The Atlanta Dream were minutes away from being eliminated from playoff contention just a few days ago, but they have now clinched the No. 8 seed with a 78-67 win over the New York Liberty in the regular-season finale on Thursday night.
Entering Thursday, the mission was simple for the Dream: win and they were in. Of course, that was going to be easier said than done against the league-leading Liberty, who had won the first three matchups between the teams this season without much trouble.
After going scoreless for the first three minutes and 21 seconds, it seemed the Dream might be in for a long night, but they closed the first quarter strong and never looked back. By halftime, they were up by double digits, and they pushed that advantage up to as many as 20 in the second half. The Liberty, who had nothing to play for, ended up pulling the plug pretty early and it turned into a rather comfortable night for the Dream.
This is the second consecutive playoff appearance for the Dream, who closed the season on a three-game winning streak to secure their spot. That was fitting considering the roller coaster nature of their season.
They got off to a 4-2 start that included a win over the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, then lost 15 of their next 18 games. Coming out of the Olympic break, they initially turned it around with a three-game winning streak, in which they defeated the Seattle Storm and Connecticut Sun, but again lost their way and dropped eight of their next 10.
Heading into their game on Sunday against the Washington Mystics, they would have been eliminated with a defeat and trailed with less than two minutes to play. They went on to win in overtime, jump-starting this three-game winning streak.
Making the playoffs was of vital importance to the Dream this season, as they do not own their first-round pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. They sent that selection to the Dallas Wings in the Allisha Gray trade, and the Wings later traded it to the Mystics. Given how things were playing out down the stretch, there was a disaster scenario looming where the Mystics knocked the Dream out of the playoffs, then won the lottery with their pick.
That, of course, did not come to pass, and the Dream will now face a quick turnaround to the first round of the playoffs. The good news from a logistical standpoint is that they'll play the No. 1 seed Liberty and can just stay in Brooklyn. Game 1 of that series is set for Sunday, and the Liberty will host the first two games of the best-of-three matchup.