# 2016 Atlanta Dream season

The 2016 WNBA season is the 9th season for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began May 14 and concluded September 18. The Dream qualified for the playoffs as the sixth seed after missing the playoffs the previous year, finishing 17–17. The Dream defeated the Seattle Storm in the first round of the playoffs before falling to the Chicago Sky in the second round to end their season.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/team/country |
| 1 | 11 | Bria Holmes | United States | West Virginia |
| 2 | 13 | Rachel Hollivay | United States | Rutgers |
| 2 | 16 | Courtney Walker | United States | Texas A&M |
| 3 | 28 | Niya Johnson | United States | Baylor |

### Trades and Roster Changes

| Date | Transaction |
| January 5, 2016 | Exercised 4th-Year Team Options on Damiris Dantas and Shoni Schimmel |
| January 6, 2016 | Extended Qualifying Offers to Amanda Thompson, Aneika Henry-Morello, Tiffany Hayes, and Cierra Burdick |
| February 1, 2016 | Signed Tiffany Hayes |
| February 2, 2016 | Signed Carla Cortijo |
| February 3, 2016 | Traded the 4th Overall Pick in the 2016 WNBA draft to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Elizabeth Williams |
| February 10, 2016 | Signed Matee Ajavon |
| March 1, 2016 | Signed Cierra Burdick |
| March 1, 2016 | Signed Ariel Massengale to a rookie-scale contract |
| March 3, 2016 | Signed Kara Braxton, Amanda Thompson, Meighan Simmons to training-camp contracts |
| April 19, 2016 | Signed Tina Roy to a training-camp contract |
| April 19, 2016 | Signed Bria Holmes to a rookie-scale contract |
| April 21, 2016 | Signed Niya Johnson and Courtney Walker to rookie-scale contracts |
| April 27, 2016 | Waived Kara Braxton |
| April 29, 2016 | Waived Tina Roy and Amanda Thompson |
| May 2, 2016 | Traded Shoni Schimmel to the New York Liberty in exchange for a 2nd Round Pick in the 2017 WNBA draft |
| May 9, 2016 | Claimed Jordan Jones of the Waivers |
| May 10, 2016 | Waived Ariel Massengale and Niya Johnson |
| May 10, 2016 | Traded the 2nd Round Pick received from the Liberty to the Indiana Fever in exchange for Layshia Clarendon |
| May 11, 2016 | Suspended Damiris Dantas for the Full Season due to Overseas Commitments |
| May 12, 2016 | Waived DeLisha Milton-Jones, Courtney Walker, Jordan Jones, and Roneeka Hodges |
| May 13, 2016 | Signed Rachel Hollivay to their rookie-scale contract |
| June 10, 2016 | Temporarily Suspend Sancho Lyttle due to Overseas Commitments |
| June 10, 2016 | Signed Avery Warley-Talbert |
| June 19, 2016 | Waived Avery Warley-Talbert |
| June 21, 2016 | Activated Sancho Lyttle from the Temporary Suspension |
| June 27, 2016 | Waived Cierra Burdick |
| June 27, 2016 | Claimed Markeisha Gatling of a Waivers |
| December 6, 2016 | Exercised the 4th-Year Team Option on Reshanda Gray and Elizabeth Williams |

## Roster
### Depth

| Pos. | Starter | Bench |
| C | Elizabeth Williams | Rachel Hollivay Markeisha Gatling |
| PF | Sancho Lyttle | Reshanda Gray |
| SF | Angel McCoughtry | Bria Holmes |
| SG | Tiffany Hayes | Matee Ajavon Meighan Simmons |
| PG | Layshia Clarendon | Carla Cortijo |

