Two weeks ago, after the Atlanta Dream beat the Toronto Tempo to improve to 12-4 and climb into second place behind the Minnesota Lynx, they had the best offense in the league and were being hailed as title contenders.
How quickly things can change.
A five-game losing streak – their longest since 2024, and the longest active one in the league – has sunk them to seventh place at 12-9, and they're now seventh in offense. To make matters worse, they didn't get a single All-Star starter, and players and owners alike have taken to publicly complaining about the refs.
"I'm going to get fined for this, but I don't care," Jordin Canada said after the team's loss to the Washington Mystics on Thursday. "The officiating tonight was terrible, horrible. I don't know how many times Angel [Reese] has to get beat up in the paint to get a foul called. I thought all three refs were terrible."
Allisha Gray was so frustrated during the team's loss to the Golden State Valkyries on CBS on Saturday that she said "the refs are trash" during an in-game interview. Following that defeat, managing partner Larry Gottesdiener took to social media to back up his players: "It might be time to write about the team with the worst whistle in the league… Refs are killing any momentum we get. Why?"
The Dream are not the first team to complain about the officials this season, and they won't be the last, but their issues go beyond a supposed lack of calls.
Over the last five games, the Dream are last in field goal percentage (38.4%), 14th in 3-point percentage (26%), 14th in offensive rating (98.2) and 13th in turnover rate (18.1%). Gray, Rhyne Howard and Angel Reese are all shooting below 40% during the losing streak, and Howard is the only one with more assists than turnovers.
Playing the Valkyries three times in the last five games has not helped, but it's clear the Dream's offense runs hot and cold. It's also fair to wonder if Karl Smesko has been over-reliant on his starters.
Howard leads the league in minutes per game (35.2), while Gray is sixth (33.2), Canada is 17th (30.9) and Reese is 19th (30.6). No other team has as many players in the top-20 in minutes. Te-Hina Paopao and Isobel Borlase are the only reserves averaging more than 10 minutes a night, and their bench ranks 14th in the league in scoring (16 points per game).
The Dream have a very easy schedule over the next few weeks, and should get Brionna Jones back from a knee injury soon. They aren't as bad as the last few games would indicate, but their inconsistent offense and poor record against the top-five teams is a real concern. Against the Minnesota Lynx, Las Vegas Aces, Valkyries, Dallas Wings and New York Liberty, they are now a combined 3-6.
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | The Valkyries will be sorry to see the Dream go. After a dramatic victory in Atlanta on CBS on Saturday, the Valkyries beat the Dream for the third time in less than two weeks to extend their winning streak to four games. Gabby Williams, who had 19 points and three steals in their latest triumph, was named an All-Star starter for the first time in her career. She is the first player in franchise history to earn that honor. | 2 | |
| 2 |  | What a week for the Liberty and Breanna Stewart, who bounced back from their 1-4 skid in style by beating the Aces to win the Commissioner's Cup championship and then easily dispatching the Lynx. The Liberty are the first two-time champs of the Cup, and Stewart became the first two-time MVP of the competition. After adding to her trophy case, she poured in 36 points against Minnesota for her highest-scoring game since 2024. | 2 | |
| 3 |  | The Lynx shot just nine free throws in their loss to the Liberty, and are now last in the league in free throw attempts per game (17.2). That should change when Napheesa Collier returns. The first-place Lynx got a huge boost this week when the 2025 MVP runner-up, who averaged a team-high 5.2 free throws last season returned to practice. It's still unclear when she'll be able to play, but it shouldn't be too long now. | 1 | |
| 4 |  | A'ja Wilson's ankle injury has turned out to be a bit worse than she first expected. Though she's not expected to miss significant time, she sat out of all three of the Aces' games this week - the Commissioner's Cup loss to the Liberty, the overtime win against the Sky and the blowout loss to the Fever - which were a reminder of her importance. The Aces have a plus-10.1 net rating with Wilson on the floor and a minus-7.2 net rating with her off the floor. | 3 | |
