Just days ago, the Atlanta Dream were minutes away from being eliminated from playoff contention, but now they have clinched the eighth seed with a 78-67 victory over the New York Liberty in the regular-season finale on Thursday night.
Coming into Thursday, the mission was simple for the Dream: win and they would be in. Of course, that was going to be easier said than done against the league-leading Liberty, who had won the first three meetings between the teams this season without much trouble.
After going scoreless in the first three minutes and 21 seconds, it looked like the Dream were in for a long night, but they closed out the first quarter strong and never looked back. By halftime, they were up by double digits, and they extended that lead to as many as 20 in the second half. The Liberty, who had nothing to play for, ended up pulling the cart pretty early on and it made for a pretty comfortable night for the Dream.
This is the second consecutive playoff appearance for the Dream, who closed the season on a three-game winning streak to secure their spot. That was fitting considering the roller-coaster nature of their season.
They started with a 4-2 record that included a win over the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, then lost 15 of their next 18 games. After the Olympic break, they initially turned things around with a three-game winning streak, during which they defeated the Seattle Storm and Connecticut Sun, but again lost their way and lost eight of their next 10 games.
Heading into Sunday's game against the Washington Mystics, they would have been eliminated with a loss and were down with less than two minutes remaining. However, they won in overtime, kicking off this three-game winning streak.
Making the playoffs was vitally important for the Dream this season, as they do not possess their first-round pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. They sent that pick to the Dallas Wings in the trade for Allisha Gray, and the Wings then traded it to the Mystics. Given how things were playing out down the stretch, a disastrous scenario was looming in which the Mystics eliminated the Dream from the playoffs and then won the lottery with their pick.
Of course, that didn't happen and the Dream will now have to rush through the first round of the playoffs. The good news from a logistical standpoint is that they'll play the No. 1 seed, the Liberty, and get to stay in Brooklyn. Game 1 of that series is scheduled for Sunday and the Liberty will host the first two games of the best-of-three matchup.
