The Dream made a splash in the early offseason hiring Karl Smesko from the college ranks, signaling a desire to shift philosophies and implement a high-efficiency offensive system emphasizing three-point shooting. The new coaching staff, with four former coaches from Florida Gulf Coast University, will look to harness the potential of a talented roster with young returning stars Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, and Jordin Canada, along with free agent veteran additions Brittney Griner, Brionna Jones, and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough.<\/p>\n
Karl Smesko<\/p>\n
Coach Smesko was announced as the new head coach for the Atlanta Dream on November 12th, 2024. According to the Atlanta Dream press release upon his hiring<\/a>, Karl Smesko joined the Dream from Florida Gulf Coast University with the eighth-most wins among active head coaches in NCAA Division I women\u2019s basketball. Smesko has been lauded throughout his career for his high-performing offenses with an emphasis on efficient shooting and three-point attempts.<\/p>\n Smesko\u2019s 2023-2024 women\u2019s Florida Gulf Coast team was second in the nation in three-point attempts<\/a> with 30.1 attempts per game. Four of his players averaged at least 4.7 three-point attempts per game. To put that in perspective, the 2024 Atlanta Dream had just two players (Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray) average at least 3.0 three-point attempts per game. <\/p>\n There have been questions about whether or not Smesko would fully attempt to implement a similar system at the WNBA-level, particularly after signing bigs Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones to join the Dream. In their two preseason games, however, Atlanta shot 24-for-75 (32%) from three-point range, with at least 35 three-point attempts in each game. <\/p>\n How much of a philosophy change is that from former coach Tanisha Wright\u2019s 2024 results? <\/p>\n Last year, Atlanta\u2019s season high in three-point attempts was 31 against the Phoenix Mercury, a team also known for a recent shift to emphasizing three-point shooting after hiring head coach Nate Tibbetts from the Orlando Magic in 2024. The New York Liberty led the league with 29 three-point attempts per game. While it is a small sample, Atlanta\u2019s preseason average of 37.5 three-point attempts would surpass the Liberty\u2019s 2024 average easily. I expect Atlanta to challenge WNBA historical records for team three-point attempts in the 2025 season.<\/p>\n Winsidr\u2019s Michael Waterloo described Atlanta\u2019s emphasis on three-point shooting<\/a> at a recent preseason practice:<\/p>\n With the hiring of Karl Smesko, whose \u201cAbove The Line\u201d share-and-stretch offensive scheme has a focus on three-point shots and drives to the rim for easy layups, all the players are getting extra shots up.<\/p>\n Everyone will be shooting threes for the Atlanta Dream this year.<\/p>\n Literally, everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very excited for this year,\u201d guard Allisha Gray said with a smile on her face on the first day of practice. \u201cWe\u2019re going to shoot a lot of threes.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what Atlanta\u2019s shot chart looked like in their second preseason game against Caitlin Clark\u2019s Indiana Fever: <\/p>\n ESPN.com<\/p>\n Although the final numbers weren\u2019t particularly pretty (34% field goal percentage overall), Atlanta\u2019s commitment to Coach Smesko\u2019s system was clear as the Dream were spacing the floor, increasing their pace of play compared to last season, and avoiding midrange shots.<\/p>\n Florida Gulf Coast Connections<\/p>\n After the NCAA basketball season concluded, the Atlanta Dream announced three more hires from Smesko\u2019s former employer to join Atlanta\u2019s coaching staff:<\/p>\n Assistant coach Chelsea Lyles took over for Smesko as head coach at Florida Gulf Coast upon Coach Smesko\u2019s departure. Under Lyles, FGCU fell from second in the nation in three-point shots attempted to\u2026 18th. The philosophy of emphasizing threes carried over to the Lyles regime as the team went 30-3 with an undefeated season in the Atlantic Sun Conference before falling to 3-seeded Oklahoma in the first round of the March Madness tournament. The Best of the Rest<\/p>\n![\"Atlanta](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Preseason_Game_2_Shot_Chart.png\"\/)
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\nWhile Camryn Brown did not play for Smesko in college, she spent the past three years at Florida Gulf Coast as an assistant coach. The hirings of both Lyles and Brown as assistant coaches were announced in a press release<\/a> on March 31st, 2025.
\nThe most recent FGCU-connected addition to the Dream came on April 24th, 2025, with Sheahen Dowling named<\/a> to the role of \u201cSpecial Assistant to the Head Coach.\u201d She brings experience from Florida Gulf Coast as a player under Coach Smesko and then a member of his coaching staff. <\/p>\n