Jordin Canada is ready to run the Atlanta Dream’s show

Canada, who joined the Dream in the 2024 offseason in a trade with the Los Angeles Sparks, missed Atlanta’s first 14 games of the 2024 campaign due to injuring her hand prior to training camp. She didn’t make her Dream debut until June 23 against the New York Liberty. 

“I’m happy,” Canada told The Next at training camp. “Actually being here [in a training camp] this year and getting the flow of things means everything to me.”

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However, Canada’s newfound joy briefly came to a halt when the Dream’s preseason game on May 7 against the Washington Mystics produced a familiar scene that she was hoping to put behind her. In the first 32 seconds of the exhibition contest, Canada dished her first assist to a wide open Brittney Griner at the top of the key for a three, giving Atlanta its first dose of Griner’s trey ball and the team’s first points of the game. But moments later, while defending Mystics guard Jade Melbourne to the rim on a layup, she landed awkwardly and immediately grabbed at her right knee in pain.

The crowd of fans inside CareFirst Arena fell silent. Canada’s teammates sprinted down the court to check on her. Smesko, along with Dream players, looked on from the sideline. Canada’s injury less than a minute into the clash resulted in her missing the team’s first seven games of the season. Still, in her absence, the Dream (5-2) prevailed and finished the month of May as one of the top three teams in the WNBA standings, with the help of Rhyne Howard, Te-Hina PaoPao and Allisha Gray steering the Dream’s offense.

Now, the 29-year-old will make her regular season debut on Friday when the Dream face the Connecticut Sun in their first Commissioner’s Cup clash of the season. 

When the Dream distributed their injury report and game notes for the upcoming clash on Thursday, Canada’s name was not on the injury report. That confirmed Canada’s tweet that she wrote on X —  formerly known as Twitter — on May 30, saying “it’s go time😏.” Howard, who recently shifted into the point guard role for the Dream in Canada’s absence, was thrilled about the return of the team’s main floor general.

“Whew bye bye to PG Rhy 😅,” Howard wrote on X.

Dream forward Nia Coffey agreed: “She is one of our main leaders on the team,” Coffey said.

Despite Canada starting this season with an injury, she still finds herself in an unique space, one she’s thrilled about. Canada described last season as one that was “difficult” because of her availability. She started in only 18 of 20 games — also missed the final six contests in July before the 2024 Paris Olympics break — for the Dream last season, despite averaging the second-highest points per game (10.6) of her career, finishing sixth in assists (5.8) and 11th in steals per game en route to helping Atlanta capture back-to-back WNBA postseason appearances under former head coach Tanisha Wright.

“I missed half of the season,” Canada told The Next. “I was on a new team, new [coaching] system. I wanted to play to my strengths but also try to get a feel for my teammates and [Wright’s] coaching staff. I didn’t feel comfortable.”

This time around, through training camp and watching her teammates compete on the floor from the sideline, Canada has had the chance to improve her knowledge of first-year Dream coach Karl Smesko’s basketball philosophy. For Canada, Smesko’s style — one that comprises consistent ball movement, floor spacing, elite offensive efficiency, a fast pace of play and 3-point shooting — is tailor-made for her. It also helps that Canada is playing with most of her teammates from a season ago including the team’s core — Howard and Gray — to go along with Atlanta’s offseason acquisitions Brittney Griner, Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough.

“He’s [Smesko] the most detailed coach I’ve ever had [in my basketball career],” Canada told The Next. “[This team] has a good balance of veterans, rookies and people in the middle and he’s really big on percentages, shooting threes, getting to the paint and feeding off each other.”

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Through seven games without Canada, the Dream sit ahead of where they finished last season in terms of ball movement and offensive efficiency. In 2024, the Dream struggled offensively, recording the league’s second-worst offensive rating (99.0 points per 100 possessions) and 3-point shooting percentage (30.8%), while also ranking near the bottom in field goal percentage (45.2%) and assists per game (18.4), per HerHoopStats. 

Currently, the Dream sit second in points per game (85.9), third in offensive rating (104.2) and net rating (6.2) as well as fourth in assists per game (20.6), despite sitting near the middle of the pack in field goal percentage (42%) and 3-point field goal percentage (32.1%) per contest. Atlanta also sits top three in the league in offensive rebounds (10.6) and second in defensive rebounds (28.3) while leading the W in rebounds per game (38.9). 

In the Dream’s four-game winning streak, the franchise ranked fifth in field goals made (30.5) and threes made (9.8) per game while increasing to sixth in 3-point field goal percentage (32.5%) and coming in fifth in assists (21.8) and second in blocks and plus-minus (11.3) per contest.

“[Smesko’s system] is definitely different from what we were used to last year,” Canada told The Next. “Our energy is different. The vibes are just different … in a refreshing way [compared to last season]. He wants us to play to our strengths and play freely.”

As Canada integrates the team’s rotation, the Dream’s dynamic will continue to evolve. Currently, Atlanta runs an offense that thrives the most in spot-ups, transition and cutting possessions, along with post-up possessions, pick-and-roll sequences and other concepts, according to Synergy Sports. Currently, PnR ball handler possessions have generated the fifth most points for Atlanta this season, despite it being the third most incorporated play type in its offense.

Yet, Canada thrives in pick-and-roll action. As she gets comfortable with game speed of the Dream’s offense — with Griner and Jones leaving the paint to set screens around the three point line — it opens the floor and create opportunities for a twitchy guard like Canada to attack the basket for a layup or find her open teammates like Gray, Howard and others to knock down efficient shots on offense. 

“JC is so fast with the ball,” Griner told The Next. “I demand so much attention. If I’m able to draw the post player out of the paint so she can have an open lane, it does wonders for us.”

Canada concurs: “We have the two best post and most efficient players [Griner and Jones] in the league,” she told The Next. “I want to get them the ball as much as possible. Being able to get out and run [push tempo], it will help me get into the paint as well as create for others.”

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It doesn’t take long for Canada to adjust and to find a rhythm when she’s on the court consistently. When she returned to the court after the Olympic hiatus, she notched double-figure point totals in 10 of the Dream’s final 16 regular season games — including a double-double performance — and finished 14 of those contests with five or more assists.

She’s also coming off an offseason playing for Unrivaled — the new professional 3×3 league — and competed with Team Vinyl, which finished runner up to eventual champion Team Rose in the inaugural competition.

“I was hitting a stride toward the end of last season,” Canada told The Next. “Carrying that momentum into Unrivaled and into training camp helped a lot. I’m excited to see where things will go from here.”

The Dream are no strangers to a strong start of the WNBA season. Last season, the Dream finished the month of May at 4-2. Connecticut marks the first order of business for Atlanta in a 10-game June slate and the first of five opponents in its pursuit of the WNBA’s Commissioner’s Cup.

If the Dream seek to win the league’s in-season tournament and remain as one of the top teams in the standings, Canada’s leadership and voice of reason must be present.

“I’m typically very reserved and laid back,” Canada told The Next. “But with the team we have [this season], I think it is truly important for me to use my voice as much as possible.”