First Round Top Plays

top-plays-of-the-day-9-18-25

Top Plays of the Day, 9/18/25

top-plays-of-the-day-09-18-2025

Top Plays of the Day, 09/18/2025

AP Recap

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://x.com/WNBA/status/1968854362991521946" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">Aliyah Boston made the go-ahead basket</a> with 7.4 seconds left, Lexie Hull <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://x.com/IndianaFever/status/1968856460894351811" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">stole the ensuing inbounds pass</a> and the Indiana Fever beat the No. 3-seeded Atlanta Dream 87-85 on Thursday night to advance to the WNBA semifinals.
Despite missing Caitlin Clark among its injured players, Indiana closed on a 7-0 run to win a playoff series for the first time since 2015. The sixth-seeded Fever will play on Sunday against the winner of Thursday’s other Game 3 between Seattle and Las Vegas.
Boston was left alone under the basket for an easy layup after Brionna Jones went to the ground going for a loose ball. It gave Indiana an 86-85 lead, its first since it was 33-30 in the second quarter.
Rhyne Howard twice had trouble inbounding the ball in the final seconds, with Hull coming from behind to poke it away from Jones. Indiana got it to Odyssey Sims, who went 1 of 2 at the free-throw line to give Atlanta another shot with 1.2 left. Jones’ off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.
Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 24 points and Boston had 14 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Sims had 16 points and eight assists, and Natasha Howard added 12 points.
Allisha Gray had 19 points and 12 rebounds for her first playoff double-double to lead Atlanta. Jordin Canada also had a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists. Rhyne Howard scored 16 points and Jones had 12.
Atlanta, which was held to 60 points in a 17-point loss in Game 2 on Tuesday, reached 60 points with 6:09 left in the third quarter.
Shey Peddy made a 3-pointer with 6:06 remaining in the fourth to pull Indiana within 80-78. Neither team scored again until the 3:21 mark on Brianna Turner’s putback to tie it at 80-all.
Atlanta has not won a playoff series since 2016.

WNBA_Playoffs_2025_Google_white

2025-playoffs-fever-dream-game-3-recap

Game Recap: Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream (First Round, Game 3)

First Round Game Recap

game-recap-fever-vs-dream-9-18-25

Game Recap: Fever vs. Dream (9/18/25)

top-plays-of-the-day-9-16-25

Top Plays of the Day, 9/16/25

game-recap-dream-vs-fever-9-16-25

Game Recap: Dream vs. Fever (9/16/25)

