Atlanta Dream
| Atlanta Dream | ||
|---|---|---|
| founding | 2007 | |
| history |
Atlanta Dream since 2008 |
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| Stadion |
Philips Arena 2008–2017 Hank McCamish Pavilion 2017–2018 State Farm Arena 2019 Gateway Center Arena from 2020 |
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| Location | Atlanta , Georgia | |
| Club colors | red, dark gray, light gray, light blue, white | |
| league | WNBA | |
| Conference | Eastern Conference | |
| Head coach | Nicki Collen | |
| General manager | Chris Sienko | |
| owner | Kathy Betty | |
| Championships | no | |
| Conference title |
2010 , 2011 , 2013 , 2018 * (* after regular season) |
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The Atlanta Dream is a women's basketball - Franchise of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), headquartered in the US American city Atlanta in the state of Georgia . The team will play their home games in the Gateway Center Arena from the 2020 season . Previously, the games were mainly played in the State Farm Arena .
history
Foundation (2007 to 2008)
On October 17, 2007, Donna Orender , the president of the WNBA, announced that a new franchise is to be set up in Atlanta, which should already participate in the 2008 season in the WNBA. The owner of the new WNBA team from Atlanta is J. Ronald Terwilliger. On November 28, 2007, the Dream named Marynell Meadors as the franchise's first head coach and general manager. Meadors had experience with start-up teams as she was the Charlotte Sting's first head coach before that . On January 23, 2008, the team name was presented with Dream . The team colors were also announced: sky blue, red and white. The name and team colors were decided through a choice, with the eligible voters choosing from four different team names and team colors. On February 6, 2008 an expansion draft took place for the Dream . Shortly thereafter, the Dream became active on the transfer market for the first time and transferred Roneeka Hodges and her first-round pick (4th pick) to Seattle for Iziane Castro Marques and the first-round pick (8th pick in total) of Storm in the 2008 WNBA Draft . After that, the Dream transferred their second round pick (18th pick) and LaToya Thomas to the Detroit Shock for Ivory Latta . On April 3, 2008, before the draft, the Dream presented the jerseys for the 2008 season .
First seasons in the WNBA (2008 to 2009)
On April 9, 2008, the WNBA Draft 2008 took place, in which the Dream decided in the first round for Tamera Young . On the same day, Ann Wauters , Morenike Atunrase and a second-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft were transferred to the San Antonio Silver Stars for Camille Little , Chioma Nnamaka and a first-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft.
The Dream got off to a very unfortunate start to their first regular season as they lost all of their first 17 games of the season. This negative streak meant a new WNBA negative record. The Dream won their first game on July 5th in front of their own audience against the Chicago Sky with 91:84. The first away win followed in the following game against the Minnesota Lynx , which they defeated 73:67 after a strong finish. In the end, the Dream could win four of 34 regular season games. Since the Dream ended the season with the worst record, the chances were relatively high that they would get the first pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft . On December 9th, the Dream won the lottery and thus received the first right to vote in the 2009 draft. The Dream chose Angel McCoughtry from the University of Louisville in the draft . The Dream changed a large part of their squad during the season break, so that only four out of eleven players from the previous season were in the Dream squad. On April 20, 2009, the Dream caused a sensation when they signed an all-star player, Chamique Holdsclaw . With this, the Dream provided an extremely high-quality squad in their second season. While the Indiana Fever in the Eastern Conference were relatively soon unassailable in the lead, the Dream fought for most of the season with the Detroit Shock , Washington Mystics , Chicago Sky and Connecticut Sun for the remaining three playoff places. The Dream was able to qualify as the second team for the playoffs with 18 wins in 34 games. In the playoffs, the Dream meet the Shock, which ended the season with the same record. However, the Dream were able to win the majority of the direct encounters and thus the Dream received second place and thus the home advantage in the playoffs. In the playoffs they could keep up with the Shock for a long time, but they never really managed to put the reigning champions from Detroit in trouble, who clearly won the series 2-0 in games. At the end of the season, Ron Terwilliger announced that he would be stepping down as principal owner. On October 29, 2009, Kathy Betty took control of the franchise.
