• Loading stock data...
Monday, June 23, 2025

The Atlanta Dream’s Rebuild Is Bigger Than Basketball

  • The new owners have made sweeping changes since taking over in 2021.
  • The franchise is at the forefront of the WNBA’s social justice initiatives.
Atlanta Dream

Everything about the Atlanta Dream is loud.

The local gym that hosts team practices has acoustics that allow even quiet conversations to be heard some 100 yards away. Then, of course, the team blasts music on an amplifier.

Their games at the Gateway Center at College Park feature live DJs throughout the contest, local and global hip-hop acts at halftime — like Travis Porter and Waka Flocka Flame — and an often 3,500-strong sellout crowd roaring in the enclosed setting.

And the Dream are loud off the basketball court, too.

In July 2020, former U.S. senator and Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler wrote an open letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert objecting to players wearing “Black Lives Matter” and “Say Her Name” T-shirts during warmups.

When Loeffler refused to sell the team in the ensuing outrage, Atlanta players responded by supporting her political opponent Raphael Warnock in a special election.

Soon thereafter, Loeffler lost the election and sold the team to an ownership group made up of Northland real estate founder and chairman Larry Gottesdiener, Northland president and COO Suzanne Abair, and one-time Dream star Renee Montgomery in February 2021. Montgomery is the first former player to become a co-owner and executive of a WNBA team.

Since then, this franchise — which has existed since 2008 but has never won a WNBA title — has experienced a rebirth.

The energy and excitement can be summed up with a simple mantra Montgomery often repeats around the facilities.

“If it ain’t sexy, if it ain’t lit, it ain’t us.”

Starting From Scratch

The Dream’s swagger is epitomized by the new ownership group’s first hires.

Morgan Shaw Parker, the team’s president and COO, is possibly its biggest fan.

Shaw Parker was formerly the CMO at AMB Sports and Entertainment — the ownership group behind the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC — and had no intention of leaving until September 2021, when an offer from the Dream came across her desk.

“There are not a lot of sports organizations that are built from a purpose-driven perspective. They’re built to win championships, and that’s a very different environment,” she says. “So when I started to peel back the layers with this ownership group and really understood what they wanted to represent and why they purchased the team — I had to look twice at it.

“It really was something that I feel like was built for me.”

For their next two key hires, the owners looked to one of the league’s premier organizations: the Las Vegas Aces.

That’s where they found two-time WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year Dan Padover, who relished the chance to build a team from the ground up after inheriting an Aces squad that already had superstar A’ja Wilson.

“The most appealing opportunities for someone like myself are the ones that can have the biggest impact,” the GM and EVP says. “The impact that I could have on [the Dream] from the beginning was very, very important to me.”

Padover was also encouraged by the other new personnel — including former Las Vegas assistant and former WNBA player Tanisha Wright.

As a first-time head coach, Wright savored the opportunity to put her stamp on Atlanta’s “reset,” as she calls it, and also recognizes the importance of those around her in the organization.

“Who you’re going to be working with, who you’re going to see on a day-to-day when things get tough, who you’re going to be around, those kinds of things matter,” she says.

When the group took over, the Dream had seven full-time employees in its front office. It now has around 30.

“You can’t have seven people doing the job of 30 people. That’s just not going to be sustainable,” Shaw Parker says.

Atlanta’s Next Great Team

The cornerstone of the Dream’s future arrived this season.

Rhyne Howard — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft — is a favorite to take home Rookie of the Year honors.

As impressive as Howard’s on-court performances have been — she leads all rookies in minutes (31.1), points (16.1), assists (2.7), and steals (1.6) — she’s also a perfect fit for the team’s culture.

“Our team’s definitely higher-energy, we’re all about having fun,” she says. “Whenever the crowd’s in it and they’re being so loud we can’t hear, it gets us more worked up and it gets us going even more.

“Like, everybody’s lit, let’s get lit, too.”

The crowds packed into Gateway Center have become the team’s lifeblood.

“Last season we had fans, but it’s just nothing compared to the fans this season,” forward Cheyenne Parker said after defeating the Seattle Storm in Sue Bird’s final trip to Atlanta. “They’ve been immaculate.”

Atlanta, of course, has a rich sports history that has only gotten richer in recent years.

  • Atlanta United won the 2018 MLS Cup in just their second season.
  • The Atlanta Braves won the 2021 World Series.
  • The University of Georgia — about an hour-and-a-half outside the city — won its first football national title since 1980 in January.

While the Dream hope to someday be part of the city’s sports renaissance, for now, they’re content with creating a great entertainment product that matches Atlanta’s energy and grows their fanbase.

“Atlanta is flashy, so always putting out a good product on the court that makes the fans want to come out, want to support us, I think is super-important,” says Wright.

“We want people to have a fun time and then hopefully, when they leave, they tell their friends, ‘Wow, that was a great experience, you have to check this out,’” says senior director of fan experience Dan Goldberger.