Analysis

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-199787" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/06/2560-x-100-1.png" alt="" width="2560" height="100" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/06/2560-x-100-1.png 2560w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/06/2560-x-100-1-300x12.png 300w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/06/2560-x-100-1-1024x40.png 1024w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/06/2560-x-100-1-768x30.png 768w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/06/2560-x-100-1-1536x60.png 1536w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/06/2560-x-100-1-2048x80.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />
Editor&#8217;s Note: Read more WNBA coverage from the Athletic <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/wnba/">here</a>. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its teams.
***
Editor’s note: This article is part of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/tag/programbuilders/" data-index="0">Program Builders</a> series, focusing on the behind-the-scenes executives and people fueling the future growth of their sports.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-203966" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-2025-09-16T134232.906.png" alt="" width="2000" height="1125" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-2025-09-16T134232.906.png 2000w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-2025-09-16T134232.906-300x169.png 300w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-2025-09-16T134232.906-1024x576.png 1024w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-2025-09-16T134232.906-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" />
Early in the third quarter of their seventh game of the season, the Atlanta Dream trailed the Seattle Storm by 17 points on the road. For much of the first half, the Dream played at a slow pace, using a stagnating offense. The ball stuck and players didn’t attack downhill the way first-year WNBA coach Karl Smesko had wanted.
Smesko called a timeout just over a minute after halftime. He reminded his players — a group that he had been coaching for less than six weeks — that the game was far from over. If they could attack the rim and get stops on defense, they would have a chance to be back in the contest.
Following the regroup, three-time All-Star Rhyne Howard attacked right, hitting a 10-foot floater and drawing a foul as well. On the ensuing Atlanta possession, Howard broke Storm center Ezi Magbegor down off the dribble, sinking another floater and drawing a foul. A 17-point deficit became 11. The Dream had life.
Atlanta went on to win by seven that night. Howard finished with 33 points, while her backcourt partner, Allisha Gray, added 28 points. That night in Seattle, Dream general manager Dan Padover reflected on what he had seen so far. “That was the first time I really started to think, ‘OK, we might have something here,’” he said.
Padover’s inclination proved true.
What the Dream turned out to have was a roster capable of amassing the most wins (30) in franchise history. Smesko won the most games for a first-year WNBA head coach, and Atlanta finished with a top four playoff seed for the first time since 2018. With a win on Tuesday night in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Indiana Fever, the Dream could move to the league semifinals for the first time in seven years. “Big thing for us is understanding that the job is not done in this series,” Smesko said after their series-opening 80-68 victory.
When Padover was hired in October 2021, after winning executive of the year twice in three seasons with the Las Vegas Aces, he said that Atlanta owner Larry Gottesdiener told him to treat the franchise as if it were an expansion team, insofar as the general manager had an ability to shape the roster however he saw fit. Padover saw the Dream’s rebuild as needing time. “Don’t skip steps,” he said. But unlike expansion teams, Atlanta lacked players. It had just three players under contract heading into the 2022 offseason.
<div class="ad-container">
<div class="ad-wrapper article-treatment">
<div class="ad-slug-container">
“We were just gonna have to do things differently,” Padover said.
Without lottery luck, that meant trades — 10 to be exact. Since 2022, the Dream acquired key draft picks (including the No. 1 pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft, which was used to select Howard, and a second-round selection that same year used on likely 2025 Sixth Player of the Year Naz Hillmon) and players (including Gray and guard Jordin Canada) in deals with other teams.
There was no magic switch that flipped inside the Dream organization this season, just a gradual build that needed a steady steward.
Smesko came to Atlanta with the reputation as an offensive guru and a winner at Florida Gulf Coast. Entering the 2024 college season, he boasted the third-highest winning percentage among active coaches, behind UConn’s Geno Auriemma and LSU’s Kim Mulkey. But it’s his intentional methods that struck players right away. “Everything he says has a reason, has a purpose, and it all makes sense,” four-time All-Star center Brionna Jones said.
Smesko doesn’t put together practice plans, instead calling them “progress plans.” In training camp, he routinely stopped intra-squad scrimmages when he saw Atlanta players leaking out in transition without ensuring they saw a teammate grab a defensive rebound with two — not one, but two — eyes. (The focus has paid off, as the Dream are the No. 1 defensive rebounding team in the league.)
Atlanta is No. 2 in defensive rating, but its offensive evolution has been key, too. The Dream went from 12th in offensive rating in 2024 to second. But more than any overriding philosophy, Smesko said he has tried to keep things simple.
“I try to be careful not to overcomplicate things too much,” he said. “Let the best players in the world play, teach them how they can utilize their skills a little bit better to even become more efficient with their talents.”
For no player has that approach been more evident than Gray, who went from an All-Star-level player to the league’s best guard in 2025. She started in this year’s All-Star Game. “Just a clarifying moment of what a big-time player she’s become,” Padover said. She is likely to finish in the top four in MVP voting, averaging career-highs in points (18.4), rebounds (5.3) and assists (3.5) per game.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-203967" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-2025-09-16T134506.017.png" alt="" width="2000" height="1125" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-2025-09-16T134506.017.png 2000w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-2025-09-16T134506.017-1024x576.png 1024w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-2025-09-16T134506.017-768x432.png 768w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-2025-09-16T134506.017-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" />
Atlanta acquired Gray via a trade in January 2023 with the Dallas Wings. Padover said that at the time, Atlanta’s analytics model showed she was one of the most undervalued players in the WNBA. The Dream sent Dallas their No. 3 pick and a first-round pick in 2025 in return. “I was very bullish on what she could become here,” Padover said. “I knew that she had a much higher ceiling than she currently was playing at in Dallas.”
But it would have been hard to predict this exact leap.
Padover saw a player with not only All-Star potential, but one who might want to stay in Atlanta. Gray grew up two hours south of the city and attended South Carolina. With the Dream, Gray has felt the most comfortable. “I feel like I’ve had the ultimate green light,” she said earlier this season.
It helps that she does not have to star alone. Alongside Howard, who is now one of her closest friends, Gray can feed off another play-making wing. The duo has a plus-8.7 net rating this year, the highest mark in their three years playing together. Howard has also assisted Gray 36 times this season, tied for fourth most league-wide among guard pairs.
Part of Padover’s recognition that this year might be especially notable for the Dream stems from seeing his players want to be in Atlanta. That might sound like a simple concept, he said, but as a franchise that isn’t a traditional free-agent destination, buy-in is important.
“Our foundation is coming from Atlanta,” he said. “Continuity on teams is just as big of an advantage as talent.”
The Dream signed future Hall of Famer Brittney Griner and Jones this past offseason — both moves paying dividends. Such signings have been more anomalous than expected. It’s why Padover called it a “monumental moment for our franchise.”
Last winter, Padover recognized that the job ahead was not only to win, but to convince Griner and Jones — and frankly, the rest of the league — that Atlanta could be more than a plucky story.
“Our job is day in, day out to show these players why not only they should come here, but why they should stay here,” he said. “And I’ve always said the most important thing is to recruit your own players.”
But no pitch will be stronger than a deep playoff run.
Smesko was clear in their first training camp meeting that he felt the Dream could be the league’s most improved team — they were — and that they expected to be in the playoffs — they are. He told players they had the personnel to win a championship.
“We’re not the only team that’s capable of going on a run and winning this,” he said. “So somebody’s gonna play really well, (and) you’re gonna have to probably make your own breaks a couple (of) times. But we definitely have a team that’s capable of winning the whole thing.”
He’s been asked repeatedly to reflect on their lack of postseason experience as a group.
“If you can win that first series, suddenly you’ve got experience winning a playoff series, and then you build off it from there,” he said.
“Build” is the apt word. They take pride in constructing a contender. What remains to be seen is what exactly the ceiling is.
Program Builders is part of a partnership with Range Rover Sport. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/ben-pickman/" aria-label="Ben Pickman's Author Page">Ben Pickman</a> is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the WNBA and women’s college basketball. Previously, he was a writer at Sports Illustrated where he primarily covered women’s basketball and the NBA. He has also worked at CNN Sports and the Wisconsin Center for Journalism Ethics. Follow Ben on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/benpickman" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Follow Ben on Twitter">@benpickman</a>
</div>
</div>
</div>

