Atlanta, GA
Previewing the Atlanta Dream’s 2025 season opener
The Atlanta Dream and Washington Mystics finished back-to-back in the 2024 standings, with Atlanta sneaking into the 2024 playoffs with a 15-25 record. Atlanta finished just one game ahead of Washington’s 14-26 record after Atlanta beat Washington in overtime in the 38th game of the 40-game season. Both teams underwent coaching changes in the offseason, although Washington seems set up as a more traditional rebuild while Atlanta has pushed its chips in for the 2025 season.
Opponent Preview
The Mystics are led by first-year head WNBA coach Sydney Johnson who played for the Princeton men’s basketball team in the mid-1990s. Johnson has primarily coached men’s college basketball in his career, spending time on the staff for the men’s teams at Georgetown, Princeton (head coach from 2007-2011), Fairfield (head coach from 2011-2019), and Air Force (assistant head coach). He spent the 2024 season as an assistant coach for the Chicago Sky after several years working with USA basketball.
Washington had three of the first six draft picks in the 2025 draft, adding guard Sonia Citron from Notre Dame, forward Kiki Iriafen from USC, and Australian guard Georgia Amoore from Kentucky. Although Amoore had an ACL injury in preseason, Citron and Iriafen are both expected to contribute to a lineup returning 2nd-year player Aaliyah Edwards from the University of Connecticut and veterans including Shakira Austin, Brittney Sykes, and Stefanie Dolson. Unfortunately for the Mystics, Amoore, Edwards, and Austin have all been declared out for the opening games with the Atlanta Dream.
Eight of the WNBA’s thirteen teams will make the playoffs. The Atlanta Dream has the seventh-best championship odds according to odds from DraftKings Sportsbook in early May. The Mystics had the 11th-best odds, only ahead of the chaotic Connecticut Sun and the expansion Golden State Valkyries.
What to Look For with the Atlanta Dream in 2025
There are several prominent additions to the Atlanta Dream on the player side and coaching staff. New head coach Karl Smesko enters the WNBA after 26 seasons coaching collegiately. He leaves with the thirrd-highest winning percentage among active DI women’s basketball coaches behind just Geno Auriemma and Kim Mulkey.
Smesko is known for an offense prioritizing efficient shots, emphasizing three-point shooting. Atlanta finished towards the bottom of the league in pace and three-point shooting last season, but could be among the league leaders in three-pointers taken, based on their preseason performance. Smesko brought in a collection of new coaching staff members to support him in his debut season with a wide array of professional and collegiate coaching experience.
When it comes to player additions to the Atlanta Dream, the team made some of the biggest splashes in the offseason, especially in the frontcourt. Brittney Griner opted to leave the only team she has ever played for in the Phoenix Mercury to join the Atlanta Dream as a free agent. The broadcasting crew in Atlanta’s preseason game mentioned that Griner gave credit to fellow Unrivaled players Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray for recruiting her to the team.
After announcing Griner’s signing, Atlanta surprised the WNBA by also signing free agent Brionna Jones from the Connecticut Sun. The two players were considered the best available bigs on the free-agent market and it remains to be seen how their playing time will be staggered. In both preseason games, both ‘BG’ and ‘BJ’ were in the starting lineup, but they could be used in a rotation to give Atlanta a reliable threat in the paint.
In the backcourt, Atlanta added Shatori Walker-Kimbrough from the Washington Mystics. Walker-Kimbrough started Atlanta’s second preseason game after starting point guard Jordin Canada’s injury in the first minute of preseason action. Atlanta also utilized rookie Te-Hina Paopao at the guard position throughout the preseason. Paopao surprisingly fell to Atlanta at the 18th pick in the second round of the WNBA draft and may fit well into Smesko’s offense with the outside shooting she developed and demonstrated while playing for Dawn Staley at South Carolina.
Returning players for Atlanta include All-Stars Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, and Jordin Canada. Naz Hillmon and Nia Coffey are expected to be heavily involved in Atlanta’s rotation. We will see how quickly the new Dream players Griner, Jones, Walker-Kimbrough, and Paopao can gel alongside the strong community of these five returning players.
Atlanta, GA
Fire at Chamblee apartment complex displaces more than 75 residents, closes businesses
A fire at a Chamblee apartment and retail complex displaced more than 75 people and caused a partial roof collapse, according to DeKalb County Fire Rescue.
Fire crews responded around 4:37 p.m. Sunday to the Windsor Parkview Apartments along Peachtree Boulevard after reports of a fire on the roof.
