The Atlanta Dream and New York Liberty open their best-of-five WNBA semifinal series Sunday at State Farm Arena. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. EDT on ABC.
Both teams enter unbeaten in the postseason. Fourth-seeded Atlanta swept No. 5 Washington in the first round, winning 92-77 at home and 93-75 on the road. Eighth-seeded New York swept top-seeded Minnesota to become the first No. 8 seed in WNBA history to eliminate a No. 1 seed.
Atlanta is in the semifinals for the first time since 2018 after a 30-14 regular season, the most wins in franchise history. The Dream have won seven straight games dating to Aug. 30. New York finished the regular season 26-18.
The Dream won two of the three regular season meetings. New York took the first, 104-90, on June 11 in College Park, shooting 54.2% from the field and 51.6% from three-point range. Atlanta won the final two games of the regular season at Barclays Center, 95-84 on Sept. 21 and 83-65 on Sept. 23.
Rebounding and turnovers shaped all three games. New York outrebounded Atlanta each time, 40-24, 40-32 and 40-35. The Liberty also committed 20 turnovers in two of the three meetings, while the Dream had no more than six in any of them.
That pattern held for both teams in the first round. Washington outrebounded Atlanta 92-58 across two games, but the Dream forced 41 turnovers, committed 15 and finished with 26 steals to the Mystics’ five. New York averaged 37.0 rebounds and 17.0 turnovers against Minnesota.
The Liberty shot 48.5% from the field and 40.4% from three-point range in their sweep, averaging 89.0 points and allowing 73.0. Atlanta averaged 92.5 points and allowed 76.0, shooting 42.7% from the field and 34.0% from beyond the arc.
Allisha Gray leads the Dream at 22.0 points per game in the postseason after scoring 22 in each game against Washington. Rhyne Howard is averaging 20.5 points and 3.5 steals, including 26 points and five steals in Game 1. Howard tied the WNBA single-season record with 100 steals this year.
Jordin Canada has a double-double in both playoff games and is averaging 14.5 points and 10.5 assists. She scored 13 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter of the clinching win in Washington.
“All we cared about was winning and advancing, and everyone did their part,” Dream head coach Karl Smesko said after that game.
Angel Reese, named the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday, is averaging 14.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in her first postseason. DeWanna Bonner, who signed with Atlanta on Aug. 27 after a buyout from Phoenix, is averaging 10.0 points off the bench.
Breanna Stewart was New York’s most productive player in the season series. She had 27 points and 14 rebounds on Sept. 21, and 19 points and 11 rebounds in the June win. Jonquel Jones grabbed 14 rebounds on Sept. 23, when Marine Fauthoux led the Liberty with 14 points.
Reese scored 25 points against New York on June 11, her high in the series. She played 17 minutes in the Sept. 23 meeting after taking an accidental elbow to the face from Sabrina Ionescu in the first half.
Atlanta lists forward Brionna Jones as out with a left leg injury.
The teams have split four all-time postseason games. Atlanta won both meetings in 2010, and New York won both in the first round in 2024.
Several Dream players are near franchise postseason marks. Howard needs two steals to move into fourth on the team’s all-time playoff list, and Canada is eight assists from third. Bonner, with 1,311 career playoff points, is 176 from the WNBA’s all-time postseason scoring lead.
Atlanta hosts Games 1 and 2 and, if necessary, Game 5. Game 2 is Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Atlanta, and the series moves to New York for Game 3 on Friday.
Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe have the call for ABC
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