Te-Hina Paopao is finding her groove with Atlanta Dream, one shot at a time

Instead, she stayed home in Oceanside, Calif. and was surrounded by family for one of the most important nights of her life. When her name echoed through the TV speakers, Paopao stood, draped in vibrant multicolored garlands that reflected her proud Samoan heritage, and embraced the people who had supported her journey from its genesis. Within seconds, congratulatory messages and tweets poured in on social media as Dream fans welcomed their second-round pick. 

Paopao, who spent three standout seasons at Oregon and her final two at South Carolina, brought confidence, a fearless mindset and poise to the league while embracing a new home in A-Town, one that gave her another link to her southern roots. 

“God gifted me an amazing gift to come play with the women here,” Paopao told The Next. “It was his plan for me to come to [Atlanta]. I feel like the [A] has accepted me with open arms.”

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Two months into the season, fans have only grown more excited about the sharpshooter. Each time she rises from the bench and jogs to the scorer’s table — typically around the first media timeout or midway through the opening quarter — the crowd at Gateway Center Arena responds with a surge of energy. Fans know what’s coming. 

As she subs in for starting point guard Jordin Canada, the arena buzzes with anticipation. Whether it’s her smooth shooting stroke, her serene command of the offense or just the spark she brings off the bench, the sold-out crowds at GCA make sure she feels it every time her number is called.

“I love them [the fans] so much,” Paopao told The Next. “The love and support is something that I take with great pride because not a lot of people get that love.”

Although Paopao’s stat lines might not leap off the page, her impact has given fans plenty to cheer about. Through 17 games, the rookie point guard has carved out a key role off the bench, averaging 5.9 points and 1.8 assists in just 13.4 minutes per game for a Dream (11-6) squad that currently sits among the league’s top-tier teams at No. 4 in the standings. 

Even more, she’s shooting a blistering 50.7% from the floor — ranked 20th in the league — including the fourth-best shooting percentage from three (47.6%) in the WNBA this season, according to HerHoopStats. Over an eight-day stretch in June, she scored 16 points three times, including back-to-back standout performances against the Mystics (June 15) and the Liberty (June 17) before capturing the third outing against the Sky (June 22). Against Chicago, she hit a new career-high five made threes. Overall, she’s registered a total of four games with 10 or more points this season. When she gets hot, Paopao makes it count. 

Atlanta head coach Karl Smesko, known for building offenses around floor spacing and sharp three-point shooting, has been vocal about what Paopao brings to the table. He loves having multiple scoring options — whether in the starting five or coming off the bench — and credits Paopao’s ability to move without the ball and shoot with confidence as keys to her success.

“Any opportunity somebody turns her back for a second, there’s a long rebound, and they’re no longer attached [to her], she’s [Paopao] going to go find an opening where she can get the ball, call for it and she’s ready to knock it down,” Smesko said after Atlanta’s 93-80 win against Chicago. “She’s got a very quick release. If you just give her a couple feet, she can get that thing off … She’s ready.”

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Just like she showed in her breakout game against the Sky, Paopao’s natural feel for the game — paired with a constantly growing confidence — hasn’t gone unnoticed. In fact, it earned her a badge of honor from two Dream stars, Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray.

They’ve seen the way Paopao reads the floor and how she steps into critical moments of a game without hesitation. 

“I just love how she’s aggressive,” Gray said about Paopao after Atlanta’s 89-56 dismantling of Washington. “[She] has a great three point shot like her big [sis]. She stays ready all the time.

Howard concurs: “She’s coming in playing like she’s been here before,” she said following the Dream’s loss to the Liberty on June 17. “We’re counting on her to come in and make those plays that she’s making. … To be out there handling herself as a point guard in this league, I know it is tough. But, she’s making us proud.”

But no season is perfect, especially not for a rookie finding her footing in the pros. Since her strong showing against Chicago, Paopao has hit a bit of a rough patch. Over the Dream’s last three games — against the Dallas Wings, Minnesota Lynx, and New York Liberty — she’s scored just four points on 2-of-12 shooting. She went scoreless in the 68-55 loss to the Wings on June 24 and hasn’t connected from beyond the arc during that stretch, going 0-for-7 from deep. As a team, the Dream have struggled from long range as well, hitting just 15-of-75 (20%) from three over that trio of contests.

“We got open shots but they just weren’t going down [in the game against Dallas],” Paopao told The Next. “… We got what we wanted. It just didn’t go our way … But my teammates still trust me to knock down those shots and to keep doing what I am doing on the court.”

For Paopao, her latest stretch serves as a reminder that she must continue to lock in on every aspect of the game as she navigates the growing pains after hopping out to a strong start in the 2025 campaign. 

But even in the tougher moments, Paopao doesn’t lose focus. She doesn’t forget the voice of someone who helped shape her game. When the shots aren’t falling and things are going as planned, she thinks back to lessons she learned from South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, who guided her to an NCAA championship in 2024. She said Staley texted her a couple times during her string of 16-point games, telling her that she was “killing it” and making the transition from college to the pros “look easy” while also reminding her to stay disciplined in the process.

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“It’s certainly not easy [laughs],” Paopao told The Next. “But she [Staley] always told us that good basketball will be rewarded. Pro habits, good habits, it will all be rewarded. She has great wisdom and I use that as motivation to get through the tough times … Hopefully, I can continue having more hot streaks.”

And for Paopao — always smiling, always vibing, dancing through each day with joy — sometimes all it takes is a quick nudge from a teammate or a word from Smesko to help her find her rhythm again.

“Sometimes, I need a reality check,” Paopao told The Next. “They [teammates] be like, ‘Pao, you need to lock in’ or coach be like ‘I need you to be the first person to do this.’ Everything is not all fun and games. But, I take things one day at a time and it has made me better because I know this [basketball] can be taken away at the snap of a finger.”

As the Dream prepare to face the Seattle Storm (10-7) on Thursday at GCA, Paopao has another chance to improve and continue to excel on the court. Although Atlanta is still actively building team chemistry, Paopao believes that her future becomes brighter and brighter with each game.

“We [teammates] become more and more connected to each other,” Paopao told The Next. “As a rookie on a team full of All-Stars, they have poured into me in big ways. They have great spirits. That’s why I come in and spread love and positivity every day.”