Entry into the WNBA finals (2010-2013)
The Dream ended the 2010 regular season with 19 wins in 34 games, setting a new franchise record. While the Atlanta team had a poorer record for second place in the Eastern Conference the previous season. So this season the Dream reached the fourth and final playoff place in their conference. In the conference semifinals, the Atlanta Dream met the Washington Mystics . The starting position spoke clearly against the Dream. The Mystics ended the regular season clearly better than the Dream, and the Mystics had home rights and won three of the four direct encounters in the regular season. The last game between the two teams, which the Mystics could clearly win, even took place three days before the first playoff game. Despite the bad starting position, the Dream were able to win the series with 2-0 victories with an extraordinary performance, whereby the Dream moved into the Conference Finals for the first time in their history. In the Conference Finals, the Dream met the New York Liberty . Although the series was very even over a long distance, the Dream made it into the WNBA finals in just two games. As in the Conference Semifinals, Angel McCoughtry was the most outstanding player in the series , who scored 42 points in the last game against New York. In the WNBA Finals, the Dream met the Seattle Storm , who dominated the entire season. The Dream was able to make the individual games exciting, but in the end the Storm clearly won the series 3-0 and won the WNBA championship for the first time since 2004 .
In the 2011 season, the Dream achieved the best record in team history with 20:14 successes, but still only qualified third in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs. In the course of this, the Connecticut Sun could be defeated 2-0 and the Indiana Fever 2-1 and so the finals could be reached again. In the course of this, no game could be won again and the Minnesota Lynx won the WNBA title for the first time.
In the 2012 season , the playoffs were reached again with 19:15 successes. This time the team failed in the first round with 1: 2 at the Indiana Fever .
In the 2013 season, the Dream achieved a balanced record with 17:17 successes in the regular season and qualified again for the playoffs. In the course of this, the Chicago Sky could be defeated 2-0 and the Indiana Fever also 2-0 and the finals could be reached again. In the course of this, no game could be won again and the Minnesota Lynx won the WNBA title for the second time. The Dream are waiting for the first win in a final series after 9 games and only the New York Liberty have lost more final series.
Current situation (since 2014)
In the 2014 season, the team achieved the best record of the regular season in the Eastern Conference for the first time with 19:15 successes, but were eliminated in the first playoff round against the Chicago Sky with 1: 2.
In the 2015 season, the team missed the postseason for the first time with a record of 15:19 after six playoff appearances. In 2016 the team improved again and was able to reach the playoffs with a balanced balance and went into the new playoff system as team number 6 . After a success in the first round, the team failed in the second round at the Chicago Sky team . In 2017 the Dream played the weakest season after the premiere season and with only 12 wins they missed the playoffs for the third time in the club's history. A main reason for the poor performance was the absence of Angel McCoughtry, who did not play for Atlanta in the 2017 season for health reasons.
McCoughtry's return played a major role in the Dream's return to the playoffs in the 2018 season. As the second best team in the league, the team from Atlanta automatically reached the semi-finals due to the WNBA playoff system. Since McCoughtry was injured in the closing stages of the regular season and could not be on the field in the playoffs, the Dream failed there with 2: 3 wins at the Washington Mystics . Due to the absence of McCoughtry, who still did not play due to an injury, the 2019 season was not very successful. The Dreams were the weakest team in the league and eight wins meant their weakest record since their debut season.
Venue
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The Atlanta Dream will play their home games from 2020 in the Gateway Center Arena in the suburb of College Park . From the beginning until the renovation in 2017, the Philips Arena was the home.
Due to renovation work at the venue, Dream 2017 and 2018 played in the Hank McCamish Pavilion . The alternate quarters at Georgia Tech University also served the Hawks as an alternate quarters. In 2019 they returned to the renovated and renamed State Farm Arena for one season . From the 2020 season, the team will be based in the new Gateway Center Arena , with 3,500 basketball seats.
