2022 Atlanta Dream season

The 2022 WNBA season was the 15th season for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association. The team began the season on May 14, 2022, on the road against the Dallas Wings.^[1]

2022 Atlanta Dream season
Coach	Tanisha Wright
Arena	Gateway Center Arena
Attendance	2,752 per game
Results
Record	14–22 (.389)
Place	5th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Team Leaders
Points	Rhyne Howard – 16.2 ppg
Rebounds	Monique Billings – 6.3 rpg
Assists	Erica Wheeler – 3.9 apg
← 2021 season 2023 season →

This was the first season for new head coach Tanisha Wright. Wright was hired on October 12, 2021.^[2] Dan Padover was hired as the team's new general manager, while Darius Taylor moved into the assistant general manager role - after serving as the team's interim head coach in the 2021 season.^[3]

The season stated well for Wright and the Dream, as they finished May 5–3. However, a stronger schedule in June slowed down their momentum as they finished the month 4–8, including a four game and three game losing streak. The Dream's struggles continued in July as they finished the month 3–7. One bright spot in the month was a win over regular season champions Las Vegas, in Las Vegas. The team lost their last four games of the season and finished 2–4 in August. They finished in tenth place overall, missing the playoffs by one game. Their fourteen wins were the most in a season since 2018 for the team.

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2022 WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/team/country
1	1	Rhyne Howard	United States	Kentucky
2	15	Naz Hillmon	United States	Michigan

Trades and Roster Changes

Date	Transaction
October 12, 2021	Hired Tanisha Wright as head coach
December 23, 2021	Renounced the rights to Mengran Sun[4]
January 4, 2022	Extended Qualifying Offers to Monique Billings and Jaylyn Agnew[5]
January 6, 2022	Signed Jaylyn Agnew to a Qualifying Offer [6]
January 13, 2022	Waived Tianna Hawkins[7]
January 16, 2022	Suspended Maite Cazorla for Full-Season[8]
January 18, 2022	Claimed Megan Walker off of Waivers[9]
January 31, 2022	Traded a 2023 Third Round Pick to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for Kia Vaughn[10]
February 1, 2022	Re-Signed Tiffany Hayes to a One-Year Deal[11][12]
	Signed Nia Coffey to a One-Year Deal[13]
February 3, 2022	Re-Signed Monique Billings to a One-Year Deal[14][15]
February 5, 2022	Traded Chennedy Carter and the rights to Li Yueru to the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for Erica Wheeler, a 2023 First-Round Pick, and a 2022 Second Round Pick[16]
February 15, 2022	Signed N'dea Jones and Khaalia Hillsman to training-camp contracts[17]
February 21, 2022	Signed Kristy Wallace to a Rookie Contract[18]
February 23, 2022	Signed Maya Caldwell to a training-camp contract[19]
March 29, 2022	Hired Christie Sides, Paul Goriss and Barbara Turner as assistant coaches[20]
April 6, 2022	Traded the #3 and #14 picks in the 2022 WNBA Draft, and the right to exchange 1st round picks with the Los Angeles Sparks (from the Erica Wheeler trade) to the Washington Mystics in exchange for the #1 pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft[21]
April 12, 2022	Signed Que Morrison to a training-camp contract[22]
April 18, 2022	Signed Rhyne Howard and Naz Hillmon to rookie-scale contracts
April 22, 2022	Waived Khaalia Hillsmon [23]
April 23, 2022	Waived Que Morrison [24]
April 25, 2022	Waived N'dea Jones[25]
April 27, 2022	Waived Jaylyn Agnew[26]
May 5, 2022	Waived Maya Caldwell
	Temporarily Suspend Tiffany Hayes due to Overseas Commitments
May 6, 2022	Claimed Beatrice Mompremier of a waivers[27]
May 13, 2022	Activated Tiffany Hayes from her Temporary Suspension
June 8, 2022	Traded Megan Walker and the rights to Raquel Carrera to the New York Liberty in exchange for AD[28]
June 15, 2022	Signed Destiny Slocum to a Hardship Contract[29]
June 20, 2022	Signed Maya Caldwell to a Hardship Contract[30]
June 23, 2022	Released Destiny Slocum from her Hardship Contract
	Signed Yvonne Turner to a Hardship Contract[31]
June 27, 2022	Released Yvonne Turner and Maya Caldwell from their Hardship Contracts
August 2, 2022	Signed Maya Caldwell to a 7-Day Hardship Contract[32]
August 9, 2022	Signed Maya Caldwell to a Hardship Contract
August 11, 2022	Signed Kaila Charles to a Hardship Contract[33]
	Temporarily Suspend Tiffany Hayes

