Not what anyone expected in the first regular season look at the 2026 Atlanta Dream.
The Dream looked disconnected, sloppy, and bewildered in their first outing against the Lynx. Expectations for Atlanta were championship or bust after acquiring Angel Reese this offseason, especially coming off a 30 win season last year. However, in the first half, the Dream looked a lot like the team Coach Karl Smesko described after their final preseason game: sloppy.
Most people believed they would come out on fire, but the W is filled with talented teams, and the Lynx, even without Napheesa Collier, are still one of the best teams in the league. Rookie Olivia Miles looked great and every bit worthy of being the second pick in the draft.
At halftime, the Dream trailed by 15, making any comeback difficult, especially with Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray having off nights. The biggest divider was field goal percentage. Minnesota shot 52.6 percent in the first half, while Atlanta shot just 36.1 percent.
The other major story was turnovers. The Dream had 13 turnovers in the first half compared to only 4 for the Lynx. That kind of gap makes it hard to build rhythm, especially against a team as sharp and disciplined as Minnesota.
The Lynx also got more from their bench, outscoring Atlanta’s reserves 12 to 6. For a Dream team with championship expectations, that lack of production and composure is something they will need to address quickly.
This is only the first half of the first regular season game, but the Dream better figure something out fast or risk losing momentum heading into their first home game of the season.
