From 6 losing seasons to sneaky contenders: How the Dream rebuilt their franchise

The Atlanta Dream's caller franchise cornerstones reversed their matching red-leather interior Corvettes into parallel parking spots, popped the rooftops backmost on, past stepped retired successful their game-day fits -- Allisha Gray successful a greenish crewneck, Rhyne Howard successful a babe bluish garment and Naz Hillmon successful a agleam pinkish pantsuit.

"It gives Powerpuff Girls," Hillmon told ESPN up of their regular-season finale.

It's not conscionable the colors they sported that were reminiscent of the early-2000s cartoon. Just arsenic that superhero trio would prevention their city, Atlanta's mentation of the large 3 has helped reconstruct this squad aft six consecutive losing seasons, doubling its triumph full from a twelvemonth agone with a franchise-record 30 victories and earning the No. 3 effect successful the WNBA playoffs.

Their friendships person truly shaped the team's civilization disconnected and connected the floor.

"We are ne'er not having a large time, and the chemistry has ever been there. I virtually privation to repost each tweet, each station that I spot astir them due to the fact that they merit it all," Hillmon said. "Our core, we person our values, and we knew what we wanted to accomplish, and that starts disconnected the court."

This halfway radical has been important to gathering the instauration Larry Gottesdiener wanted to found erstwhile helium bought the squad successful 2021. The archetypal ceramic helium laid was hiring wide manager Dan Padover, who made respective trades successful the 2022 draught to get the No. 1 and 15 picks and prime Howard and Hillmon, respectively. The adjacent was acquiring Gray successful 2023. And the latest was the hiring of Karl Smesko, who was unproven successful the WNBA, but has unlocked the Dream's afloat imaginable with his chiseled violative style.

Before the rebuild began, Atlanta was not a desirable destination. Now, lone 4 years later, the reimagined Dream are lone 1 triumph distant from the semifinals -- hoping to permission a disappointing Game 2 nonaccomplishment successful the rearview arsenic they big the Indiana Fever for the series-deciding Game 3 (7:30 p.m. ET connected ESPN).

"Everything we did was precise methodical," Padover told ESPN. "It's a postulation of hundreds of decisions that gets you to wherever you privation to spell ... We haven't done thing yet, but we are astatine a constituent wherever it yet starts to consciousness similar the alteration we wanted to spot hap is coming to fruition."

Smesko stood astatine the beforehand of the Dream's movie country with players scattered successful chairs astir him. The mode helium spoke, the mode helium broke down the portion felt similar helium was giving a lecture to his team.

Gray jotted down notes successful her notebook, clinging to each connection her manager said.

"Once the movie is over, he's like, 'OK, what did we learn?'" Gray told ESPN. "It's similar a assemblage people oregon a popular quiz, and you person to bash well."

Smesko's strategy -- of teaching and benignant of play -- is caller to the Dream. When helium was hired up of this season, helium told his players that things would alteration astir the organization. It rapidly became wide that helium "beats to his ain drum," Brittney Griner said.

How his violative strategy would yet enactment with their roster raised immoderate eyebrows, though. His accent connected 3-point shooting didn't evidently align with the strengths of newly-acquired station players similar Griner and Brionna Jones. But the résumé helium built successful his 22 years astatine Florida Gulf Coast -- wherever his Eagles finished successful the apical 4 of 3-point attempts successful Division 1 each play betwixt 2010 and 2024 -- earned him contiguous respect with the team. Jones has much than tripled her career-high successful 3-point attempts (46), and the premix of shots has made Atlanta's discourtesy harder to foretell -- and harder to defend.

"It felt similar helium was truly obsessed with basketball, playing the close mode and winning," Padover said. "And successful nonrecreational basketb...