July 8, 2022
Locked on Women’s Basketball: The Dream at the All-Star break
By The Next
Missy is joined by Gabriella Lewis to dive into all things Dream, including the surprising start, defensive presence and changing the culture
It’s time for another episode of the Locked on Women’s Basketball podcast. This episode features host Howard Megdal and The Next Atlanta Dream beat reporter Gabriella Lewis to discuss where the Dream sit heading into the All-Star break.
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Gabriella on what has driven the Dream’s significant change in culture:
I think the cultural reset is that they have brought in a lot of new voices. They’ve brought in voices that are really good, they’ve brought in some key veteran players. Then they traded for the No. 1 draft pick to get Rhyne Howard.
I think the reason the cuture is good because there has been a very deliberate focus on “how can we make the culture good?” … and also some of it is luck. They have made a team that works together, and I’ve said about [the Dream] that there is a lot of love. These teammates love one another and that’s so special.
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On the topic of the All-Star Game, and Jackie Young’s breakout season earning her a first all-star nod:
I think Jackie Young is so fun. She won a gold medal, but I don’t think she has been the focal point of any team she’s been on post-college. She kind of a quiet player … she just puts her head down and works.
For her, Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby, seeing them get starts. Bill Laimbeer is obviously a legendary coach, but it seems like in this [Becky Hammon] system it’s really exciting for them, and the Aces are really fun to watch even though they’ve lost some games recently.
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