## Schedule
### Preseason

2016 Game Log: Preseason :
Total: 0–4 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1
May 4
vs. San Antonio
L 67–74
Simmons (10)
Williams (10)
Tied (3)
Mohegan Sun Arena 4,199
0–1
2
May 5
vs. Chicago
L 75–95
Williams (12)
Hollivay (6)
Holmes (8)
Mohegan Sun Arena 4,025
0–2
3
May 7
@ Los Angeles
L 80–88
Holmes (18)
Gray (8)
Cortijo (6)
Pasadena College 460
0–3
4
May 10
Los Angeles
L 63–69
Simmons (11)
Williams (13)
Ajavon (4)
McCamish Pavilion 1,385
0–4 :
2016 pre-season schedule :

### Regular season

2016 Regular Season Total: 17–17 (Home: 11–6; Road: 6–11) :
May: 5–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 3–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1
May 14
@ San Antonio
W 73–63
McCoughtry (15)
Williams (10)
Tied (3)
AT&T Center 7,572
1–0
2
May 20
@ Indiana
L 85–94
Tied (19)
McCoughtry (8)
3 Tied (2)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 7,608
1–1
3
May 22
Chicago
W 87–81
McCoughtry (21)
Clarendon (8)
Cortijo (5)
Philips Arena 6,152
2–1
4
May 24
@ New York
W 85–79 (OT)
Hayes (27)
Lyttle (14)
Tied (3)
Madison Square Garden 14,503
3–1
5
May 27
@ Dallas
W 102–93
McCoughtry (26)
Lyttle (10)
Lyttle (6)
College Park Center 4,712
4–1
6
May 29
Indiana
W 85–76
McCoughtry (22)
Williams (7)
Hayes (6)
Philips Arena 5,233
5–1 :
June: 3–7 (Home: 2–3; Road: 1–4)
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
7
June 3
@ Connecticut
W 83–77
Hayes (23)
Lyttle (11)
McCoughtry (4)
Mohegan Sun Arena 4,541
6–1
8
June 5
Washington
L 79–86
McCoughtry (28)
Lyttle (11)
Cortijo (5)
Philips Arena 3,611
6–2
9
June 10
Minnesota
L 78–110
Hayes (23)
Clarendon (7)
McCoughtry (4)
Philips Arena 5,368
6–3
10
June 12
Connecticut
W 93–87
Williams (20)
Williams (10)
Clarendon (9)
Philips Arena 4,486
7–3
11
June 17
Chicago
W 101–97
McCoughtry (22)
Williams (9)
Hayes (5)
Philips Arena 4,560
8–3
12
June 18
@ Washington
L 65–95
Hayes (12)
McCoughtry (8)
Cortijo (4)
Verizon Center 6,977
8–4
13
June 22
New York
L 79–90
McCoughtry (22)
Lyttle (11)
Tied (4)
Philips Arena 10,345
8–5
14
June 25
@ San Antonio
L 69–73
McCoughtry (23)
Williams (10)
Tied (3)
AT&T Center 9,439
8–6
15
June 28
@ Seattle
L 81–84
McCoughtry (22)
Hollivay (9)
Tied (3)
KeyArena 4,648
8–7
16
June 30
@ Los Angeles
L 75–84
Hayes (32)
Williams (10)
Clarendon (7)
Staples Center 10,215
8–8 :
July: 5–4 (Home: 4–1; Road: 1–3)
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
17
July 3
Phoenix
L 87–95
Hayes (26)
Williams (9)
Hayes (5)
Philips Arena 6,557
8–9
18
July 5
Seattle
W 77–64
Lyttle (22)
Lyttle (11)
Tied (4)
Philips Arena 3,983
9–9
19
July 8
Dallas
W 95–90 (OT)
Tied (27)
Lyttle (14)
McCoughtry (9)
Philips Arena 6,745
10–9
20
July 10
@ Connecticut
W 67–63
McCoughtry (26)
Lyttle (14)
Lyttle (3)
Mohegan Sun Arena 5,857
11–9
21
July 13
@ New York
L 86–62
Hayes (12)
Lyttle (9)
Clarendon (3)
Madison Square Garden 11,317
11–10
22
July 15
@ Indiana
L 72–78
Cortijo (20)
Williams (8)
McCoughtry (6)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 8,612
11–11
23
July 17
Los Angeles
W 91–74
Tied (17)
Williams (12)
Clarendon (6)
Philips Arena 7,551
12–11
24
July 20
@ Minnesota
L 65–83
Clarendon (11)
Williams (8)
Tied (2)
Target Center 16,132
12–12
25
July 22
Dallas
W 93–88
Gray (22)
Williams (11)
McCoughtry (5)
McCamish Pavilion 4,749
13–12 :
August: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
26
August 26
@ Chicago
L 82–90
Tied (19)
Williams (9)
Tied (4)
Allstate Arena 6,016
13–13
27
August 28
Connecticut
W 87–73
McCoughtry (22)
Williams (8)
3 Tied (5)
Philips Arena 7,055
14–13 :
September: 3–4 (Home: 2–2; Road: 1–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
28
September 4
Seattle
L 82–91
McCoughtry (32)
Williams (6)
Williams (4)
Philips Arena 5,695
14–14
29
September 6
Phoenix
W 91–87
McCoughtry (27)
McCoughtry (8)
Clarendon (6)
Philips Arena 3,625
15–14
30
September 8
@ Los Angeles
W 86–81
McCoughtry (32)
Williams (12)
Clarendon (6)
Staples Center 6,152
16–14
31
September 11
@ Phoenix
L 75–86
Hayes (22)
Williams (16)
Clarendon (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 9,877
16–15
32
September 13
San Antonio
L 67–71
Holmes (20)
Williams (12)
Hayes (4)
Philips Arena 5,312
16–16
33
September 15
Washington
W 94–91
McCoughtry (31)
Williams (10)
Clarendon (9)
Philips Arena 4,404
17–16
34
September 17
@ Minnesota
L 87–95
McCoughtry (18)
Williams (9)
Clarendon (7)
Target Center 11,663
17–17 :
2016 season schedule :

