# 2022 Atlanta Dream season

The 2022 WNBA season was the 15th season for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association. The team began the season on May 14, 2022, on the road against the Dallas Wings.
This was the first season for new head coach Tanisha Wright. Wright was hired on October 12, 2021. Dan Padover was hired as the team's new general manager, while Darius Taylor moved into the assistant general manager role - after serving as the team's interim head coach in the 2021 season.
The season stated well for Wright and the Dream, as they finished May 5–3. However, a stronger schedule in June slowed down their momentum as they finished the month 4–8, including a four game and three game losing streak. The Dream's struggles continued in July as they finished the month 3–7. One bright spot in the month was a win over regular season champions Las Vegas, in Las Vegas. The team lost their last four games of the season and finished 2–4 in August. They finished in tenth place overall, missing the playoffs by one game. Their fourteen wins were the most in a season since 2018 for the team.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/team/country |
| 1 | 1 | Rhyne Howard | United States | Kentucky |
| 2 | 15 | Naz Hillmon | United States | Michigan |

### Trades and Roster Changes

| Date | Transaction |
| October 12, 2021 | Hired Tanisha Wright as head coach |
| December 23, 2021 | Renounced the rights to Mengran Sun |
| January 4, 2022 | Extended Qualifying Offers to Monique Billings and Jaylyn Agnew |
| January 6, 2022 | Signed Jaylyn Agnew to a Qualifying Offer |
| January 13, 2022 | Waived Tianna Hawkins |
| January 16, 2022 | Suspended Maite Cazorla for Full-Season |
| January 18, 2022 | Claimed Megan Walker off of Waivers |
| January 31, 2022 | Traded a 2023 Third Round Pick to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for Kia Vaughn |
| February 1, 2022 | Re-Signed Tiffany Hayes to a One-Year Deal |
| February 1, 2022 | Signed Nia Coffey to a One-Year Deal |
| February 3, 2022 | Re-Signed Monique Billings to a One-Year Deal |
| February 5, 2022 | Traded Chennedy Carter and the rights to Li Yueru to the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for Erica Wheeler, a 2023 First-Round Pick, and a 2022 Second Round Pick |
| February 15, 2022 | Signed N'dea Jones and Khaalia Hillsman to training-camp contracts |
| February 21, 2022 | Signed Kristy Wallace to a Rookie Contract |
| February 23, 2022 | Signed Maya Caldwell to a training-camp contract |
| March 29, 2022 | Hired Christie Sides, Paul Goriss and Barbara Turner as assistant coaches |
| April 6, 2022 | Traded the #3 and #14 picks in the 2022 WNBA Draft, and the right to exchange 1st round picks with the Los Angeles Sparks (from the Erica Wheeler trade) to the Washington Mystics in exchange for the #1 pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft |
| April 12, 2022 | Signed Que Morrison to a training-camp contract |
| April 18, 2022 | Signed Rhyne Howard and Naz Hillmon to rookie-scale contracts |
| April 22, 2022 | Waived Khaalia Hillsmon |
| April 23, 2022 | Waived Que Morrison |
| April 25, 2022 | Waived N'dea Jones |
| April 27, 2022 | Waived Jaylyn Agnew |
| May 5, 2022 | Waived Maya Caldwell |
| May 5, 2022 | Temporarily Suspend Tiffany Hayes due to Overseas Commitments |
| May 6, 2022 | Claimed Beatrice Mompremier of a waivers |
| May 13, 2022 | Activated Tiffany Hayes from her Temporary Suspension |
| June 8, 2022 | Traded Megan Walker and the rights to Raquel Carrera to the New York Liberty in exchange for AD |
| June 15, 2022 | Signed Destiny Slocum to a Hardship Contract |
| June 20, 2022 | Signed Maya Caldwell to a Hardship Contract |
| June 23, 2022 | Released Destiny Slocum from her Hardship Contract |
| June 23, 2022 | Signed Yvonne Turner to a Hardship Contract |
| June 27, 2022 | Released Yvonne Turner and Maya Caldwell from their Hardship Contracts |
| August 2, 2022 | Signed Maya Caldwell to a 7-Day Hardship Contract |
| August 9, 2022 | Signed Maya Caldwell to a Hardship Contract |
| August 11, 2022 | Signed Kaila Charles to a Hardship Contract |
| August 11, 2022 | Temporarily Suspend Tiffany Hayes |