Audience numbers
In the first season, the Dream games were very well attended, despite many defeats. With an average of over 8,000 viewers per game, the Dream were also well above the WNBA average. The opening game in the first season was the best attended of the entire season with 11,609 spectators. Despite the sporting increase in the following seasons, this season remained the one with the highest average and is still the only one in which the number of viewers was above the WNBA average. Due to the renovation-related move, the low attendance figures fell even further. The playoff qualification in 2018 did not change that. The return to the State Farm Arena in 2019 brought a slight increase in attendance despite the poor athletic performance.
Achievements and honors
Sporting successes
The franchise's greatest successes are its successes in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2010 , 2011 and 2013 . In the 2014 and 2018 seasons , the team achieved the best record of the regular season in the Eastern Conference, but was eliminated early in the playoffs.
Individual awards
Angel McCoughtry has received individual awards in the Dream team so far . As the number 1 draft pick, she was able to meet the expectations of the draft and was named Rookie of the Year . She was also twice the player with the highest points average in the league. In addition, only three more are going to Atlanta.
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award : The award for the fairest player in the league has so far gone to the team from Atlanta.
Most Improved Player Award : After the 2016 season, the award for the most improved player was the last one of the Dream players so far.
Coach of the Year Award : Two coaches were named the best regular season coach. The first honor took place in the year of the first playoff participation, the second after the number of defeats in the previous season could be halved.
Peak Performer : This award has gone to Atlanta twice so far. Angel McCoughtry could win the most respected with the highest point average.
- 2012 - Angel McCoughtry (points)
- 2013 - Angel McCoughtry (points)
Rookie of the Year Award : As the number 1 draft pick, Angel McCoughtry lived up to the expectations of the draft and was honored as the best league newcomer in her first season.
Executive of the Year Award : This award has been given to the best team boss of the regular season since the 2017 season and this went to Atlanta for the first time in 2018.
Season overview
Abbreviations: Sp. = Games, S = victories, N = defeats
| season | Sp. | S. | N | Wins in% | space | Playoffs |
| 2008 | 34 | 4th | 30th | 11.8 | 7th, Eastern Conference | not qualified |
| 2009 | 34 | 18th | 16 | 52.9 | 2nd, Eastern Conference | Conference semifinals lost, 2-0 ( Detroit Shock ) |
| 2010 | 34 | 19th | 15th | 55.9 | 4th, Eastern Conference | Victory in the Conference Semifinals, 2-0 ( Washington Mystics ) victory in the Conference Finals, 2-0 ( New York Liberty ) defeat in the WNBA Finals, 0-3 ( Seattle Storm ) |
| 2011 | 34 | 20th | 14th | 58.8 | 3rd, Eastern Conference | Victory in Conference Semifinals, 2-0 ( Connecticut Sun ) victory in Conference Finals, 2-1 ( Indiana Fever ) defeat in WNBA Finals, 0-3 ( Minnesota Lynx ) |
| 2012 | 34 | 19th | 15th | 55.9 | 3rd, Eastern Conference | Conference semifinals lost, 2-1 ( Indiana Fever ) |
| 2013 | 34 | 17th | 17th | 50.0 | 2nd, Eastern Conference | Victory in the Conference Semifinals, 2-0 ( Chicago Sky ) victory in the Conference Finals, 2-0 ( Indiana Fever ) defeat in the WNBA Finals, 0-3 ( Minnesota Lynx ) |
| 2014 | 34 | 19th | 15th | 55.9 | 1st, Eastern Conference | Conference semifinals lost, 2-1 ( Chicago Sky ) |
| 2015 | 34 | 15th | 19th | 44.1 | 5th, Eastern Conference | not qualified |
| 2016 | 34 | 17th | 17th | 50.0 | 4th, Eastern Conference | 1st round win, 1-0 ( Seattle Storm ) 2nd round loss, 0-1 ( Chicago Sky ) |
| 2017 | 34 | 12 | 22nd | 35.3 | 5th, Eastern Conference | not qualified |
| 2018 | 34 | 23 | 11 | 67.6 | 1st, Eastern Conference | Loss in the WNBA semifinals, 2-3 ( Washington Mystics ) |
| 2019 | 34 | 8th | 26th | 23.5 | 6th, Eastern Conference | not qualified |