### Playoffs

2016 Playoffs :
Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1
September 21
Seattle
W 94–85
McCoughtry (37)
Williams (16)
Tied (7)
McCamish Pavilion 2,553
1–0
2
September 25
@ Chicago
L 98–108
Hayes (30)
Williams (9)
McCoughtry (9)
Allstate Arena 3,922
0–1 :
2016 playoff schedule :

## Standings

| Eastern Conference vte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| 3 - New York Liberty | 21 | 13 | .618 | — | 10–7 | 11–6 | 11–5 |
| 4 - Chicago Sky | 18 | 16 | .529 | 3 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 8–8 |
| 5 - Indiana Fever | 17 | 17 | .500 | 4 | 8–9 | 9–8 | 8–8 |
| 6 - Atlanta Dream | 17 | 17 | .500 | 4 | 11–6 | 6–11 | 9–7 |
| e - Connecticut Sun | 14 | 20 | .412 | 7 | 8–9 | 6–11 | 4–12 |
| e - Washington Mystics | 13 | 21 | .382 | 8 | 5–12 | 8–9 | 8–8 |
| Western Conference vte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| 1 - Minnesota Lynx | 28 | 6 | .824 | — | 15–2 | 13–4 | 15–1 |
| 2 - Los Angeles Sparks | 26 | 8 | .765 | 2 | 14–3 | 12–5 | 11–5 |
| 7 - Seattle Storm | 16 | 18 | .471 | 12 | 10–7 | 6–11 | 7–9 |
| 8 - Phoenix Mercury | 16 | 18 | .471 | 12 | 11–6 | 5–12 | 6–10 |
| e - Dallas Wings | 11 | 23 | .324 | 17 | 6–11 | 5–12 | 8–8 |
| e - San Antonio Stars | 7 | 27 | .206 | 21 | 4–13 | 3–14 | 1–15 |