## Roster
### Depth

| Pos. | Starter | Bench |
| C | Cheyenne Parker | Kia Vaughn Beatrice Mompremier |
| PF | Nia Coffey | Monique Billings Naz Hillmon |
| SF | Rhyne Howard | Maya Caldwell |
| SG | Kristy Wallace | AD Durr Tiffany Hayes |
| PG | Erica Wheeler | Aari McDonald |

## Schedule
### Preseason

2022 pre-season game log Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1) :
April: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
April 24
Washington
W 88–69
Kristy Wallace (17)
Monique Billings (10)
Aari McDonald (6)
Gateway Center Arena 854
1–0 :
May
: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
2
May 1
@ Connecticut
L 78–94
Aari McDonald (12)
Billings/Hillmon (5)
Caldwell/Howard/Parker (3)
Mohegan Sun Arena 3,244
1–1 :
2022 pre-season schedule :

### Regular season

2022 game log Total: 14–22 (Home: 8–10; Road: 6–12) :
May: 5–3 (Home: 2–2; Road: 3–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 7
@ Dallas
W 66–59
Rhyne Howard (16)
Monique Billings (14)
Rhyne Howard (4)
College Park Center 5,796
1–0
2
May 11
Los Angeles
W 77–75
Rhyne Howard (21)
Billings Coffey Howard (8)
Erica Wheeler (5)
Gateway Center Arena 3,138
2–0
3
May 13
Las Vegas
L 73–96
Aari McDonald (20)
Coffey Wheeler (7)
Parker Wallace Wheeler (3)
Gateway Center Arena 3,138
2–1
4
May 15
@ Indiana
W 85–79
Rhyne Howard (33)
Coffey Parker (6)
Kristy Wallace (3)
Gainbridge Fieldhouse 1,745
3–1
5
May 17
@ Indiana
W 101–79
Rhyne Howard (19)
Aari McDonald (6)
Parker Wheeler (6)
Gainbridge Fieldhouse 960
4–1
6
May 20
Washington
L 73–78
Rhyne Howard (21)
Nia Coffey (10)
Kristy Wallace (5)
Gateway Center Arena N/A
4–2
7
May 24
@ Washington
L 50–70
Aari McDonald (10)
Parker Wallace (7)
Erica Wheeler (4)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 2,867
4–3
8
May 29
Phoenix
W 81–54
Kristy Wallace (17)
Cheyenne Parker (10)
Rhyne Howard (6)
Gateway Center Arena 3,138
5–3 :
June
: 4–8 (Home: 3–3; Road: 1–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
9
June 1
Minnesota
W 84–76
Rhyne Howard (22)
Monique Billings (9)
Erica Wheeler (9)
Gateway Center Arena 1,268
6–3
10
June 3
Chicago
L 65–73
Cheyenne Parker (19)
Cheyenne Parker (6)
Erica Wheeler (5)
Gateway Center Arena 3,138
6–4
11
June 5
Indiana
W 75–66
Coffey Howard (16)
Nia Coffey (10)
Erica Wheeler (4)
Gateway Center Arena 3,000
7–4
12
June 7
@ Seattle
L 60–72
Cheyenne Parker (13)
Cheyenne Parker (10)
Kristy Wallace (4)
Climate Pledge Arena 7,262
7–5
13
June 10
@ Phoenix
L 88–90
Rhyne Howard (25)
Cheyenne Parker (13)
Rhyne Howard (5)
Footprint Center 7,650
7–6
14
June 15
@ Connecticut
L 92–105
Asia Durr (21)
Naz Hillmon (9)
Aari McDonald (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 4,014
7–7
15
June 17
@ Chicago
L 100–106 (OT)
Asia Durr (21)
Hillmon Parker (6)
Rhyne Howard (7)
