Dream Fire Wright After Three Seasons – Coach Tanisha Wright’s tenure with the Atlanta Dream is no more.
The Dream did not waste any time pulling the trigger and announced Wednesday afternoon that they had fired Wright after three seasons leading the organization. The decision came down just days after the Dream were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
“Tanisha was an important contributor in our efforts to rebuild the Dream, and we want to thank her for her hard work and dedication to the Dream over the last three seasons and wish her the best in the future,” general manager Dan Padover said in a statement. “At this time, we believe a change is needed to lead our players and organization to the next chapter in our efforts to be a top team in the WNBA.”
Wright was brought on board prior to the 2022 campaign after a short but successful run as an assistant with Becky Hammon and the Las Vegas Aces. She was hired during some choppy times to replace both Mike Petersen and Darius Taylor, who split the 2021 season as the Dream’s head coach after the organization gave Nicki Collen her walking papers the year before.
Wright led the Dream to double-digit wins in each of her three seasons, which is something the franchise had not experienced since 2018, however, despite the modest improvement, she failed to achieve a winning record. The Dream have been consistently inconsistent and have had just one season over .500 in the past ten years. Ouch.
The Dream went 15-25 this season and reached the playoffs for the second straight year, but they were knocked out of the first round by the New York Liberty. The Liberty took care of business and swept their opening-round series, 2-0.
Wright posted a record of 48-68 in her run as the Dream’s head coach. Unfortunately for her, that was just not good enough to keep her job.
The Dream now have the task and will start searching for a replacement. This is turning into trend around the WNBA. They are the third team in the league to split with their coach this season. The Los Angeles Sparks fired Curt Miller after two seasons, and the Chicago Sky relieved Teresa Weatherspoon of her duties after just a single season.
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Griner Joins Unrivaled 3-on-3 Offseason League – The recently formed Unrivaled basketball league, which is a 3-on-3 player-driven and owned league that is set to reward 30 of the top players in professional women’s basketball, formally announced the addition of Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner on Wednesday.
The Unrivaled league made the announcement official with a video referencing Griner’s addition, followed by a post specifically referencing Griner’s agreement to join the league that is scheduled to get underway in January of 2025.
The new Unrivaled basketball league was co-founded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart. The league was organized and designed to give WNBA stars the much-needed opportunity another outlet to supplement their income in the offseason outside of their WNBA contracts. Unrivaled plans to dish out historic contract opportunities for its players, which will include the highest average salary in women’s professional sports league history, according to a release.
Griner, who will be 34 on October 18, is the 24th player out of 30 for the inaugural season kicking off in January, and she is a centerpiece and a major plus for the league.
In addition to Stewart, Collier and Griner, the league also will feature Chelsea Gray, Arike Ogunbowale, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, Rhyne Howard, Kahleah Copper, Jackie Young, Angel Reese, Dearica Hamby, Kayla McBride, Marina Mabrey, Satou Sabally, Allisha Gray, Natasha Cloud, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Rickea Jackson, Courtney Vandersloot, Brittney Sykes, Shakira Austin, DiJonai Carrington and Tiffany Hayes.
UConn star Paige Bueckers reportedly will be making her debut in the league in 2026. WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever, however, reportedly will take a break from basketball this offseason.
Griner, who is a legend in the WNBA, is a nine-time All-Star, six-time All-WNBA and was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 and 2015. The Mercury won the title in Griner’s second season in 2014.
Griner was a beast this season, averaging 17.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in starting all 40 regular-season games in 2024 for the Mercury. Phoenix was swept and sent packing in the first round of the playoffs by the Lynx. She averaged 17 points, 5.5 rebounds and two blocks in the two postseason games.
Soccer royalty Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, retired NBA stars Carmelo Anthony and Steve Nash, five-time LPGA champion Michelle Wie West, UConn women’s basketball coach and Hall of Famer Geno Auriemma, Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman and actor Ashton Kutcher are among the investors in the new league.
