Tag: Atlanta Dream

Brittney Griner joining the Atlanta Dream is actually perfect

Brittney Griner in Atlanta might seem odd, but it’s actually perfect.

Brittney Griner is signing with the Dream and people seem shocked.

The chatter on social media ranged from “I didn’t see this coming!” to “The Atlanta Dream!?” with various degrees of confusion.

You know who isn’t surprised? Anyone paying attention. Once she declared her intent to pursue free agency, Atlanta was a clear option for BG.

Dream general manager Dan Padover mentioned at the end of the 2024 season that Rhyne Howard is the franchise’s star, and the organization wants to build around her and the team. How do you support that mission? You address the areas needing help, like getting a true center.

If it wasn’t going to be free agent center Bri Jones or re-signing Tina Charles, Atlanta had to at least get on the phone with Griner. Her resume is immaculate. And while the current version of BG is not the BG of old, she’s still productive, and you can’t pass up that kind of help.

Here’s why Griner in Atlanta makes a lot of sense:

Brittney Griner’s size and production immediately elevates Atlanta’s profile

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta spent a lot of the last two seasons getting bullied in the post. That’s not to say it wasn’t successful in establishing a presence, but it wasn’t consistent.

There were a lot of games where somebody was cooking against the Dream, and it was painful to watch. Remember when A’ja Wilson went off for 53 points against Atlanta?  Twenty of Wilson’s 23 shots were from the field, and she only hit one 3-pointer. OUCH. Obviously, that’s A’ja Wilson. Nobody could have done a lot to stop that kind of greatness, but it was clear then Atlanta needed help.

In 2024, they called up WNBA great Tina Charles out of retirement. Charles was often the only bright spot on a roster riddled with injuries and struggling to keep up with other teams. However, one of Charles’ foremost advocates, former head coach Tanish Wright, is gone, and with the BG signing, Charles’ time in Atlanta is all but up.

What does BG bring that helps replace Charles’ contributions? An upgrade in size and comparable production. Here are the season averages for both players from last season:

Player Height Points  Rebounds Assists
Tina Charles 6’4″ 14.9 9.6 2.3
Brittney Griner 6’9″ 17.8 6.6 2.3

Again, this isn’t Prime Brittney Griner, but the Dream get her on a one-year deal that will allow them to potentially draft a big and have them sit behind her. That’s a win-win scenario.

Brittney Griner’s existing relationship with the Atlanta Dream

July 19, 2024; Phoenix, Ariz., U.S.; Team USA center Brittney Griner speaks to the press during WNBA All-Star Media Day at the Footprint Center.
July 19, 2024; Phoenix, Ariz., U.S.; Team USA center Brittney Griner speaks to the press during WNBA All-Star Media Day at the Footprint Center.

If you were wondering how BG would feel about playing in a new city with new teammates, she seems to be enjoying it all.

Griner’s history with her teammates likely helped make her decision much more manageable. She’s previously spent time with Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard during Team USA basketball activities, and she’s currently in Miami with them and another teammate, Jordin Canada, for Unrivaled’s inaugural season.

Look at this wholesome Instagram reel she dropped with her new teammates to announce her decision. She looks so happy, and so do they.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFZDzSpNiP4/?igsh=a2EycTByMzEwOXVk

Brittney Griner determines how her WNBA legacy ends

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

It’s unclear how much longer Griner will play, but if this is it for BG—if this is trending towards the end—what a ride it’s been, and she gets to do it on her terms.

Unfortunately, her time in Phoenix is likely done. Still, she now gets to determine the trajectory of her WNBA legacy, and that’s an underrated thing to have control over in today’s sports landscape.

Well done, BG. On to Atlanta.

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Brittney Griner reportedly joining the Dream is the WNBA free agency shock of the offseason

Wow.

One of the WNBA’s biggest stars will reportedly be headed to the Atlanta Dream.

Brittney Griner will reportedly be leaving the Phoenix Mercury after 11 seasons for a new opportunity with the Dream, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Griner’s free agency decision shakes up both the Mercury and Dream, as one team loses one of its best players and another gains an unexpected boost.

Griner joins a Dream team featuring league standouts like Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, Tina Charles and Jordin Canada.

