By Milton Kirby | Atlanta, GA | September 20, 2026
The Atlanta Dream have already secured a place in the WNBA playoffs.
Where they will begin the postseason remains unsettled.
Atlanta used a dominant second half Saturday to defeat the Chicago Sky 106-81 in its final regular-season home game at State Farm Arena, improving to 28-14 and strengthening its position in a tightly contested race for home-court advantage.
The Dream entered the final two games of the regular season in fourth place, one-half game behind third place and one-half game ahead of fifth.
“We have to pick up some wins,” Dream Head Coach Karl Smesko said.
Atlanta will finish the regular season with back-to-back road games against the New York Liberty in Brooklyn on Monday and Wednesday.
A Different Team After Halftime
Chicago kept the game competitive through the first half.
Atlanta changed that quickly after halftime.
The Dream scored 32 points in the third quarter and carried an 83-66 lead into the fourth. Allisha Gray scored 10 points during the quarter as Atlanta began creating the separation that had been missing earlier.
“We just came out with a different energy,” Gray said. “We knew we had to punch first.”
Atlanta never gave Chicago an opportunity to recover.
Isobel Borlase helped put the game away in the fourth quarter with three consecutive 3-pointers as the Dream extended their advantage and eventually walked away with a 25-point victory.
The win completed a three-game season sweep of Chicago.
Atlanta shot 52.9 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range while scoring 46 points in the paint. The Dream also received 39 points from its bench.
Five Atlanta players scored in double figures.
Reese Reaches 500
Angel Reese led the Dream with 23 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks.
The performance gave Reese her 31st double-double of the season, extending her WNBA single-season record.
It also produced another milestone.
Reese became the first player in WNBA history to collect 500 rebounds in a single season.
She entered the game with 495 rebounds and finished with 505.
The 23-point performance was Reese’s 13th game with at least 20 points this season.
Reese joined Atlanta in April after spending her first two WNBA seasons with Chicago. The Dream acquired the two-time All-Star from the Sky in exchange for Atlanta’s first-round picks in 2027 and 2028, with Atlanta also receiving second-round pick-swap rights in 2028.
Against her former team Saturday, Reese’s rebounding milestone became part of a much broader Atlanta performance.
Production Throughout the Lineup
Borlase scored a career-high 18 points and added three steals.
Gray finished with 17 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Rhyne Howard added 14 points and four assists. Her fifth made field goal of the night gave her 1,000 for her WNBA career.
Jordin Canada recorded a double-double of her own with 11 points and a game-high 10 assists. It marked Canada’s 10th game this season with at least 10 assists.
The starting combination of Canada, Gray, Howard, Naz Hillmon and Reese improved to 27-8.
Atlanta also continued to generate offense through its defense.
The Dream recorded 13 steals against Chicago, with Borlase and Gray collecting three apiece.
Those steals pushed Atlanta’s season total to 374, establishing a WNBA single-season record and surpassing the previous mark held by the 2009 Indiana Fever. The 374 total was also reported following Saturday’s game as the Dream’s new league record.
Two Games Left
Atlanta’s 106 points and collection of individual milestones made Saturday a memorable regular-season home finale.
But the larger question facing the Dream will be answered away from State Farm Arena.
The playoff berth is secure.
The positioning is not.
Atlanta has two regular-season games remaining, both against New York in Brooklyn. With teams separated by narrow margins in the standings, those games could help determine whether the Dream begin the postseason at home.
Saturday demonstrated what Atlanta can look like when its offense and defense are working together.
The Dream shot better than 50 percent from the field, placed five players in double figures, received 39 points from its bench and forced enough turnovers to add another league record to the season.
Now Atlanta has to take that performance on the road.
As Smesko put it, the assignment is straightforward.
“We have to pick up some wins.”
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