| 5 |  | Despite Caitlin Clark's absence due to a back injury, the Fever easily took care of the A'ja Wilson-less Aces to pick up back-to-back wins for the first time since mid-June. Kelsey Mitchell, who was named an All-Star starter for the first time in her career, along with Clark and Aliyah Boston, poured in 27 points in Las Vegas. She's now averaging a career-high 21.9 points per game, which is good for third in the league. Clark is expected to return on Wednesday or Thursday. | 1 | |
| 6 |  | The Wings got back on track this week with two comfortable wins over the Sun and Tempo. Paige Bueckers averaged 23.5 points, seven assists and five rebounds on 60% shooting in those victories to continue her impressive run of form. She's scored at least 20 points in five consecutive games, which is the third-longest streak in the league this season, behind only A'ja Wilson (11) and Caitlin Clark (six). | 1 | |
| 7 |  | The Mystics pulled off a double-digit second-half comeback to stun the Dream and continue their mid-season surge. After a 4-6 start, the Mystics have won six of their last nine games to climb into playoff position. During that stretch, they've beaten the Lynx, Liberty and Dream, and all six wins have come by seven points or fewer. The Mystics now have a league-best eight "clutch" wins, defined a wins in which the score is within five points with five minutes or less remaining. | 1 | |
| 8 |  | The Dream continued to falter this week with two more narrow defeats, these to the Mystics and Valkyries, to run their losing streak to five games - their longest since 2024. During this skid, they are 14th in offensive rating (98.2), last in true shooting percentage (48.6%) and 12th in turnover rate (18.1%). After their most recent defeat, managing partner Larry Gottesdiener said on social media that the Dream have the "worst whistle in the league" and the "refs are killing any momentum we get." | 3 | |
| 9 |  | Just one game this week for the Mercury, who easily dispatched the Storm for their third win in a row and fourth in the last five games. Phoenix is now 3-0 against Seattle this season and 5-13 against everyone else. Kahleah Copper had 30 points in their latest victory to continue her mid-season turnaround. In May, Copper averaged 18.4 points per game on a putrid 33.3% shooting. Since then, she's at 22.3 points per game on 47.6% from the field. | -- | |
| 10 |  | Toronto's rebounding issues were on full display this week -- in their loss to the Wings, the team gave up 16 offensive rebounds and 20 second-chance points. The Tempo are now 13th in defensive rating (111.6), in large part because they get crushed on the defensive glass. They are 12th in opponent offensive rebounding rate (33.6%) and 14th in opponent second-chance points per game (14.1). | -- | |
| 11 |  | The Storm returned to losing ways this week with back-to-back defeats to the Mercury and Fire. Despite the results, it was encouraging to see Ezi Magbegor return to action after missing the first 20 games of the season with a foot injury. The four-time All-Defensive honoree, who came off the bench in both games and remains on a minutes restriction, makes the Storm's frontcourt even more dynamic. | -- | |
| 12 |  | The Sun led by 14 in the second half of their one game this week, but fell apart and gave up 31 points in what turned into a three-point loss. Instead of their first three-game winning streak since last season, the Sun fell to a league-worst 4-16. Since the start of the 2020s, only six teams have had four wins or fewer through the first 20 games of a season; the Sun have done it two seasons in a row. | -- | |
| 13 |  | The Sky ended last week with a competitive loss to the Aces at home. Their only game this week was a competitive overtime loss to the Aces on the road. Courtney Vandersloot, who had 11 points and three assists off the bench against Las Vegas, has made a big impact on the Sky's offense since her return from a torn ACL. Chicago has a 129.6 offensive rating in her 48 minutes thus far, and are plus-22 with her on the floor. | -- | |
| 14 |  | In their lone game this week, the Fire fell behind by 12 early, shot 36.8% from the field and turned the ball over 20 times, yet beat the Storm anyway to snap their three-game losing streak. Portland is the first team since 2023, and just the fifth team in the 2020s, to win a game despite shooting worse than 40% and having 20-plus turnovers. | 1 | |
| 15 |  | Due to the Commissioner's Cup championship and a schedule quirk, the Sparks did not play this week. Still, they managed to make headlines. According to an ESPN report, some Sparks players never received their All-Star Game ballots, which was particularly notable given the fact that Kelsey Plum was not named a starter and just 85 of the league's 180 players participated in All-Star voting. Player voting accounts for 25% of the final tally. | 1 |