Roster

2022 Atlanta Dream roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs F 25 Billings, Monique  6' 3" (1.91m) 192 lb (87kg) 1998-12-15 UCLA R G 33 Caldwell, Maya 5' 11" (1.8m) 160 lb (73kg) 1998-12-15 Georgia R G 5 Charles, Kaila 6' 1" (1.85m) 170 lb (77kg) 1998-03-23 Maryland 2 F 12 Coffey, Nia  6' 1" (1.85m) 182 lb (83kg) 1995-06-11 Northwestern 5 G 23 Durr, Asia (AD)  5' 10" (1.78m) 151 lb (68kg) 1997-04-05 Louisville 1 G 15 Hayes, Tiffany  (S) 5' 10" (1.78m) 155 lb (70kg) 1989-09-29 Connecticut 9 F 00 Hillmon, Naz 6' 2" (1.88m) 190 lb (86kg) 2000-04-05 Michigan R F 10 Howard, Rhyne 6' 2" (1.88m) 175 lb (79kg) 2000-04-29 Kentucky R G 2 McDonald, Aari 5' 6" (1.68m) 141 lb (64kg) 1998-08-20 Arizona 1 F/C 1 Mompremier, Beatrice 6' 4" (1.93m) 190 lb (86kg) 1996-08-08 Miami (FL) 2 C 32 Parker, Cheyenne 6' 4" (1.93m) 193 lb (88kg) 1993-08-22 Middle Tennessee 7 C 7 Vaughn, Kia 6' 4" (1.93m) 205 lb (93kg) 1987-01-24 Rutgers 12 G 3 Wallace, Kristy 5' 11" (1.8m) 157 lb (71kg) 1996-01-03 Baylor R G 17 Wheeler, Erica 5' 7" (1.7m) 143 lb (65kg) 1991-05-02 Rutgers 6	Head coach Tanisha Wright (Penn State) Assistant coaches Christie Sides (Louisiana Tech) Paul Goriss Barbara Turner (Connecticut) Athletic trainer Natalie Trotter Strength and conditioning coach Drew Williams Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth

Pos.	Starter	Bench
C	Cheyenne Parker	Kia Vaughn Beatrice Mompremier
PF	Nia Coffey	Monique Billings Naz Hillmon
SF	Rhyne Howard	Maya Caldwell
SG	Kristy Wallace	AD Durr Tiffany Hayes
PG	Erica Wheeler	Aari McDonald

