The Atlanta Dream are headed to the WNBA semifinals. They beat the Washington Mystics 93 to 75 on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., to finish a sweep of their best of three first round series.
The win sends Atlanta to the semis for the first time since 2018 and gives the franchise its first postseason series victory since 2016. The No. 4 seed Dream will host the No. 8 seed New York Liberty in Game 1 of a best of five series Sunday, Oct. 4, at State Farm Arena.
That is the short version. The full version is louder, stranger and a lot more personal.
How did the Atlanta Dream win a game this messy?
They survived a street fight. The two teams combined for 53 fouls, and the whistles followed Atlanta’s best players all night. Angel Reese picked up her fourth foul in the third quarter. Jordin Canada and Rhyne Howard did the same. Howard collected her fifth on Washington’s first possession of the fourth and stayed on the floor anyway.
Washington also owned the glass, 42 to 27. In most playoff games, that number ends the conversation. Here it did not. The Mystics turned the ball over 19 times, and Atlanta scored 23 points off those mistakes. The Dream lost the rebounding battle and won the possession war.
ON TO THE NEXT ONE 🅰️
YOUR Atlanta Dream are on their way back to the city with the series dub!
The WNBA Semifinals start THIS SUNDAY at @StateFarmArena
Don’t miss your chance to see the action up close. Tickets are available NOW: https://t.co/2NbzPT715o pic.twitter.com/djI8Y958ud
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) October 1, 2026
Who saved the night when Washington got close?
Canada did. The Mystics cut the lead to three early in the fourth after a possession kept alive by two offensive rebounds. Atlanta answered with 13 straight points. Reese, Naz Hillmon and Howard all scored before Canada closed the run from deep.
Canada finished with 19 points and 11 assists, and 13 of those points came in the fourth quarter. Allisha Gray led the team with 22 points and later called Canada the engine of the group.
Reese posted 15 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and a game best plus 26. All five starters reached double figures, and Reese earned the first playoff series win of her career. That landed only days after she was named AP Defensive Player of the Year and joined Howard on the All-WNBA Second Team.
Why did a goodbye wave go viral?
The broadcast caught Reese and Gray waving goodbye to the Mystics after the final buzzer, and the clip took off online. Some viewers called it petty. Others called it earned.
Black women in this league have long been scolded for the same swagger that earns male stars a highlight package. Reese knows that double standard better than anyone. For Atlanta fans, the wave meant something simpler. This team finally had something to wave about.
The confidence is new, too. Canada admitted that last season’s group had a habit of blowing big leads and said this year’s team made closing out games a priority. Head coach Karl Smesko, in his second season, has led Atlanta to 20 or more wins in back to back years for the first time in franchise history.
Why is the Liberty series bigger than a semifinal?
The last time Atlanta reached the semifinals, in 2018, the Dream faced Washington in a five game series. The Mystics won that series and ended Atlanta’s run one step short of the Finals. Eight years later, Atlanta sent Washington home. That is one ghost gone.
The second ghost lives in Brooklyn. In 2024, the Liberty swept the eighth seeded Dream out of the first round on their way to a championship. Now New York arrives as the first No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed, winning both games against Minnesota by 16 points behind Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones.
Atlanta does hold one card. The Dream won two of three meetings with New York during the regular season.
This franchise reached the WNBA Finals in 2010, 2011 and 2013 and came home empty each time. One old rival just fell. The next one is the team that last sent Atlanta home, and it shows up Sunday.
