### Playoffs

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Rhyne Howard | 2 | 2 | 37.5 | .431 | .458 | .667 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 28.5 |
| Allisha Gray | 2 | 2 | 36.0 | .424 | .385 | .700 | 7.0 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 20.0 |
| Cheyenne Parker | 2 | 2 | 33.5 | .323 | .500 | .750 | 6.5 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 13.0 |
| Monique Billings | 2 | 2 | 23.5 | .286 | .000 | .625 | 7.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 4.5 |
| Haley Jones | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | 1.000 | .000 | 1.000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 |
| Aari McDonald | 2 | 0 | 18.0 | .273 | .250 | .000 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3.5 |
| Danielle Robinson | 2 | 2 | 22.0 | .200 | .000 | .750 | 1.5 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| Iliana Rupert | 1 | 0 | 14.0 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| AD Durr | 2 | 0 | 5.0 | .500 | .000 | 1.000 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Naz Hillmon | 2 | 0 | 14.0 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Laeticia Amihere | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded |
| Allisha Gray | WNBA All-Star | July 1 |
| Cheyenne Parker | WNBA All-Star | July 1 |
| Rhyne Howard | WNBA All-Star Injury Replacement | July 11 |
| Tanisha Wright | Coach of the Month - July | August 2 |