The Atlanta Dream and Washington Mystics open their best-of-three first-round series Sunday at 7 p.m. at State Farm Arena, a matchup between two teams that closed the regular season on winning streaks and split a physical, closely contested season series along home-court lines.
Atlanta, the No. 4 seed, finished 30-14, tying the franchise record for wins and claiming the top spot in the Eastern Conference for the first time. The Dream have won five straight, including an 83-65 victory at New York on Wednesday that secured home court for the first round.
“We wanted to make sure we got home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs, and we were able to accomplish that,” Dream coach Karl Smesko said after the win, according to the team.
Washington, the No. 5 seed, went 28-16, a franchise record for victories, and won its final four games. The Mystics are the youngest playoff team in league history, with an average age of 24.06 weighted by playing time, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. They are making their first postseason appearance since 2023 and have not won a playoff game since Game 5 of the 2019 WNBA Finals.
The Mystics took the regular-season series 2-1, winning 81-76 on July 2 and 79-74 on Aug. 7, both in Washington. Atlanta won the lone meeting at home, 109-77, on June 6.
Rebounding figures to be a central factor. Washington set a WNBA single-season record with 1,659 rebounds and led the league at 37.7 per game. Kiki Iriafen (9.6) and Shakira Austin (9.5) made the Mystics the first team in league history with two players averaging at least 9.5 rebounds. Atlanta ranked first in offensive rebounds and second in total rebounds behind Angel Reese, who led the league at 12.1 per game and set WNBA single-season records for rebounds and double-doubles. Reese averages 14.7 points and 13.7 rebounds in her career against Washington.
In the Aug. 7 meeting, Washington outrebounded Atlanta 46-40, set a franchise record with 12 blocks and held the Dream to 32.5% shooting, their lowest mark of the season. Austin finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.
Ball security is another pressure point. Atlanta led the league with 9.1 steals per game, while Washington averaged a league-high 15.5 turnovers. Rhyne Howard tied the WNBA single-season record with 100 steals, and teammates Jordin Canada and Reese ranked second and third in the league. Washington won the July 2 game despite committing 28 turnovers, shooting 55.4% from the field and 9-of-16 from 3-point range.
Atlanta’s scoring runs through its backcourt. Allisha Gray averaged 19 points and broke her own franchise single-season scoring record. Howard averaged 17.7 points and set the WNBA single-season record for 3-pointers made. Canada averaged 7.3 assists, third in the league, and set the Dream’s single-season assists record. The Dream averaged 91.3 points, third in the WNBA, against a Washington defense that allowed 82.7, second-fewest in the league.
Washington counters with its frontcourt. Austin averaged career highs of 17 points and 9.5 rebounds and set franchise single-season records in both categories. She scored 21 points in each of Washington’s two wins over Atlanta. Iriafen scored at least 14 points in all three meetings, including a game-high 24 in Atlanta on June 6. Sonia Citron averaged 16.8 points and led the league in clutch scoring.
The Mystics’ reserves scored at least 20 points in all three games against Atlanta, the only playoff team to do so. Rookies Cotie McMahon and Cassandre Prosper each reached double figures on Aug. 7, when Lauren Betts added 11 rebounds.
Atlanta will be without forward Brionna Jones, who is out with a left leg injury. Washington was scheduled to release an updated status report at 5 p.m.
The teams have met three times in the postseason. Atlanta won series in 2010 and 2013, and Washington won the 2018 semifinals 3-2. The Dream are 18-27 all-time in the playoffs across 11 appearances, and Smesko is 1-2 in the postseason. Washington’s Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, acquired in August, leads the Mystics with 26 career playoff games.
The game will air nationally on Prime Video with Michael Grady, LaChina Robinson, Candace Parker and Kayla Grey. Game 2 is Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Washington.
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