Joe Johnson All-Star Peak
Atlanta's WNBA franchise, the Dream, has reached the Finals three times and continues to build on a legacy of resilience.
The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Dream compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real estate investors Larry Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair, and former Dream player Renee Montgomery. Although the Dream share the Atlanta market with the National Basketball Association's Hawks, and both teams play at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia; The Dream are not affiliated with the Hawks.
Quick Facts
- Role
- Star Shooting Guard; Small Forward
- Peak status
- NBA All-Star (2010)
- Key achievement
- Led Hawks to Second Seed in Eastern Conference (2014-15)
- Signature style
- High-post scoring and clutch shooting
- Tenure span
- 2010–2013 (First stint), 2016–2017 (Return)
Lore & Background
The Dream has qualified for the WNBA playoffs in ten of its seventeen years in Atlanta and has reached the WNBA Finals three times. The franchise has been home to many high-quality players such as University of Louisville standouts Angel McCoughtry and Shoni Schimmel, former Finals MVP Betty Lennox, and Brazilian sharpshooter Izi Castro Marques. In 2010, the Dream went to the WNBA Finals but fell short to Seattle. They lost to the Minnesota Lynx in the 2011 and 2013 WNBA Finals.
Reader's Guide
The Dream's history includes joining the league in 2008 after an expansion effort led by an organizing committee. The team was named the Dream, inspired by the famous speech of Atlanta native Martin Luther King Jr., with colors sky blue, red, and white. The Dream lost 17 consecutive games to start their inaugural season, setting a WNBA record. They reached the playoffs in 2009 and made three WNBA Finals appearances (2010, 2011, 2013). The team has undergone ownership changes, including Ron Terwilliger, Kathy Betty, and later Mary Brock and Kelly Loeffler. In 2020, the Dream unveiled an updated logo and color scheme.
Did You Know?
- The Dream set the WNBA all-time record for consecutive losses from opening day in 2008, losing 17 straight games.
- The Dream's first win in franchise history came on July 5, 2008, against the Chicago Sky.
- Angel McCoughtry was the league-leading scorer during the 2012 season.
More in Club History & Eras
Elsewhere in Atlanta Hawks
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced