Atlanta Dream Coach Karl Smesko Makes WNBA History After Win Over Sun

There have been many factors to the Atlanta Dream’s breakout success in 2025.

All-Stars forward Brionna Jones, guard Allisha Gray and guard Rhyne Howard have been the biggest contributors on the court for Atlanta, but another crucial component to the Dream’s success has been their head coach Karl Smesko, who took the helm as a WNBA head coach for the first time this season after an extensive career of college hoops coaching experience.

The leadership of Smesko has led the Dream to monumental success in 2025 and the team’s win over the Connecticut Sun on Monday meant an impressive milestone for the first-year skipper.

With the Dream’s 29th win of the season Smesko set a WNBA record for the most-ever wins by a head coach in their first season, overtaking the previous record of 28 set by Michael Cooper with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2000.

When asked about his accomplishment after the game, Smesko remained humble, and in true coach fashion, chose to focus on the games that were ahead of him and his team, rather than the wins that were already behind them.

“It’s nice that we’re winning and that we’re in a good position for the playoffs,” Smesko said (via Dream). “Those types of things [record] don’t have a lot of meaning for me. The meaningful part is coming up: Are we going to be the best prepared for the playoffs? Everybody did a lot of work so far this year to get us where we are. We want to make sure that we have the right finish to a great season.”

2025 is not only the first season that Smesko has been the head coach of a WNBA team, it’s his first season coaching WNBA basketball in general.

Smesko has 27 years of coaching experience in college basketball, most notably with Florida Gulf Coast University, where he coached from 2002-24. Smesko built the FGCU women’s basketball program from the ground up as the first women’s basketball coach in program history and led the program to seven NCAA Division 1 Tournament appearances, most recently in 2022.

FGCU’s program under Smesko shares prestigious territory in the NCAA record books. They are one of two teams, the other being UConn, to win 25 or more games in each of the last 14 seasons. Smesko’s experience putting together a new program and leading them to such heights has certainly prepared him for leading the Dream.

Cooper was named Coach of the Year in 2000 after leading the Sparks to 28 wins and with Smesko surpassing his record, there is a clear path for the Atlanta coach to follow in those footsteps as well. The X post that announced Smesko’s record was hashtagged #COY, suggesting this honor, and Smesko’s players also believe their coach has a strong chance for the award.

“He’s been able to adapt. He’s been able to relate. So, I think it’s just the makings of what I feel like is definitely a Coach of the Year candidate,” Atlanta forward Naz Hollmon said of her coach. “Every game he’s always trying to figure out how he can be better and how we can be better… Coach is also thinking about ways he can improve game to game, and he absolutely does that.”

Smesko’s record and the Dream’s success speak for themselves, but it’s safe to say that winning awards is far from the first thing on Smesko’s mind. For him, the playoffs come first and when the tournament tips off later this September, Smesko and his team will be locked in to a pursuit of the WNBA crown.