• Loading stock data...
Thursday, October 2, 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

Caitlin Clark

Caitlin Clark Backs Napheesa Collier in Fight With WNBA

Clark had her exit interview on Thursday after an injury-riddled season. 
Cathy Engelbert

WNBA Stars Ripped the Commissioner. Where Does the League Go From Here?

Engelbert is set to address the media at the Finals on Friday.
Kuminga

With Kuminga Deal, Steve Kerr Now Warriors’ Biggest Looming Free Agent

Kuminga finally agreed to a new deal with the Warriors on Tuesday. 

Featured Today

Kōloa Rum Company Rum Rusher

Panthers Bubbly, Jets Wine, Manning Whiskey: The Sports Booze Boom

A sommelier dives into the sports booze trend—and tries Jets wine.
Nov 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers fans wave Terrible Towels against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium
September 26, 2025

Steelers’ Irish Roots Are Deeper Than NFL Dublin Game

The Steelers have history and the foundation for a future in Ireland.
FARMINGDALE, NY - SEPTEMBER 23: Rory McIlroy of Team Europe hits out of the rough on the first hole during the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage State Park on Tuesday, September 23, 2025 in Farmingdale, New York.
September 25, 2025

Ryder Cup in New York: Record-Setting Hopes and Fan Concerns

Organizers anticipate record attendance and revenue, but worry remains about fan behavior.
FARMINGDALE, NY - SEPTEMBER 22: Cameron Young of Team USA hits his tee shot on the third hole during the 2025 Ryder Cup Practice Round at Bethpage State Park on Monday, September 22, 2025 in Farmingdale, New York.
September 23, 2025

U.S. Ryder Cup Players Will Be Paid. Not Everyone Is Pleased

Americans are receiving a $200,000 stipend, and not everyone is pleased.

Cardinals Vow Changes Coming After Historic Attendance Drop

A stalwart franchise looks to correct an alarming slide in attendance.
Jun 12, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) and relief pitcher Edwin Diaz (39) celebrate after defeating the Washington Nationals at Citi Field.
September 29, 2025

Two of the Mets’ Biggest Stars Could Dictate Important Offseason

The Mets missed the playoffs despite having one of baseball’s highest payrolls.
September 30, 2025

Tyreek Hill’s Injury Complicates Financial Future With Dolphins

Releasing the receiver after this season would cost $28 million.
Sponsored

How Soccer Star Jozy Altidore Became a Buffalo Bills Owner

Jozy Altidore discusses building a business legacy off the field.
September 29, 2025

Mariners to End 37-Year RSN Run, Join MLB’s In-House Media Model

The Mariners-owned regional sports network is shutting down operations.
September 25, 2025

Celtics Owner Bill Chisholm: Boston Should Have a WNBA Team

Chisholm spoke to reporters Thursday for the first time as Celtics owner.
Aug 30, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello calls out a play in the second half to her team against the Phoenix Mercury at Footprint Center.
September 25, 2025

Liberty GM Defends Controversial Brondello Firing

Kolb said he has confidence that the team’s stars will return.
Apr 29, 2023; New York, New York, USA; New Jersey Devils center Michael McLeod (20) during the first period against the New York Rangers in game six of the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden.
September 23, 2025

Rumors of Canes Interest in Hockey Canada Trial Players Provokes Fan Backlash

Hurricanes fans are threatening to boycott if Carolina signs the acquitted players.