Wintrust Arena 7,435
7–8
16
June 21
Dallas
W 80–75
Maya Caldwell (18)
Rhyne Howard (8)
Aari McDonald (5)
Gateway Center Arena N/A
8–8
17
June 24
New York
L 77–89
Asia Durr (23)
Rhyne Howard (8)
Aari McDonald (4)
Gateway Center Arena 2,697
8–9
18
June 26
Connecticut
L 61–72
Aari McDonald (17)
Rhyne Howard (7)
Howard McDonald (4)
Gateway Center Arena 2,722
8–10
19
June 28
@ Washington
L 74–92
Asia Durr (13)
Mompremier Parker (5)
Asia Durr (4)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 3,517
8–11
20
June 30
@ New York
W 92–81 (OT)
Tiffany Hayes (21)
Hillmon Parker (7)
Erica Wheeler (8)
Barclays Center 6,161
9–11 :
July
: 3–7 (Home: 1–4; Road: 2–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
21
July 3
Seattle
W 90–76
Cheyenne Parker (21)
Monique Billings (10)
Kristy Wallace (6)
Gateway Center Arena 3,138
10–11
22
July 6
Washington
L 66–85
Billings Hayes R. Howard Ch. Parker (10)
Monique Billings (9)
Monique Billings (4)
Gateway Center Arena 1,810
10–12
23
July 12
@ Chicago
L 75–90
Cheyenne Parker (14)
Tiffany Hayes (8)
R. Howard McDonald (3)
Wintrust Arena 7,074
10–13
24
July 15
Connecticut
L 68–93
Tiffany Hayes (18)
Naz Hillmon (11)
Erica Wheeler (6)
Gateway Center Arena 2,962
10–14
25
July 17
@ Phoenix
W 85–75
Cheyenne Parker (21)
Cheyenne Parker (12)
Erica Wheeler (7)
Footprint Center 7,963
11–14
26
July 19
@ Las Vegas
W 92–76
Tiffany Hayes (31)
Naz Hillmon (10)
Cheyenne Parker (5)
Michelob Ultra Arena 5,952
12–14
27
July 21
@ Los Angeles
L 78–85
Hayes McDonald (18)
Rhyne Howard (9)
Ch. Parker Wheeler (4)
Crypto.com Arena 10,021
12–15
28
July 24
@ Seattle
L 72–82
Rhyne Howard (23)
Naz Hillmon (14)
Hillmon Wheeler (4)
Climate Pledge Arena 12,654
12–16
29
July 28
Minnesota
L 85–92
Tiffany Hayes (24)
Hillmon Ch. Parker (6)
Aari McDonald (3)
Gateway Center Arena 2,396
12–17
30
July 30
Dallas
L 68–81
Rhyne Howard (22)
Hillmon R. Howard Ch. Parker (6)
Erica Wheeler (6)
Gateway Center Arena 3,138
12–18 :
August
: 2–4 (Home: 2–1; Road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
31
August 3
Indiana
W 91–81
Rhyne Howard (20)
Maya Caldwell (7)
Caldwell McDonald (6)
Gateway Center Arena 2,071
13–18
32
August 5
Los Angeles
W 88–86
Rhyne Howard (28)
Naz Hillmon (9)
Erica Wheeler (4)
Gateway Center Arena 3,138
14–18
33
August 7
@ Minnesota
L 71–81
R. Howard McDonald (16)
Naz Hillmon (7)
Cheyenne Parker (5)
Target Center 9,421
14–19
34
August 9
@ Las Vegas
L 90–97
Caldwell Wheeler (17)
Naz Hillmon (8)
McDonald Ch. Parker (5)
Michelob Ultra Arena 5,151
14–20
35
August 12
New York
L 70–80
Erica Wheeler (16)
Monique Billings (9)
Erica Wheeler (3)
Gateway Center Arena 3,138
14–21
36
August 14
@ New York
L 83–87
Rhyne Howard (24)
Naz Hillmon (7)
Rhyne Howard (7)
Barclays Center 7,489
14–22 :
2022 season schedule :

