Checking in on Smeskoball

As the regular season winds down, it is worth taking the time to see how first-year head coach Karl Smesko has implemented his offensive philosophy with the Atlanta Dream. Smesko spent over two decades at Florida Gulf Coast University overseeing a team that emphasized three-point shooting and fast pace. How have Atlanta’s tendencies shifted under Smesko and with the addition of frontcourt stars Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones?

Prioritizing three-point shooting

Under former head coach Tanisha Wright in 2024, Atlanta averaged just 19 three-point shots per game which put them ninth out of twelve teams. In 2025 under Smesko, Atlanta has averaged 28 three-point shots per game, second-most in the WNBA. This development is epitomized by Naz Hillmon’s transformation from shooting just six three-pointers over the course of her first three WNBA seasons to shooting over 115 three-pointers with thirteen games remaining in the season.

In addition to increasing their three-point shooting volume, Atlanta has the fifth-best three-point percentage in the league at 33.8% which is an improvement on the league’s second-lowest percentage in the 2024 season at 30.8%. Te-Hina Paopao has been an excellent addition to the team, shooting 44% from long range, which is the second-best mark in the league for players with at least 75 three-point attempts.

Falling behind in pace

While Smesko has succeeded in increasing Atlanta’s three-point shooting, the team has struggled to maintain the fast pace that his college teams demonstrated. Atlanta ranks second-to-last in pace, ahead of only the expansion Golden State Valkyries. They finished the 2024 season in the same spot, just beating out the Connecticut Sun.

Part of Atlanta’s difficulty in playing fast could be a result of Smesko using a remarkably limited player pool throughout the season. Atlanta is the only WNBA team to use fewer than thirteen players this season with just ten players averaging at least double-digit minutes. Three of the Dream’s opening-day starters have missed at least five games (Jordin Canada, Brittney Griner, and Rhyne Howard) which has resulted in a heavy usage rate for All-Star Allisha Gray, who has played in all 31 games for the Dream with a league-leading 1,094 minutes played.

Improving shot efficiency

In addition to three-point shooting and pace, Coach Smesko consistently talks in his pressers about the value of taking efficient shots. Florida Gulf Coast University was notorious for only taking three-pointers and points in the paint. Atlanta has the second-lowest percentage of points coming from mid-range two-pointers, at 5.2%. Only the Los Angeles Sparks have a lower percentage of points from mid-range shots; the Sparks are coached by another first-year head coach, Lynne Roberts, who also jumped from the college ranks at Utah to the WNBA this offseason.

Atlanta’s shot efficiency can also be assessed by looking at their overall field-goal percentage. While Atlanta’s 44% field-goal percentage has them sitting just outside the top five in league ranks, it is an improvement on their league-worst field-goal percentage in 2024 of 40.8% which was a full percentage point worse than the next-lowest team.

Overall state of the squad

While not all of Smesko’s tendencies have fully translated to the WNBA, fans should be pleased with the Dream’s current place in the league standings: Atlanta entered Wednesday night’s game against Seattle in a tie with the reigning champion New York Liberty for second place in the WNBA, with a 20-11 record. Smesko’s players speak fondly of him and seem to have formed strong relationships with the coach, as seen in the way Smesko and Rhyne Howard describe their relationship:

Atlanta snuck into the playoffs as the league’s eight-seed in 2024 with a 15-25 record — they have already eclipsed that win total with more than ten games remaining in their schedule. Multiple sportsbooks had Atlanta listed with an over/under win total of 21.5 for the season. They should easily surpass that mark. Atlanta also has the easiest strength of schedule remaining in the entire WNBA, including three matchups in their final five games against the last-place Connecticut Sun.

Finishing in the top four places will guarantee the Dream home-court advantage in their first playoff series and a chance to win their first multi-game playoff series since 2013.

All statistics are from www.wnba.com unless otherwise noted.

How happy are you with Karl Smesko’s performance in his first year coaching the Atlanta Dream? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!