The Dream hope players like Alison Bales, left, and Tamera Young, right, pay dividends next year and for years to come. Scott Cunningham/NBAE/Getty Images

Since the WNBA is such a relatively young league there isn’t much to draw upon when seeking precedents. Prior to Atlanta, the most recent and perhaps only true example of a WNBA expansion team was the Chicago Sky, which began play two seasons prior in 2006. Sure, there were some teams added on in the early years of the WNBA when the league jumped from eight to 10 teams, 10 to 12 and then 12 to 16. But back then the league was methodically building up over the course of the first few years while also receiving an influx of talent from the defunct ABL and overseas.

Under NBA great Dave Cowens, Chicago surprised many in its inaugural campaign by winning its first ever regular season game – an 83-82 road win over the Charlotte Sting. But reality set in shortly thereafter and the Sky proceeded to drop their next 13 games. They would finish with a league-worst 5-29 mark.

The Dream had no such luck in their first game. In fact, they had no such luck in their first 17 games, as they had to wait until July 5 to enjoy win No.1 – a victory over Chicago of all teams. That triumph has proven to be the Dream’s only home win of the year, although they do also have road wins against Minnesota and Indiana to their credit.

The Sky haven’t experienced much team success since their inaugural campaign, missing out on the playoffs in both seasons. In 2007, Chicago once again found itself in the cellar of the Eastern Conference, although the team did increase its win total from five to 14 and finished just two games out of a postseason berth. This season, despite adding a rare talent like Sylvia Fowles, the Sky have taken a bit of a step back thanks in large part to a knee injury to Fowles that forced her to miss 17 games.

But Chicago now has its core of Fowles, Candice Dupree, Armintie Price and Jia Perkins and seems to be on the brink of postseason success. The Dream are hoping for something similar, although they obviously would like the evolution to transpire a lot faster and become a contender in 2009.

The main cogs in the Dream’s machine right now are Betty Lennox, Ivory Latta and Erika Desouza. You could even make a case to put Iziane Castro Marques and rookie Tamera Young in that mix. It remains to be seen whether head coach/GM Marynell Meadors will keep that core intact for ’09, as well as the supporting cast. Since the expansion draft Atlanta’s architect has been busy tweaking away at the roster, well aware that success is more realistic down the road, rather than in the present. At various points during their inaugural season the Dream have brought in a bevy of new additions, including Latta, Castro Marques, Alison Bales, Kasha Terry, Nikki Teasley and future draft picks.

“A lot of players are getting a lot of playing time and you have a real opportunity to evaluate them,” said Meadors. “You look at all the players on our team with the exception of Betty Lennox and Izi Castro Marques and most of the time there were other teams that they were with last year and they were in there at garbage time. To me they’ve gotten a lot of minutes and they’ve really done some nice things.”

For those players left wearing the sky blue and red of the Dream, their current focus is clear: end the season on a high note and carry that positivity into next year.

“Every team that we play sees us like a guaranteed win and we don’t want to come in next year and not be able to win from the beginning,” said Castro Marques. “So we just want to set a tone that if they are going to win it’s because they are going to play better than us.”

Of course, like with most of the season, ending with some momentum in these last couple weeks has proven to be daunting. The Dream last won a game on July 16 and they have lost five of their last six games by double digits. Granted, the schedule-makers weren’t too kind to Atlanta in these last couple weeks (their last six opponents are bound for the playoffs and they end with a road trip that stops in L.A. and Seattle), but if the Dream are going to compete in this league, they are going to have to get used to it. The level of play in the league keeps rising and doesn’t figure to subside any time soon.

“You have to go out there and play hard every night,” said Latta. “This league is not weak. You’ve got great players, great teams every night. All the negative things are not going to help us at all, so we have to stay positive through all the adversity.”

Helping in holding off that negativity is the support the Dream receive from their faithful following back home in the ATL. For those who follow the WNBA, it’s plain to see that the Dream have some of the better crowds in the league. And to the fans’ credit the enthusiasm hasn’t stopped with the novelty of a new team wearing off, or with the Dream being out of playoff contention for a couple months now. That just motivates the players to want to win even more.

“We’ve won one game in Philips Arena and they’re still there,” said Lennox. “They’re just very loyal. They’re eager about women’s basketball and I’m just happy to be a part of that.”

“Atlanta is great. The fans are fantastic,” said Latta. “If you ask me I think they are the best fans in the WNBA. They are there day in and day out. They are there to support us. They’re screaming. They are doing whatever they can to support the team. We definitely love them. I hope they keep supporting us.”

So the support system is there and now the goal for 2009 is also in place, according to Meadors.

“Win.”

History indicates that won't be easy, but the Dream appear up for the challenge.