## Standings

| # | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
| 1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 13–5 | 13–5 | 9–1 |
| 2 | x – Chicago Sky | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 14–4 | 12–6 | 9–1 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 25 | 11 | .694 | 1.0 | 11–7 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 5–5 |
| 4 | x – Seattle Storm | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–4 |
| 5 | x – Washington Mystics | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 6 | x – Dallas Wings | 18 | 18 | .500 | 8.0 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 7 | x – New York Liberty | 16 | 20 | .444 | 10.0 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–4 |
| 8 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 15 | 21 | .417 | 11.0 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 3–7 |
| 9 | e – Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 4–6 |
| 10 | e – Atlanta Dream | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 11 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 13 | 23 | .361 | 13.0 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 12 | e – Indiana Fever | 5 | 31 | .139 | 21.0 | 2–16 | 3–15 | 2–16 | 2–8 |
Notes
    (#) – League Standing
    x – Clinched playoff berth
    e – Eliminated from playoff contention
    Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

## Statistics
### Regular Season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Rhyne Howard | 34 | 34 | 31.4 | .361 | .343 | .792 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 16.2 |
| Tiffany Hayes | 11 | 11 | 27.5 | .545 | .429 | .683 | 3.6 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 16.2 |
| Cheyenne Parker | 36 | 35 | 26.2 | .500 | .218 | .795 | 6.2 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 11.8 |
| Aari McDonald | 36 | 6 | 24.3 | .411 | .338 | .871 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 11.1 |
| Maya Caldwell$^≠$ | 9 | 7 | 23.8 | .514 | .563 | .800 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 10.9 |
| AD Durr$^≠$ | 15 | 2 | 19.9 | .422 | .458 | .774 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 10.7 |
| Erica Wheeler | 30 | 30 | 26.3 | .355 | .329 | .756 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 8.4 |
| Kristy Wallace | 29 | 18 | 20.8 | .407 | .368 | 786 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 6.6 |
| Monique Billings | 23 | 8 | 17.4 | .470 | .000 | .765 | 6.3 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 6.5 |
| Nia Coffey | 16 | 16 | 21.0 | .347 | .290 | .742 | 5.2 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 6.4 |
| Destiny Slocum$^‡$ | 3 | 0 | 13.7 | .364 | .333 | .600 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.7 |
| Naz Hillmon | 34 | 12 | 19.8 | .480 | .000 | .821 | 5.1 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 4.4 |
| Megan Walker$^†$ | 12 | 0 | 9.6 | .368 | .368 | .667 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 3.3 |
| Kia Vaughn | 29 | 1 | 13.8 | .400 | .000 | .692 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 2.5 |
| Beatrice Mompremier | 21 | 0 | 8.3 | .455 | .000 | .385 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 2.1 |
| Yvonne Turner$^‡$ | 2 | 0 | 8.0 | .000 | .000 | .500 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Kaila Charles$^≠$ | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
$^‡$Waived/Released during the season $^†$Traded during the season $^≠$Acquired during the season

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded |
| Rhyne Howard | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | May 16 |
| Rhyne Howard | WNBA Rookie of the Month - May | June 1 |
| Rhyne Howard | WNBA All-Star Selection | June 28 |
| Rhyne Howard | WNBA Rookie of the Month - June | July 5 |
| Rhyne Howard | WNBA Rookie of the Month - July | August 2 |
| Rhyne Howard | WNBA Rookie of the Month - August | August 16 |
| Rhyne Howard | WNBA Rookie of the Year | August 25 |
| Rhyne Howard | WNBA All-Rookie Team | August 25 |