Schedule

Preseason

2022 pre-season game log Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
April: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 April 24 Washington W 88–69 Kristy Wallace (17) Monique Billings (10) Aari McDonald (6) Gateway Center Arena 854 1–0
May : 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 2 May 1 @ Connecticut L 78–94 Aari McDonald (12) Billings/Hillmon (5) Caldwell/Howard/Parker (3) Mohegan Sun Arena 3,244 1–1
2022 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2022 game log Total: 14–22 (Home: 8–10; Road: 6–12)
May: 5–3 (Home: 2–2; Road: 3–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 7 @ Dallas W 66–59 Rhyne Howard (16) Monique Billings (14) Rhyne Howard (4) College Park Center 5,796 1–0 2 May 11 Los Angeles W 77–75 Rhyne Howard (21) Billings Coffey Howard (8) Erica Wheeler (5) Gateway Center Arena 3,138 2–0 3 May 13 Las Vegas L 73–96 Aari McDonald (20) Coffey Wheeler (7) Parker Wallace Wheeler (3) Gateway Center Arena 3,138 2–1 4 May 15 @ Indiana W 85–79 Rhyne Howard (33) Coffey Parker (6) Kristy Wallace (3) Gainbridge Fieldhouse 1,745 3–1 5 May 17 @ Indiana W 101–79 Rhyne Howard (19) Aari McDonald (6) Parker Wheeler (6) Gainbridge Fieldhouse 960 4–1 6 May 20 Washington L 73–78 Rhyne Howard (21) Nia Coffey (10) Kristy Wallace (5) Gateway Center Arena N/A 4–2 7 May 24 @ Washington L 50–70 Aari McDonald (10) Parker Wallace (7) Erica Wheeler (4) Entertainment and Sports Arena 2,867 4–3 8 May 29 Phoenix W 81–54 Kristy Wallace (17) Cheyenne Parker (10) Rhyne Howard (6) Gateway Center Arena 3,138 5–3
June : 4–8 (Home: 3–3; Road: 1–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 9 June 1 Minnesota W 84–76 Rhyne Howard (22) Monique Billings (9) Erica Wheeler (9) Gateway Center Arena 1,268 6–3 10 June 3 Chicago L 65–73 Cheyenne Parker (19) Cheyenne Parker (6) Erica Wheeler (5) Gateway Center Arena 3,138 6–4 11 June 5 Indiana W 75–66 Coffey Howard (16) Nia Coffey (10) Erica Wheeler (4) Gateway Center Arena 3,000 7–4 12 June 7 @ Seattle L 60–72 Cheyenne Parker (13) Cheyenne Parker (10) Kristy Wallace (4) Climate Pledge Arena 7,262 7–5 13 June 10 @ Phoenix L 88–90 Rhyne Howard (25) Cheyenne Parker (13) Rhyne Howard (5) Footprint Center 7,650 7–6 14 June 15 @ Connecticut L 92–105 Asia Durr (21) Naz Hillmon (9) Aari McDonald (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 4,014 7–7 15 June 17 @ Chicago L 100–106 (OT) Asia Durr (21) Hillmon Parker (6) Rhyne Howard (7) Wintrust Arena 7,435 7–8 16 June 21 Dallas W 80–75 Maya Caldwell (18) Rhyne Howard (8) Aari McDonald (5) Gateway Center Arena N/A 8–8 17 June 24 New York L 77–89 Asia Durr (23) Rhyne Howard (8) Aari McDonald (4) Gateway Center Arena 2,697 8–9 18 June 26 Connecticut L 61–72 Aari McDonald (17) Rhyne Howard (7) Howard McDonald (4) Gateway Center Arena 2,722 8–10 19 June 28 @ Washington L 74–92 Asia Durr (13) Mompremier Parker (5) Asia Durr (4) Entertainment and Sports Arena 3,517 8–11 20 June 30 @ New York W 92–81 (OT) Tiffany Hayes (21) Hillmon Parker (7) Erica Wheeler (8) Barclays Center 6,161 9–11
July : 3–7 (Home: 1–4; Road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 21 July 3 Seattle W 90–76 Cheyenne Parker (21) Monique Billings (10) Kristy Wallace (6) Gateway Center Arena 3,138 10–11 22 July 6 Washington L 66–85 Billings Hayes R. Howard Ch. Parker (10) Monique Billings (9) Monique Billings (4) Gateway Center Arena 1,810 10–12 23 July 12 @ Chicago L 75–90 Cheyenne Parker (14) Tiffany Hayes (8) R. Howard McDonald (3) Wintrust Arena 7,074 10–13 24 July 15 Connecticut L 68–93 Tiffany Hayes (18) Naz Hillmon (11) Erica Wheeler (6) Gateway Center Arena 2,962 10–14 25 July 17 @ Phoenix W 85–75 Cheyenne Parker (21) Cheyenne Parker (12) Erica Wheeler (7) Footprint Center 7,963 11–14 26 July 19 @ Las Vegas W 92–76 Tiffany Hayes (31) Naz Hillmon (10) Cheyenne Parker (5) Michelob Ultra Arena 5,952 12–14 27 July 21 @ Los Angeles L 78–85 Hayes McDonald (18) Rhyne Howard (9) Ch. Parker Wheeler (4) Crypto.com Arena 10,021 12–15 28 July 24 @ Seattle L 72–82 Rhyne Howard (23) Naz Hillmon (14) Hillmon Wheeler (4) Climate Pledge Arena 12,654 12–16 29 July 28 Minnesota L 85–92 Tiffany Hayes (24) Hillmon Ch. Parker (6) Aari McDonald (3) Gateway Center Arena 2,396 12–17 30 July 30 Dallas L 68–81 Rhyne Howard (22) Hillmon R. Howard Ch. Parker (6) Erica Wheeler (6) Gateway Center Arena 3,138 12–18
August : 2–4 (Home: 2–1; Road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 31 August 3 Indiana W 91–81 Rhyne Howard (20) Maya Caldwell (7) Caldwell McDonald (6) Gateway Center Arena 2,071 13–18 32 August 5 Los Angeles W 88–86 Rhyne Howard (28) Naz Hillmon (9) Erica Wheeler (4) Gateway Center Arena 3,138 14–18 33 August 7 @ Minnesota L 71–81 R. Howard McDonald (16) Naz Hillmon (7) Cheyenne Parker (5) Target Center 9,421 14–19 34 August 9 @ Las Vegas L 90–97 Caldwell Wheeler (17) Naz Hillmon (8) McDonald Ch. Parker (5) Michelob Ultra Arena 5,151 14–20 35 August 12 New York L 70–80 Erica Wheeler (16) Monique Billings (9) Erica Wheeler (3) Gateway Center Arena 3,138 14–21 36 August 14 @ New York L 83–87 Rhyne Howard (24) Naz Hillmon (7) Rhyne Howard (7) Barclays Center 7,489 14–22
2022 season schedule