| total | 408 | 191 | 217 | 46.8 | 8 playoff appearances in 12 seasons 15 series: 7 wins, 8 losses 37 games: 17 wins, 20 losses (45.9%) |
Trainer
- Marynell Meadors (2008-2012)
- Fred Williams (2012-2013)
- Michael Cooper (2014-2017)
- Nicki Collen (since 2018)
Players
Squad of the 2017 season
As of September 11, 2017
| No. | country | Surname | position | Date of birth | Experience in WNBA |
college |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Elizabeth Williams | Center / Forward | 06/23/1993 | 2 seasons | Duke University |
| 7th |
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Brittney Sykes | Guard | 02/07/1994 | Rookie | Syracuse University |
| 10 |
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Matee Ajavon | Guard | 05/07/1986 | 9 seasons | Rutgers University |
| 11 |
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Tamera Young | Forward | 10/30/1986 | 9 seasons | James Madison University |
| 12 |
|
Damiris Dantas | center | 11/17/1992 | 2 seasons | - |
| 13 |
|
Aneika Morello | Forward / Center | 02/13/1986 | 5 seasons | University of Florida |
| 15th |
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Tiffany Hayes | Guard | 09/20/1989 | 5 seasons | University of Connecticut |
| 20th |
|
Sancho Lyttle | Forward | 09/20/1983 | 12 seasons | University of Houston |
| 23 |
|
Layshia Clarendon | Guard | 05/02/1991 | 4 seasons | University of California |
| 32 |
|
Bria Holmes | Guard | 04/19/1994 | 1 season | West Virginia University |
| 34 |
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Imani Boyette | center | 10/11/1994 | 1 season | University of Texas |
First-round voting rights in the WNBA Draft
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In the ten seasons since it was founded before the 2008 season , the Dream had eight draft rights in the first round of the WNBA draft . The franchise mostly had a draft pick in the first round. Twice the franchise did not have a draft pick in the first round due to trades.
The Georgia team was able to select the first female player in the draft with Angel McCoughtry before the 2009 season . She was able to meet the expectations placed in her and was voted the best newcomer of the year after her first season in the WNBA .
With Bria Holmes and Brittney Sykes , only two players, who were selected by the Dream in the first round of a draft, are in the club's squad at the end of the 2017 season . Angel McCoughtry did not play in the 2017 season for health reasons.
Web links
- dream.wnba.com: Official website of the Atlanta Dream (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Atlanta Real Estate Developer to Own Team. (No longer available online.) Atlanta Dream, archived from the original on April 24, 2011 ; Retrieved July 3, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Marynell Meadors named General Manager and Head Coach. (No longer available online.) Atlanta Dream, archived from the original on January 14, 2009 ; Retrieved July 3, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Team name and logo officially announced. (No longer available online.) Atlanta Dream, archived from the original on May 14, 2008 ; Retrieved July 3, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Atlanta Dream Build Inaugural Roster With 13 Picks In 2008 Expansion Draft. (No longer available online.) Atlanta Dream, archived from the original on August 20, 2009 ; Retrieved July 3, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Atlanta Dream Officially Unveil Team Uniforms With Key Players. (No longer available online.) Atlanta Dream, archived from the original on January 14, 2009 ; Retrieved July 3, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Dream Make Moves on Draft Day. (No longer available online.) Atlanta Dream, archived from the original on January 14, 2009 ; Retrieved July 3, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Dream Wins First Pick in Lottery. Atlanta Dream, accessed July 3, 2009 .
- ↑ Dream Selects Angel McCoughtry with First Pick. Atlanta Dream, accessed July 3, 2009 .
- ↑ Dream Signs WNBA ALL-STAR Chamique Holdsclaw. Atlanta Dream, accessed July 3, 2009 .
- ^ Atlanta Dream Draft History. WNBA, accessed July 11, 2012 .
- ^ All-Time WNBA Draft Picks. WNBA, accessed November 30, 2016 .
