Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Atlanta Dream have undergone a significant transformation this offseason, highlighted by a blockbuster trade acquiring Angel Reese.
- Despite the addition, concerns linger about the team's ability to compete at the top level due to a critical roster weakness that could hinder their offense.
- With a talented core and improved depth, the Dream are positioned to challenge for playoff relevance, but they won't contend for the WNBA title this season.
One of the most shocking moves this offseason in the WNBA is the trade that sent Angel Reese from the Chicago Sky to the Atlanta Dream. The Sky got a pair of (probably late) first-round picks in the deal. but it largely felt like a major loss for Chicago and a major coup for the Dream, though Chicago's subsequent moves probably made its fans feel a little better.
Atlanta now has a very intriguing roster. Brionna Jones recently had knee surgery and may be out to begin the season, but once she's back, this team looks pretty good, but are they truly contenders for the WNBA title?
How Angel Reese fits in Atlanta
Last season, the Dream tried an interesting approach with the frontcourt, pairing Jones with Brittney Griner in a lineup that was a bit too big. While the team tried to stretch the floor some with Jones and Griner combining for 1.5 3-point attempts per game, it didn't work, and the on/off numbers for the pairing were rough.
Lineup | Net Rating |
|---|---|
Jones ON, Griner OFF | +17.89 |
Griner ON, Jones OFF | +4.08 |
Jones ON, Griner ON | -2.74 |
Two key takeaways from those numbers. First is that the pairing very much did not work, but second is that based on the individual on/off stats, it didn't work because of Griner.
Yes, the Jones/Reese pairing comes with issues about scoring. Reese has struggled to finish at the rim in her career but also isn't a threat to score from deep. Last season, she ranked in the 13th percentile for field goal percentage in the restricted area and shot 18.2 percent on 22 3-point attempts.
The difference, though, is that Reese is able to play a role as a secondary ball-handler. Her playmaking ability makes it easier to move things around than it did with Griner, and she's much more capable of switching defensively than Griner was. This isn't to say Reese is a perfect fit with the Dream, because there are serious concerns about this roster's lack of shooting, but she at least makes more sense than Griner did.
Are the Dream contenders now?
From a talent perspective, this is a good roster, but I hesitate to put them in the same category as the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces for one reason that I've already alluded to: a lack of shooting.
Theoretically, the starting lineup looks like this.
Position | Player | 2025 3P% |
|---|---|---|
G | Jordin Canada | 29.1 |
G | Allisha Gray | 38.4 |
F | Rhyne Howard | 32.2 |
F | Angel Reese | 18.2 |
C | Brionna Jones | 26.1 |
Sure, the team can get Te-Hina Paopao and Naz Hillmon out there more to help with this, but that's a dangerous lack of shooting ability for a team in the modern WNBA, and it's going to be tough to beat the league's elite units without an ability to consistently knock down shots.
The defense might make up for that somewhat, but unless this coaching staff gets really creative with some lineups and an unexpected player can step up as an outside shooting threat, the ceiling for the 2026 Atlanta Dream is probably the semifinals.
But hey, that's not the worst place to be. Signing Canada to a two-year deal was a weird move because it didn't help with the shooting and spacing concerns, but it doesn't preclude the team from going after a point guard with scoring upside next offseason. And considering this was a franchise that hadn't finished over .500 since 2018 before last year's 30-14 campaign, being this close to true contender status is a win. While trading for Reese won't win the Dream a title in 2026, it could be the thing that gets this franchise one before this core breaks up. Or hey — it could just turn them into a new version of the Alyssa Thomas-era Sun, which was frustrating at times since they never got over that final mountain, but it was still a lot of fun to watch.
More WNBA news and analysis:
Add us as a preferred source on Google