Standings

#	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Conf.	Home	Road	Cup
1	x – Las Vegas Aces	26	10	.722	–	15–3	13–5	13–5	9–1
2	x – Chicago Sky	26	10	.722	–	15–3	14–4	12–6	9–1
3	x – Connecticut Sun	25	11	.694	1.0	11–7	13–5	12–6	5–5
4	x – Seattle Storm	22	14	.611	4.0	10–8	13–5	9–9	6–4
5	x – Washington Mystics	22	14	.611	4.0	11–7	12–6	10–8	5–5
6	x – Dallas Wings	18	18	.500	8.0	8–10	8–10	10–8	5–5
7	x – New York Liberty	16	20	.444	10.0	10–8	9–9	7–11	6–4
8	x – Phoenix Mercury	15	21	.417	11.0	7–11	11–7	4–14	3–7
9	e – Minnesota Lynx	14	22	.389	12.0	8–10	7–11	7–11	4–6
10	e – Atlanta Dream	14	22	.389	12.0	5–13	8–10	6–12	3–7
11	e – Los Angeles Sparks	13	23	.361	13.0	6–12	7–11	6–12	3–7
12	e – Indiana Fever	5	31	.139	21.0	2–16	3–15	2–16	2–8

Notes

(#) – League Standing

x – Clinched playoff berth

e – Eliminated from playoff contention

Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

Statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage	TO	Turnovers per game
PF	Fouls per game		Team leader		League leader

Regular Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Rhyne Howard	34	34	31.4	.361	.343	.792	4.5	2.8	1.6	0.8	16.2
Tiffany Hayes	11	11	27.5	.545	.429	.683	3.6	2.1	0.7	0.1	16.2
Cheyenne Parker	36	35	26.2	.500	.218	.795	6.2	2.0	1.1	0.9	11.8
Aari McDonald	36	6	24.3	.411	.338	.871	2.3	2.6	1.4	0.0	11.1
Maya Caldwell≠	9	7	23.8	.514	.563	.800	2.4	2.2	0.8	0.2	10.9
AD Durr≠	15	2	19.9	.422	.458	.774	1.9	1.7	0.3	0.1	10.7
Erica Wheeler	30	30	26.3	.355	.329	.756	3.1	3.9	1.1	0.1	8.4
Kristy Wallace	29	18	20.8	.407	.368	786	2.3	2.2	0.6	0.2	6.6
Monique Billings	23	8	17.4	.470	.000	.765	6.3	1.1	0.8	0.3	6.5
Nia Coffey	16	16	21.0	.347	.290	.742	5.2	0.8	0.6	0.1	6.4
Destiny Slocum‡	3	0	13.7	.364	.333	.600	1.3	1.3	0.0	0.0	4.7
Naz Hillmon	34	12	19.8	.480	.000	.821	5.1	1.2	0.6	0.3	4.4
Megan Walker†	12	0	9.6	.368	.368	.667	0.8	0.4	0.3	0.0	3.3
Kia Vaughn	29	1	13.8	.400	.000	.692	3.2	0.9	0.3	0.3	2.5
Beatrice Mompremier	21	0	8.3	.455	.000	.385	2.8	0.4	0.1	0.6	2.1
Yvonne Turner‡	2	0	8.0	.000	.000	.500	1.0	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.5
Kaila Charles≠	1	0	2.0	.000	.000	.000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

^‡Waived/Released during the season
^†Traded during the season
^≠Acquired during the season

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Rhyne Howard	Eastern Conference Player of the Week	May 16	[34]
	WNBA Rookie of the Month - May	June 1	[35]
	WNBA All-Star Selection	June 28	[36]
	WNBA Rookie of the Month - June	July 5	[37]
	WNBA Rookie of the Month - July	August 2	[38]
	WNBA Rookie of the Month - August	August 16	[39]
	WNBA Rookie of the Year	August 25	[40]
	WNBA All-Rookie Team	August 25	[41]