atlanta-dream-playoff-chase

Atlanta Dream’s WNBA Playoff Chase was Part of a ‘Progress Plan’

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard scored 20 points apiece to help the Atlanta Dream beat the Indiana Fever 80-68 on Sunday in Game 1 of the best-of-three first-round playoff series.
Naz Hillmon, who was the AP Sixth Person of the Year, added 16 points and nine rebounds for the third-seeded Dream. Atlanta can advance to the semifinals with a win in Game 2 on Tuesday in Indianapolis.
Brionna Jones made a tiebreaking layup and Gray hit a pull-up jumper before Howard hit a 3-pointer that gave Atlanta a 47-40 lead almost four minutes into the second half and the Fever trailed the rest of the way.
Kelsey Mitchell led No. 7 seed Indiana with 27 points. Odyssey Sims scored 10 points and Aliyah Boston grabbed 12 rebounds to go with eight points and five assists. The Fever were missing Caitlin Clark, who is sidelined for the playoffs with a groin injury she suffered in the middle of July.
Indiana was also missing Sophie Cunningham (knee), Aari McDonald (foot) and Sydney Colson (knee).
Mitchell made a free throw that cut Indiana’s deficit to 10 points with 3:32 left in the fourth quarter but Hillmon, who scored 14 second-half points, answered with a three-point play and Atlanta led by double figures there on.
The Dream, under first-year coach Karl Smesko, doubled their win total from last year, shattered the club record for wins in a season (30) and finished with their highest win percentage (.682) in franchise history.
Mitchell hit a fast-break 3-pointer to cap a 9-0 run that gave Indiana a 15-6 lead with 4:55 left in the first quarter.

2025-playoffs-fever-dream-game-1-recap

Game Recap: Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream (First Round, Game 1)

game-recap-fever-vs-dream-9-14-25

Game Recap: Fever vs. Dream (9/14/25)

