Photo courtesy of the Atlanta Dream
What a season for the Dream.
Atlanta tied a franchise record with its 30th win of the season, and locked up home-court advantage in the first round of the WNBA playoffs with an 83-65 victory over the New York Liberty at Barclays Center on Wednesday.
“That was an important win for us,” Dream Head Coach Karl Smesko said. “We wanted to make sure we got home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs, and we were able to accomplish that.”
Looking increasingly like the city’s best chance to bring home its next championship, the Dream (30-14) won their fifth straight game to officially clinch the fourth seed heading into the postseason.
Setting Up the First Round
The first round of the playoffs is a best-of-three series, and Atlanta will face either the Indiana Fever or the Washington Mystics. The Dream went 2-2 against Indiana this season and 1-2 against Washington. Atlanta finished a strong 15-7 at home in 2026, which made securing that home-court edge a priority down the stretch.
The playoffs tip off Sunday. Atlanta will find out its opponent — and the time of its Game 1 — once the regular season wraps up Thursday.
“Just being able to go home in front of our fans and put on a show, I think that little things matter in the playoffs, and that might be one of them,” forward Naz Hillmon said of hosting the opening round. “Just having that energy behind us from our fans.”
Performance Highlights
Allisha Gray paced the Dream with 24 points, while Hillmon chipped in 16 and Jordin Canada added 12 as part of a balanced offensive effort.
Atlanta’s defense set the tone, holding New York to just seven points in the second quarter and 26 for the half — both season-low marks allowed by the Dream. That stretch built a 41-26 halftime lead. Atlanta’s own shooting was modest in the first half (39%), but the Dream cashed in on New York’s mistakes, scoring 13 points off 12 Liberty turnovers.
“We know that we’re looking forward to the playoffs, and we wanted to play our best basketball,” Hillmon said. “So, whatever that was supposed to look like, that was our focus.”
Looking Ahead
With the fourth seed locked up and a home playoff date secured for Sunday, Atlanta now turns its attention to finishing out the regular season Thursday before finding out who stands across from them in Round 1. Tickets for the Dream’s first-round home game are on sale now.
For a team that’s won five straight and tied a franchise record for wins along the way, the momentum couldn’t be better timed heading into the postseason.
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