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When new Atlanta Dream head coach Karl Smesko was in charge at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), he had a roster full of shooters—literally. On the team’s official roster, players were not listed as a guard, wing, forward or center, but as a “shooter.”
Ahead of Smesko’s first season at the helm in Atlanta, the Dream added two high-profile free agents who are NOT shooters: Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones.
Yes, Griner shot 50 percent from 3 last season, making nine of her 18 attempts. For her career, she’s taken a total of 44 triples, hitting 16. Jones took nearly half of her 29 career 3-pointers last season, going 2-for-14; she has five career makes. Griner and Jones bring talents to Atlanta that, while valuable, appear antithetical to Smesko’s anticipated vision.
So, what are we to make of Atlanta’s free agency additions?
Will Atlanta’s big zag work?
At FGCU, Smesko operated a highly-modern space-and-pace system where his roster full of shooters were encouraged to fire off 3s. In contrast, Griner and Jones, with nine All-Star appearances between them, are two of the best low-post scorers in the game. While BG utilizes her unguardable 6-foot-9 frame to softly score at the hoop or from the short midrange, Breezy, strong and sturdy at 6-foot-3, employs expert footwork around the basket to score efficiently.
The Dream not only are zagging away from Smesko’s established style of play, but also from league-wide trends. As Beckett Harrison documented near the end of the 2024 WNBA regular season, double-big lineups were much less effective offensively than four-out or five-out alignments, with two-big lineups also not providing a defensive advantage for their teams. The WNBA Finals, where two teams with modern bigs faced off in the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, substantiated the data.
By hiring Smesko, Atlanta appeared eager to follow this path, unlocking the WNBA’s least-efficient offense in 2024 with versatile personnel and modern principles. Or not. Instead, it seems that Smesko will have to prove that he is a mad offensive scientist, conjuring up a system that supports two traditional bigs who both will be earning $214,466, making them the highest-paid players on the team.
It’s about belief in BG, Breezy
Quite simply, maybe Atlanta chose to prioritize talent over fit, believing All-Stars rather than elaborate schemes will get the team to where it wishes to be: consistent championship contention. As Smesko said at the press conference welcoming Griner and Jones to Atlanta:
We made it clear we want to compete for a championship. We wanted to bring in people who were talented and I think we’re well on the way….It has the makings for a very special team and that is the expectation.
And while she didn’t go into detail, Griner noted during an Unrivaled press conference that conversations with Smesko influenced her decision to commit to the Dream, sharing, “That was a big selling point, after talking to coach as well. You know, everything that we talked about, I was like I can rock with you. Like, I can do this.”
According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Smesko expressed a willingness to adapt his system to Griner in order to accommodate “a special player like her.” Griner also was consulted prior to the team’s decision to sign Jones, per Shelburne.
Comments from the Dream’s decision makers, Smesko and general manager Dan Padover, also indicate a belief that Jones may have more to her game. Smesko noted that Jones “has the versatility to impact both ends of the floor,” while Padover cited her “ability to impact the game in multiple ways.”
Although it is still unclear how the Griner-Jones pairing will work, it promises to be different, both from last season’s Dream and from the league at large.
SWK is a shooter—and then some
The Dream’s third free agent addition, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, does fit the profile of a Smesko player, both in terms of her tangibles and intangibles.
The wiry 5-foot-9 guard is coming off the best season of her career with the Washington Mystics, signing a one-year $150,000 contract with Atlanta. Even though she is not a knockdown 3-point shooter, she is comfortable from behind the arc. She’s also ball mover who is capable of creating off the bounce. Defensively, she can apply her length and athleticism to make disruptive plays. Her two-way talents will enhance Atlanta’s depth, a weakness last season.
Walker-Kimbrough expressed an eagerness to amplify Atlanta, saying:
I take a lot of pride in doing the little things that help a team win—knocking down shots, locking in on defense, bringing energy every single day. Atlanta plays with toughness and grit, and that’s the kind of environment where I thrive. I’m excited to get to work and do whatever it takes to help this team succeed.
Smesko and Padover likewise underscored Walker-Kimbrough’s “team-first mentality” and “winning mindset,” respectively.
Winterburn is coming to ATL for the summer
The Dream also targeted an international player with similar traits in Holly Winterburn.
The native of England played one college season at Oregon before beginning a professional career in Britain. Having represented Great Britain in multiple international competitions, Winterburn, a 5-foot-10 guard, is just 24 years old. She’s currently playing for the Turkish club Beşiktas JK, which competes in EuroCup Women.
Albeit signed to a training camp roster, Winterburn should have a fair chance of making the final roster and debuting in the WNBA, as the Dream currently have 11 players signed to guaranteed and non-guaranteed contracts, with no remaining protected veteran contract slots available to lingering free agents.