As for the Mercury, the team reportedly traded for Alyssa Thomas on Wednesday. That should help soften the blow of losing Griner as a free agent.

Two of Griner’s future teammates sure sounded happy about her decision to join Atlanta.

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Tina Charles’ Dream teammate refused to let her dismiss her WNBA record-breaking night

Naz Hillmon refused to let Tina Charles deflect credit for breaking two WNBA all-time records in one night.

Tina Charles isn’t one to brag or even credit herself for any of the records that she’s broken. That’s why Charles’ teammate, Naz Hillmon, was happy to do it for her.

Charles is one of the most prolific players women’s basketball has ever seen. Her resume is littered with accomplishments, including being the WNBA’s second all-time leading scorer. On Thursday, she added two more accolades: the most rebounds and double-doubles in WNBA history.

But you’ll probably never hear Charles acknowledge how great she is. She usually credits those around her, her relationship with God, coaches and other WNBA greats. So, since she refused to do it, Naz Hillmon stepped in to ensure Tina got her flowers now. Here’s part of what Naz recently told the media (See the clip below and the 7:44 mark of the YouTube video.):

“You have to celebrate people while they’re around. I’m so thankful to have Tina on our team as a player, as a teammate. But also as a friend — just because I just feel like she means so much to this team. She means so much to this league.”

“She’s breaking records — it feels like every night…because this is what she does. It’s so funny that every time she does something spectacular, she’s like, ‘This is what I’m supposed to do. This is my job.’ But everybody doesn’t get to do what she does at their job…”

“As much as she doesn’t want her flowers, you’re always gonna know who Tina is…But it’s just been amazing to learn from her, her greatness…it doesn’t happen by mistake. It doesn’t happen overnight…I’m excited to go into playoffs with her. She’s probably going to break like three more records…”

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Tina Charles’ Dream teammate perfectly trolled her with ‘grandma’ TikTok video after OT win

“Grandma not mad. Grandma just hurt.”

WNBA long-time veteran Tina Charles was brilliantly trolled by one of her Atlanta Dream teammates, and I cannot stop giggling.

Tina Charles is second all-time in WNBA scoring, which means she’s been in the league for several years — 13 seasons, to be exact. So, some might call her an “O.G.”  or “seasoned.” But what about a “grandma?” That happened when Charles’ teammate Laeticia Amihere shared a video to TikTok after Atlanta won an intense overtime battle on Sunday with the Washington Mystics.

In the clip, Charles has ice bags on a shoulder, both knees AND an ankle. There are no words exchanged, only the audio of another video that says, “Grandma not mad. Grandma just hurt. I’m hurt. I am hurt. I am hurt. I am hurting.” Excuse me while I laugh uncontrollably. This is TOO GOOD.

Watch on TikTok

https://twitter.com/nasgioia/status/1835462053651169590

Of course, I am not the only one laughing. It seems Aliyah Boston, Angel Reese, the Sparks’ Azura Stevens and so many other hoops fans thought it was hysterical, too.

Here’s what they said:

https://twitter.com/southernBlu_Bel/status/1835467167233699945

https://twitter.com/FloIsThaName/status/1835519089072365602

https://twitter.com/JaMuzik/status/1835480830300271022

https://twitter.com/xmonielove/status/1835483790593970236

https://twitter.com/jalaciaaa/status/1835470914709782976

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Caitlin Clark tied Rhyne Howard for the WNBA rookie record for 3-pointers in a season with the latter guarding the attempt

Alright, this is pretty cool.

Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark made even more WNBA rookie history on Monday night against the Atlanta Dream.

On her fourth 3-pointer of the night, Clark tied Dream guard Rhyne Howard for the WNBA rookie record for 3-pointers in a season with 85.

To make it even cooler of a moment, Clark made the basket with Howard guarding the attempt for Atlanta.

Making history while the person who holds the record is trying to stop is high theater, as Clark knows how to keep things cinematic during her rookie campaign.

Howard is one of the best 3-point shooters in the WNBA, and Clark tying her rookie record while she’s in pursuit to stop is pretty fascinating.