atlanta-dream-vs-indiana-fever-game-highlights-4

Atlanta Dream vs. Indiana Fever - Game Highlights

Latest

Brionna Jones

CAREER TRANSACTIONS:
<ul>
<li>2017: Selected No. 8 overall by the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA Draft.</li>
<li>2021: Re-signed with the Connecticut Sun on a two-year deal.</li>
<li>2023: Re-signed with the Connecticut Sun on a one-year deal.</li>
<li>2024: Re-signed with the Connecticut Sun on a one-year deal.</li>
<li>2025: Signed with the Atlanta Dream on a one-year deal.</li>
</ul>
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
<ul>
<li>2022 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year</li>
<li>2022 AP Sixth Player of the Year (unanimous)</li>
<li>3x WNBA All-Star (2021, 2022, 2024)</li>
<li>2021 WNBA Most Improved Player</li>
<li>2021 WNBA All-Defensive Second Team</li>
<li>2021 AP Most Improved Player</li>
</ul>
2024 SEASON WITH CONNECTICUT:
<ul>
<li>Appeared and started in 40 regular season games for the Sun.</li>
<li>Named a WNBA All-Star for the third time in her career (2021, 2022, 2024).</li>
<li>Averaged 13.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game.</li>
<li>Tallied a season-high 26 points against Seattle on September 1.</li>
<li>Finished the season notching 17+ points in seven of the last nine games.</li>
<li>Notched her 2,000th point against Los Angeles on August 20.</li>
<li>Finished third in the WNBA in field goal percentage (53.8%).</li>
<li>Led the team in scoring eight times and finished in double-figures in 31 regular season games.</li>
<li>Grabbed 3+ steals on six occasions.</li>
<li>Averaged 9.4 points in the paint per regular season game (ranked 10th in the WNBA).</li>
</ul>
2023 SEASON WITH CONNECTICUT:
<ul>
<li>Appeared and started in 13 contests for the Sun before suffering a season-ending Achilles injury on 6/18.</li>
<li>Prior to the injury, averaged a career-best 15.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.9 steals per game.</li>
<li>Tallied a season-high 28 points against Atlanta on 6/15.</li>
<li>Tied her career-high with seven offensive rebounds against Atlanta on 6/15.</li>
<li>Finished in double-figures in all 13 games, recording seven games with 15+ points and two games with 20+ points.</li>
<li>Reached 1,500 career-points against Indiana on 5/30.</li>
</ul>
2022 SESASON WITH CONNECTICUT:
<ul>
<li>Appeared in all 36 regular season contests, starting seven.</li>
<li>Ended with 496 points, 185 rebounds, 44 assists, 44 steals and 13 blocks.</li>
<li>Named a WNBA All-Star for the second time in her career (2021, 2022) and was the only 2022 All-Star that consistently came off the bench for their respective team.</li>
<li>Named WNBA Sixth Player of the Year</li>
<li>Named AP Sixth Player of the Year (by unanimous decision)</li>
<li>Tallied her 1,000th career-point in the win over Indiana on 5/22.</li>
<li>Grabbed her 600th career-rebound in the loss against Chicago on 6/29.</li>
<li>Dished out her 100th career-assist in the loss against Dallas on 5/24.</li>
<li>Ranked 20th in the WNBA in scoring, fourth in field goal percentage (56.9), and second in offensive rebounds (2.6) per game.</li>
<li>Tallied a career-high nine free-throws made in the win over Seattle on 6/5.</li>
</ul>
2021 SEASON WITH CONNECTICUT:
<ul>
<li>Started in all 32 regular season games for the Connecticut Sun.</li>
<li>Finished with 470 points, 234 rebounds, 56 assists, 44 steals and 980 minutes played.</li>
<li>2021 WNBA All-Defensive Second Team</li>
<li>2021 WNBA Most Improved Player</li>
<li>2021 WNBA All-Star</li>
<li>Two-time Player of the Week.</li>
<li>First-ever all-star appearance.</li>
<li>Earned her 100th career steal in the win over New York on 9/15.</li>
<li>Career first double-double on 8/28 against Los Angeles and ended the season with four total (8/31, 9/7, 9/19).</li>
<li>Collected her 500th career rebound in the win over Atlanta on 9/19.</li>
<li>Tallied her 800th career point against Minnesota 8/19.</li>
<li>Became the 16th player in Sun history to record 30+ points in a game in the game against Indiana (7/1), finished with a career high 34. She shot a career 14-19 from the field.</li>
<li>Earned a new career high 15 rebounds in the win over Los Angeles (8/28).</li>
<li>Part of the first pair of teammates to each have 20+ PTS / 10+ REB on 70% or better from the field in the same WNBA game (8/31 vs Washington).</li>