Dream On

Even if the Dream don’t make the playoffs — they enter Sunday’s final regular-season game very much on the cusp — Shaw Parker considers the first full season under the new owners a success.

But for this franchise — one whose identity is definitively rooted in activism — advocating for the causes they believe in is just as much a priority as winning an inaugural title.

  • The team found its new owners when players spoke out against intolerance, and the Dream’s name is taken from Atlanta native Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
  • The Dream recently announced a “transformative” partnership with The King Center — the first of its kind in American professional sports.
  • Players’ stand against Loeffler in 2020 gave rise to the WNBA’s Social Justice Council, Commissioner Engelbert told Front Office Sports.

“They were really thoughtful about how they went about it,” she says. “Having Renee [Montgomery] as such a role model in that community, as someone who stands for equity, social justice, and forward progress — and the positivity she brings also — has been great.”

“We understand that we have the opportunity to celebrate history, to celebrate the ideals that our team is named after,” says Montgomery.

Montgomery’s organizational value is more than just her social justice initiatives — she’s also one of the biggest player advocates.

Before her arrival, Atlanta’s players lacked many resources that male athletes would find commonplace.

“Our players should feel like professional athletes at all times,” she says, noting that she didn’t always feel that way as a player. “Those are the things that I really try to key in on. What does a professional athlete need to be their best self?”

It appears that change is imminent in that regard.

As real estate magnates, Gottesdiener and Abair are in the early stages of planning a dedicated training facility for the franchise.

And Shaw Parker is still working to build a world-class organization — with the ultimate goal of providing more legitimacy for the WNBA.

“The long-term goal is to make this organization the best place to work and play in all of sports, not just women’s sports,” she says. “That’s a pretty lofty goal, but we take that very seriously.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Thunder Win NBA Finals Behind Young, Deep, and Cheap Roster

The Thunder’s young and cheap roster won its first title Sunday.

Pacers Lose Haliburton in NBA Finals—and Possibly for a Season

Haliburton entered the game with a right calf strain he played Game 6 with.

WNBA Players Drop Fresh Statement in CBA Fight: ‘We Want a Fair..

The WNBA All-Star Game is less than four weeks away.

Kevin Durant Traded to Houston in Blockbuster Deal

Houston was one of Durant’s preferred destinations.

Featured Today

Mar 15, 2025; Fort Worth, TX, USA; UAB Blazers forward Yaxel Lendeborg (3) dribbles the ball upcourt against the North Texas Mean Green during the first half at Dickies Arena

NIL Is Shrinking the Pool of NBA Draft Entrants

Agents are now advising many players to stay in school.
Apr 24, 2025; Green Bay, WI, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions defensive end Abdul Carter on the red carpet before the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field
June 21, 2025

‘More Is More’: The Elite Luxury Jewelers Decking Out Athletes

Meet the elite group of luxury designers crafting the biggest statement pieces.
Dec 5, 2024; Miami, FL, USA; FIFA president Gianni Infantino presents the FIFA Club World Cup trophy during the Club Word Cup draw at Telemundo Studios.
June 15, 2025

Revamped Club World Cup Is FIFA’s Billion-Dollar Gamble

The revamped soccer event debuts amid controversy.
Jun 10, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino stands during the anthem against the Switzerland during the first at Geodis Park
June 14, 2025

Gold Cup Is Complicated for USMNT—but U.S. Soccer Has Its Eyes on..

Uncertain tournament success isn’t fazing forward-looking U.S. soccer.

How Mark Walter’s Dodgers Playbook Could Rewrite Lakers’ Future

The owner’s tenure with the MLB club has been lined with success.
June 20, 2025

Summer Soccer Fatigue? USMNT, Messi’s Inter Miami Draw Sparse Crowds

Neither team could sell out matches Thursday night.
May 20, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; A reserved parking sign for ÒMr. Big TimeÓ located in Lot B before the game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
June 20, 2025

Dodgers, DHS At Odds Over Presence of Federal Agents in Parking Lots

The Dodgers and DHS have conflicting reports about what exactly happened.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Ted Leonsis unpacks basketball’s global rise, media rights, and portfolio ownership.
Jun 13, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) drives to the hoop past Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8), guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and forward Chet Holmgren (7) during the third quarter of game four of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
June 18, 2025

Pacers, Fever Overwhelmed by Demand for Merch

“We have people waiting to get in the store at 10 in the morning.”
June 18, 2025

Rays on Verge of $1.7B Sale Following Stadium Deal Collapse

The team’s owner walked away from a stadium deal just months ago.
June 17, 2025

Panthers Repeat as Stanley Cup Champs, Buoyed by Bold Deadline Move

The second consecutive Cup helps cement the South as a hockey stronghold.
Jun 7, 2025; Harrison, New Jersey, USA; Kansas City Current forward Flora Marta Lacho (30) passes the ball as NJ/NY Gotham FC midfielder Jaelin Howell (7) defends during the second half at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
June 16, 2025

Gotham FC Owner Wants to Apply Peloton Instructor Model to NWSL Players

“We need to inject our Gotham stars into New York culture.”