Whoops! I just assumed that being 10 games under .500 was going to put them out of the race…and my crack research staff had the holiday off!
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There really should be another month off in between the end of the college season and the WNBA kickoff.
On Friday in an OT win, Naz had 18 and 8.
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Was it different this year because of the olympics and 2 weeks off? I usually don’t pay attention to when the season starts.
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I don’t think so. I remember Naz pretty much went from the tourney to workout for teams for a few days and then right to the draft.
Edit: looking at the 2022 season, her last game at Michigan was 3/28, the WNBA draft was 4/11, and her first preseason game for Atlanta was 4/24. So the above timeline tracks.
Naz did get her first double-double of the season last night.
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Naz with 13 points (6-8 fg) in 21 minutes, as the Dream beats the Liberty and earns the 8th seed.
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Naz is playing down under again, during the “offseason”.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DApyQmHz7a3/?igsh=MXF4bzJoM2ZsYXUwNQ==
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With the Atlanta Dream signing Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones, I’m not exactly sure where that leaves Naz. I think she’s still a part of their plans but that’s just a guess.
Meanwhile, Naz is doing things in the “off-season” down under:
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After adding Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones in the off-season, it was looking like Naz might have a reduced role for the Dream. Through two games, that seems to be the case. Naz has appeared in both games but has played only 6 total minutes and has made 1 of her 2 shots (a 3!).
I think the Dream still value her but I think it’s going to be tough for her to get minutes somewhere until the league expands more.
The good news is that she may be on a good team now. They beat the Fever in their last game.
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It was always going to be an uphill battle for Naz to get PT the moment BG signed with the Dream.
5 minutes and 4 points tonight.
Back-to-back 11 point/7 rebound games for Naz.
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3. Naz Hillmon carving out rotation minutes
After sparingly playing in Atlanta’s first four games, Naz Hillmon has been indispensable for Karl Smesko’s squad. She helped close out Los Angeles on Tuesday with a game-sealing 3-pointer in the final minute. Hillmon sparked Atlanta’s comeback from 17 down against Seattle on Friday with her work on the offensive glass; she had one fewer offensive rebound than the Storm collectively and the Dream won her minutes by 24 points.
Hillmon’s on-court net rating is a preposterous plus-32.9. She’s rebounding the ball, protecting the paint and finishing inside at a high clip. She is also embracing Smesko-ball; Hillmon took six 3-pointers in her first three seasons but has attempted eight in the last three games. Rhyne Howard said after the Sparks’ win that Hillmon was upset that her teammates were celebrating her made 3s too boisterously. Howard laughed as she said Hillmon simply needs to take more for that to stop.
BIG BUCKET NAZ HILLMON
pic.twitter.com/3phkKnliW3
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 28, 2025
Atlanta signed two All-Star bigs during the offseason who pushed Hillmon out of the starting lineup, and Nia Coffey has been the first frontcourt player off the bench given her historic willingness to shoot. But Hillmon provides something a little different with her physicality inside and her rim-running. If she can add the 3-point shooting — and she is certainly trying — she checks all of the boxes in the Dream’s new system. Atlanta has to find minutes for her.
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It’s a small sample-size but she seems to have added the 3-ball to her game. She went a total of 0-6 at Michigan and had only attempted 6 as a pro (making 1) before this season. She’s currently 4-10 in 7 games. Not exactly Caitlin Clark out there but it is something to track.
Naz had season-high 14 points and was 2-3 from deep last night.
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How many mebounds is Naz getting?
Expanding her range is a good thing because she’s an undersized big.
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She’s averaging 3.8 in 15 minutes a game. Not bad but not great. She’s also averaging a career-high .6 blocks per game. We’re only 1/5 of the way into the season so it’s still a limited sample size.