Should we view the Atlanta Dream as legitimate WNBA title contenders?
Yahoo Sports Daily hosts Caroline Fenton and Coley Harvey break down the Atlanta Dream's recent wins over the Indiana Fever and whether this makes them a viable contender for the WNBA title. Watch the full episode of Yahoo Sports Daily on YouTube or YahooSports.TV .
Video Transcript
This is an Atlanta squad that, that very well could bring a s- another sports championship to my hometown, to my city.
As the guy who is the resident Atlanta talker on this show, I gotta say that I am so beside myself at how good the Dream look right now and the role that Angel Reese is playing in that.
I mean, the fact that she's already at 1,000 rebounds in her career, her career just started.
I mean, this is, this is certainly unreal, especially when you see those numbers, right there on the screen.
I, I, I think about Saturday's game against the Fever, and you had kind of a who's who of Atlanta celebrities and Southern sports celebrities there.
You had Dominique Wilkins in the building.
You had C.J.
McCollum from the Hawks in the building.
You had Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens in the building.
You also had Dawn Staley, the coach of, of course, of, South Carolina's women's head, women's basketball team.
so you just had all these people who wanted to be part of this, and that's what it feels like in the city right now.
I'm actually heading down to Atlanta in a couple of days.
I'm excited to feel what the atmosphere is, not just for the World Cup, but also for what's going on with the WNBA.
It just, it just seems as if the city, at least from afar from my perspective, is, has really latched onto this team.
It's latched onto Angel Reese.
It's latched onto what it believes can be a team that competes down the line.
And of course, as you mentioned, the two wins against the Fever, just this past weekend, that's huge.
That's, that goes a long way to, to proving that there is something that's really been built, in Atlanta.
Of course, the, the Dream also going to the playoffs, last year and, and really laying the groundwork for what feels like a, a, a nice, run for the next, two or three seasons perhaps, maybe even longer than that.
We'll see.
but yeah, I, I'm excited.
I know Atlanta's excited.
I think the one test that the Dream have not quite passed just yet, and they've only had one chance at that test, and that's the New York Liberty.
They lost to the Liberty a couple weeks ago.
They won't see the Liberty again till the very end of the season where they, they match up with the Liberty two times in a row.
those are gonna be, crucial games as we go into the playoff, picture.
And then of course, the way that it's shaking out right now, the Dream, although they are record-wise the best team in the East, it looks like those two teams, the, the Dream and the Liberty, would meet at some point in the postseason.
And if they can pass that test, then I say yes, yes, yes, even more so yes, this is a legitimate title contender.
It does feel like Atlanta news just organically finds itself into the show whenever Coley Harvey is in for Jason Fitz.
And that is just the good vibes that you attract for your hometown, Coley, 'cause I'm with you 100%.
The Dream are title contenders.
And it felt like they were title contenders last year, and then they make the splashy blockbuster move to acquire Angel Reese.
And that was the vision, was we felt like we were close last year.
We were just maybe a couple of players away or one elite rebounder away from really breaking through, and you're seeing it now.
That move is paying dividends.
They are top three in the league in defensive efficiency, and if you look at the defensh- defensive efficiency rankings in the WNBA, there's a direct correlation of the WNBA rankings.
Of the top teams in the league are the top defensive teams in the league, and the Dream were a good defensive team that only got better with the acquisition of Angel Reese
