COLLEGE PARK, GA ― The Atlanta Dream opened the second season under Karl Smesko with new faces, but the head coach’s expectations remained the same: Bring home a championship.
On April 17, Smesko and the Dream’s front office sat before several key stakeholders and community members to reflect on Atlanta’s gigantic offseason. The Dream re-signed Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard while acquiring Angel Reese in a splash trade.
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Atlanta also added South Carolina center Madina Okot in the 2026 WNBA Draft, in a long line of moves that would reshape the team. When it was Smesko’s turn to speak, his energy was palpable. He immediately infused his spirit into the crowd with a recollection of an offseason conversation with Dream GM Dan Padover.
“Dan and I got together, and Dan’s question to me is, ‘What do you wanna do?’ And I said, ‘I wanna run it back. I want the same group. I believe in them. I know one more year together we can accomplish what we set out to accomplish from the beginning,'” Smesko said. “Now, Dan was like, ‘You know they’re all free agents? And they all had great years?’ I said, ‘I do, but we need (them) all.'”
Smesko’s words about his belief in what’s possible for Atlanta had a different feel. The 55-year-old carried a resolve that hadn’t surfaced before. When Smesko was asked how he was feeling ahead of Year 2, the former Florida Gulf Coast coach revealed the truth about his transition to the WNBA.
“I felt pretty confident last year, but now, I realize I shouldn’t (have) been,” Smesko said. “Now after a year — there’s a lot that I tried to be as prepared as I could coming into it, but there’s just a lot you don’t know until you experience it.”The Dream have opened the season at 7-3 and are a game and a half behind the first-place Minnesota Lynx in the standings. They travel to Chicago for a game against the Sky on June 10 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Welcome to the WNBA
When Smesko was named Atlanta’s head coach in November 2024, he faced an unspoken amount of pressure as the Dream were fresh off a 15-25 season. Atlanta plucked Smesko from the college ranks, a bit of a departure from traditional WNBA head coaching hires.
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Smesko jumped to the WNBA after spending 23 years coaching the Florida Gulf Coast women’s basketball program. The Bath, Ohio, native had the third-highest winning percentage (.843) among active coaches in Division I behind only UConn’s Geno Auriemma and LSU’s Kim Mulkey. His 672 career wins ranked eighth among active head coaches.
“Karl is a proven leader with a history of developing his players and creating a winning culture,” Padover said in a press release. “His fast-paced, innovative style of play will be attractive to our players and fans alike. We are excited to have Karl bring his incredible basketball IQ to the Dream.”
For all of his accolades, Smesko would still have to prove himself in a new environment. He did it by doubling Atlanta’s win total from the previous season with 30, a franchise record and most victories for a first-year WNBA head coach. The player accolades began pouring in, too.
Howard earned second-team WNBA All-Defense. Forward Naz Hillmon won Sixth Player of the Year. The former Michigan product shot 32% from deep after making one 3-pointer in six total attempts before Smesko’s arrival. Smesko also delivered on a promise to Gray as she had her best season as a pro. She earned first-team All-WNBA honors and an All-Star nod after averaging 18.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals.
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“He just showed me the type of player that I can be. I’m 100% dialed in on his schemes and how he teaches and coaches things,” Gray said. “I mean, the proof is in the pudding that it works. It’s just up to me, just execute and listen to what he sees on the court to help my game elevate.”
The Dream lost to the Indiana Fever in the first round of the WNBA playoffs to finish the 2025 season. Smesko called the team’s 2-1 series loss “devastating,” but vowed “what’s delayed is not denied.” He returned to the Dream’s 2026 training camp with a noticeably different tone and unrelenting confidence in his expectations, a deeper fire in his eyes but the same standards.
“I feel like this year, coming in, coach is a lot more confident,” Hillmon said.
“I feel like it’s funny to say that. I feel like you hear confidence from like players or how their feel for the game is. I think coach understands us a little bit better and we understand him a little better. So he’s able to be completely how he wants to be. That’s helping us make bigger strides quicker.”
