By Milton Kirby | Brooklyn, NY | September 24, 2026
The Atlanta Dream will open the WNBA playoffs at home.
Atlanta secured the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the first round Wednesday night with an 83-65 victory over the New York Liberty at Barclays Center.
The victory was the Dream’s fifth straight and its 30th of the season, tying a franchise record and giving Atlanta consecutive 30-win seasons.
“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.”
The Dream finished the regular season 30-14 and will host its first playoff game Sunday. Atlanta will face either the Indiana Fever or Washington Mystics, with the matchup and game time to be determined after Thursday’s final regular-season games.
For a team that went 15-7 at home during the regular season, securing the fourth seed gives Atlanta something potentially significant when the postseason begins: another game in front of its own crowd.
“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. “Just having that energy behind us from our fans.”
Defense Makes the Difference
Atlanta did much of the work needed to secure Wednesday’s victory before halftime.
The Dream held New York to seven points in the second quarter and 26 points in the first half, both season-best defensive marks for Atlanta.
Despite shooting just 39 percent in the opening half, the Dream took a 41-26 lead into halftime by forcing turnovers and creating scoring opportunities from its defense.
Atlanta forced 12 Liberty turnovers in the first half and converted them into 13 points. By the end of the game, the Dream had forced 20 turnovers, recorded 12 steals and scored 15 points off New York’s mistakes.
“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.”
Allisha Gray led Atlanta with 24 points, four rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block. It was Gray’s 21st game this season with at least 20 points.
Hillmon finished with 16 points, four rebounds and two assists, while Jordin Canada contributed 12 points and five assists.
Rhyne Howard added eight points, four rebounds and a team-high six assists. Angel Reese finished with six points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
DeWanna Bonner came off the bench to contribute nine points and eight rebounds.
Atlanta also converted 86.7 percent of its free throws.
The starting lineup of Canada, Gray, Howard, Hillmon and Reese improved to 30-8.
The Playoffs Come to Atlanta
Atlanta’s first-round opponent remains unsettled.
The Dream went 2-2 against Indiana during the regular season and 1-2 against Washington. The first round of the WNBA playoffs is a best-of-three series.
Atlanta will enter that series having won five consecutive games, including back-to-back victories over New York.
More importantly, Wednesday’s victory means the Dream will begin the postseason where it wanted to be — at home.
Thirty wins.
The No. 4 seed.
A home playoff game.
And now, a chance to see how far this season can go.
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