## Playoffs

| First round: Single elimination (Sept. 21) | First round: Single elimination (Sept. 21) | First round: Single elimination (Sept. 21) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 24 and 25) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 24 and 25) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 24 and 25) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20) |
| | | | | | | 1 | Minnesota Lynx | 113 | 96 | 82 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | New York Liberty | 94 | 8 | Phoenix Mercury | Phoenix Mercury | 95 | 86 | 67 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Indiana Fever | 78 | 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 101 | | | | | | | 1 | Minnesota Lynx | 76 | 79 | 75 | 85 | 76 |
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 89 | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Los Angeles Sparks | 78 | 60 | 92 | 79 | 77 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Los Angeles Sparks | 95 | 99 | 66 | 95 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Chicago Sky | 108 | 4 | Chicago Sky | 75 | 84 | 70 | 75 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Atlanta Dream | 94 | 6 | Atlanta Dream | 98 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Seattle Storm | 85 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

## Statistics
### Regular Season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Angel McCoughtry | 33 | 32 | 30.0 | .434 | .302 | .788 | 5.7 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 19.5 |
| Tiffany Hayes | 33 | 33 | 30.8 | .441 | .274 | .804 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 15.0 |
| Elizabeth Williams | 34 | 34 | 34.7 | .442 | .000 | .692 | 8.1 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 11.9 |
| Layshia Clarendon | 34 | 32 | 28.2 | .466 | .346 | .765 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 10.4 |
| Sancho Lyttle | 19 | 18 | 30.1 | .416 | .222 | .760 | 7.8 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 7.6 |
| Bria Holmes | 33 | 10 | 21.3 | .435 | .274 | .774 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 7.5 |
| Carla Cortijo | 27 | 1 | 10.9 | .354 | .289 | .781 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 4.7 |
| Reshanda Gray | 28 | 5 | 9.6 | .521 | .000 | .556 | 2.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 3.4 |
| Matee Ajavon | 32 | 2 | 10.6 | .305 | .231 | .750 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 3.3 |
| Meighan Simmons | 25 | 0 | 5.9 | .289 | .286 | .833 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2.6 |
| Markeisha Gatling | 16 | 2 | 10.5 | .447 | .000 | .889 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 2.6 |
| Rachel Hollivay | 32 | 1 | 8.9 | .316 | .000 | .469 | 2.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.2 |
| Cierra Burdick | 8 | 0 | 3.6 | .125 | .000 | .500 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Avery Warley-Talbert | 1 | 0 | 4.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |

### Playoffs

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Angel McCoughtry | 2 | 2 | 35.0 | 54.8 | 70.0 | 73.3 | 4.5 | 8.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 32.0 |
| Tiffany Hayes | 1 | 1 | 37.0 | 58.8 | 42.9 | 87.5 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 30.0 |
| Bria Holmes | 2 | 2 | 35.0 | 50.0 | 28.6 | 62.5 | 5.5 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 15.5 |
| Elizabeth Williams | 2 | 2 | 38.5 | 38.1 | 0.0 | 77.8 | 12.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 11.5 |
| Layshia Clarendon | 2 | 2 | 32.0 | 53.3 | 25.0 | 62.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 11.0 |
| Matee Ajavon | 2 | 1 | 15.5 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.0 |
| Meighan Simmons | 2 | 0 | 12.5 | 10.0 | 14.3 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 |
| Markeisha Gatling | 2 | 0 | 7.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 75.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| Carla Cortijo | 2 | 0 | 3.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Reshanda Gray | 2 | 0 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded |
| Angel McCoughtry | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | May 31 |
| Angel McCoughtry | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | July 11 |
| Angel McCoughtry | All-Defensive First Team | September 30 |
| Angel McCoughtry | All-WNBA Second Team | October 14 |
| Elizabeth Williams | Most Improved Player Award | September 21 |