</ul>
2020 SEASON WITH CONNECTICUT:
<ul>
<li>Competed in 21 of 22 games and started in all 21 contests including the first of her four-year career with the Sun. Missed one game due to an ankle injury.</li>
<li>Started in all seven of the team’s playoff competitions.</li>
<li>Scored a career high 235 points on 98-of-162 field goals. Led the team with a career-high 60.5% field goal percentage and averaged 9.4 points.</li>
<li>Grabbed 118 rebounds, 59 offensive boards and 59 defensive boards. Averaged 5.6 per game for the season.</li>
<li>Recorded 35 steals and finished third on the team in both regular season steals (35) and the postseason steals (11).</li>
<li>Tallied a career high 20 points two times this season as well as grabbed a regular season career-high 11 rebounds (8/16) and a postseason high 12 rebounds (9/29).</li>
<li>Finished the season with her first two career double-doubles and one playoff career double-double.</li>
</ul>
2019 SEASON WITH CONNECTICUT:
<ul>
<li>Competed in 27 regular season games and all eight playoff games</li>
<li>Scored 94 points, grabbed 59 rebounds and added nine steals and nine assists</li>
<li>Averaged a career-high 3.5 points per game and 2.2 rebounds per game</li>
<li>Tallied a season-high 14 points and 10 rebounds against Indiana (9/8/19)</li>
<li>Scored double figures in two contests</li>
</ul>
2018 SEASON WITH CONNECTICUT:
<ul>
<li>Competed in 27 regular season games</li>
<li>Scored 84 points, 53 rebounds and tallied six assists, six steals and six blocks</li>
<li>Tallied a career-high 18 points against Indiana (6/24/18)</li>
<li>Made a career-high eight field goals against Indiana (6/24/18)</li>
<li>Recorded a career-high 3 blocks against Phoenix (6/16/18)</li>
<li>Scored double figures in two contests</li>
</ul>
2017 SEASON WITH CONNECTICUT:
<ul>
<li>Appeared in 23 games with no starts</li>
<li>Had a career-high 13 points at Phoenix (9/1)</li>
<li>Made a career-high five field goals on six attempts in that same game</li>
<li>Had nine points and six rebounds against Chicago (8/25)</li>
<li>Had a career-best seven rebounds against Atlanta (6/10)</li>
<li>Was an efficient 23 of 40 (57.5 percent) from the field</li>
<li>Made 9 of 14 shots in her last three games, averaging 7.3 points and 3.6 rebounds</li>
</ul>
WNBA POSTSEASON CAREER:
2024 (Connecticut):
<ul>
<li>Appeared and started in seven 2024 playoff contests.</li>
<li>Averaged 9.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.6 steals per game.</li>
<li>Moved into second all-time in games played (38), eighth all-time in points (312), 12th all-time in assists (40) and sixth in rebounds (148) in Connecticut Sun postseason history.</li>
</ul>
2022 (Connecticut):
<ul>
<li>Appeared all 12 2022 playoff contests.</li>
<li>Finished the 2022 postseason with 123 points, 48 rebounds, 16 assists and 11 steals and three.</li>
<li>Moved into third all-time in postseason games played in Connecticut Sun history (31).</li>
</ul>
2021 (Connecticut):
<ul>
<li>Started and played in all four playoff games against Chicago Sky</li>
<li>Recorded 47 points, 17 rebounds, two assists, six steals and three blocks.</li>
<li>Averaged 11.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game.</li>
<li>Tallied a double-double in the first game of the series (9/28) with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Also had four steals in this game</li>
<li>Shot 59.3% from the floor going 19-32 and 64.3% from the free throw line, knocking down 9 of 14 attempts.</li>
<li>Totaled 103 minutes across four games, averaging 25.6 minutes per game.</li>
<li>Tied teammate Alyssa Thomas for highest field goal percentage over playoff career with .509.</li>
<li>Totaled 35 playoff career offensive rebounds, tying for 5th all-time in Sun playoff history.</li>
</ul>
2020 (Connecticut):
<ul>
<li>Appeared and started in seven playoff contests for the Sun.</li>
<li>Averaged 9.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game.</li>
<li>Posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Las Vegas on 9/24.</li>
</ul>
2019 (Connecticut):
<ul>
<li>Appeared in eight playoff contests for the Sun.</li>
<li>Finished the postseason with 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals.</li>
</ul>
OVERSEAS COMPETITION:
<ul>
<li>2019-2025: USK Prague (Czech Republic)</li>
<li>2017-2019: Nadezhda (Russia)</li>
</ul>