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Caitlin Clark pulled off this outstanding behind-the-back fake out on Dream’s Maya Caldwell for a layup

What a move!!

Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark pulled off an absolutely astounding behind-the-back move on Atlanta Dream guard Maya Caldwell on Monday night.

As she was driving to the basket at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, Clark passed the ball to herself behind her back and threw Caldwell off with the move to make it to the basket and snag the layup.

In a game where Clark briefly left the contest with what looked like a serious ankle injury, being able to make mind-bending moves like this further shows what an absolute force Clark has been on the court this WNBA season.

Watch this awesome move in real-time and in slow motion below.

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Caitlin Clark and the Fever helped draw the biggest WNBA crowd in Atlanta history

A record crowd came to see Caitlin Clark and the Fever play in Atlanta on Monday night.

Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark helped draw a record crowd at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Monday night.

As the Atlanta Dream moved their two games against the Fever from Gateway Center Arena to State Farm Arena to accommodate the volume of fans, Monday night’s contest between the two teams drew the biggest crowd for a WNBA game in Atlanta history.

Mike Conti of 92.9 The Game shared that a whopping 17,608 people attended Monday night’s contest, which shows the impact of Clark and the Fever coming to town and the overall spike in popularity for the WNBA.

While Clark had a pretty frightening injury scare during the first quarter, she returned to the game and continued playing for the biggest WNBA crowd Atlanta had ever seen.

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Tina Charles shared a cool moment with Diana Taurasi before making WNBA history as its 2nd all-time leading scorer

What a great night for Tina Charles and the WNBA.

WNBA legend Tina Charles made league history on Wednesday night in the Atlanta Dream’s home game against the Phoenix Mercury.

With a 3-pointer, Charles passed Tina Thompson on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list to earn the second spot.

The former WNBA MVP is now only behind Mercury legend Diana Taurasi on the league’s all-time scoring list, which is an absolutely stellar feat for the Dream center.

In fact, the fellow UConn alumni and good friends shared an awesome moment with each other before Charles achieved her fantastic scoring mark.

What a great moment this is for WNBA history, as Charles further solidified her legacy and will now stand right next to Taurasi in the WNBA hall of history.

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Marina Mabrey, Kayla McBride compete in WNBA All-Star events

Did you watch?

Notre Dame had some representation to tip off WNBA All-Star festivities over the next couple of days. Two of the three events held Friday in Phoenix featured that representation. Regrettably, it didn’t result in any hardware.

[autotag]Marina Mabrey[/autotag], who was traded from the Chicago Sky at her request earlier this week to the Connecticut Sun, competed in the Skills Challenge, the evening’s first event. You can’t see it that well in the video, but she fumbled a couple of times towards the end, costing her precious time:

The fumbles proved costly as she missed out on the final by two tenths of a second. All she could at that point was look to the 3-Point Contest, but she scored a contest-low 19 points:

Fellow former Irish standout [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag] of the Minnesota Lynx came right after her and scored enough points to stay alive:

However, she also didn’t advance to the final, so that was it for Notre Dame fans for the evening. The Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray wound up winning both events, becoming the first player to do so on the same night.

McBride and [autotag]Arike Ogunbowale[/autotag] will compete with the rest of the WNBA All-Stars in the All-Star Game on Saturday. They’ll be up against the U.S. Olympic team featuring [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag] and [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag].

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Tina Charles coached up Kamilla Cardoso mid-game and hoops fans loved her classy gesture

What a super classy gesture from Tina Charles.

Atlanta Dream center Tina Charles coaching up Chicago Sky rookie Kamilla Cardoso mid-game is incredibly wholesome.

Tina Charles is a future Hall of Famer, and it’s really dope to see her take time to give advice to several rookies this season. Cameron Brink joked about how she was grateful for Tina Charles encouraging her before proceeding to drop buckets.

Charles also advised Angel Reese after a game in June about settling down in the post. On Tuesday, it was more of the same, as Charles was coaching Kamila Cardoso mid-game on avoiding having her shot blocked after Tina stuffed an attempt during the start of their matchup.

Fans absolutely loved Charles’ classy gesture. Here’s what they shared on social media:

(Feature image courtesy of CBS Sports.)

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