DeKalb County Fire Rescue said that crews arrived to find heavy fire coming from the roof and immediately began evacuating people from the building.
Officials said the fire quickly spread across a portion of the roof, leading to a partial collapse.
Thankfully, firefighters said most of the damage appeared to be confined to the roof area.
Many of the people living at the complex spent Monday waiting for answers about when they may be allowed back inside. Some told CBS News Atlanta they were especially worried about pets and belongings left behind during the evacuation.
“We didn’t have to evacuate, as we were both already out of the house for Mother’s Day stuff. But we still have all of our stuff up in the apartment, and we have two cats that are up there, and we’re trying to figure out what exactly the plan is to get all that out of there,” said resident Thomas Wheeler. Hours later, Wheeler and his girlfriend were reunited with their cats.
Others said the uncertainty following the fire has been frustrating.
“There’s just a lot of people around with not a ton of information. The red cross was here. We got to interact with them. It was really a great experience at the Red Cross,” said resident Macy Trego.
The fire also impacted businesses located beneath the apartments.
Some workers told CBS News Atlanta they still do not know when they may be able to return to work.
“I’ve gotta get paid. Rent is high right now,” said Jeremy Snyder, who works at one of the businesses below the apartments.
Windsor Communities released a statement Monday saying it is working with the Red Cross to help displaced tenants.
“We are deeply saddened by yesterday’s fire at Windsor Parkview Apartments, and our immediate focus is on supporting the residents and families impacted by this incident,” a Windsor Communities spokesperson said. “We are grateful to the first responders and local agencies whose swift actions helped ensure residents were safely evacuated and cared for during a very difficult situation.”
The company also said it is maintaining communication with people impacted by the fire while investigators continue working to determine the cause.
Fire officials said the fire may have started from an air conditioning unit on the roof, though the exact cause remains under investigation.
Windsor Parkview opened in 2021 as part of Chamblee’s redevelopment efforts along the Peachtree Boulevard corridor. CBS News Atlanta has also reached out to the City of Chamblee for additional information about the development’s role in the city’s broader revitalization plans.
Atlanta, GA
Midtown Atlanta sewer work to close part of 10th Street
ATLANTA – Drivers in Midtown Atlanta should prepare for traffic changes this week as a new roadwork project begins along 10th Street.
What we know:
The Atlanta Department of Watershed Management said part of 10th Street will close starting Wednesday for sewer repairs.
The construction will impact the eastbound lane between Charles Allen Drive and Monroe Drive.
Officials said the repair project is expected to continue for about four weeks.
Crews will work overnight on weekdays from 5 p.m. until 5 a.m. Construction activity will continue around the clock on weekends until the project is complete.
What you can do:
Motorists traveling through Midtown are encouraged to plan ahead and expect delays in the area during the closure.
Atlanta, GA
Three Biggest Questions Facing the Atlanta Hawks Following the NBA Draft Lottery Results
The 2026 NBA Draft has come and gone, and while the results did not go the way that the Atlanta Hawks had hoped, landing at No. 8 overall, but they are still getting a top-eight pick in a deep draft when they are coming off a season in which they won 46 games and made the playoffs. Atlanta had hoped that having the most favorable selection from the Pelicans and Bucks would turn into a top-four pick, but they are going to get a chance to add to their young core with a high-level talent.
Now that the NBA Draft Lottery is over, what are some questions facing the Hawks?
1. Who could they take with the pick?
We will get into other scenarios later, but for this exercise, let’s just assume that the Hawks are going to stick at No. 8 and make a selection.
While the top four picks are likely going to be (in some order) AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson, the rest of the draft does not seem to be as certain.
There is a popular sentiment that the quarter of guards consisting of Keaton Wagler, Darius Acuff, Kingston Flemings, and Mikel Brown Jr are going to be picks 5-8, but that is not as much of a certainity as the top four.
The Clippers are picking 5th, but they just made a big trade for Darius Garland. Brooklyn just took four guards in last year’s draft, and the Kings are always a wild card, though of these teams, they have the biggest need at guard and don’t seem likely to veer from that.
In the NBA, needs is usually ignored in the draft and the best player available is taken most of the time, but it will be interesting to see which players the Clippers, Nets, and Kings decide on.
If those teams do take three of those guards, the Hawks would have their choice of whoever is left over from that group or players such as Michigan center Aday Mara, Arizona guard Brayden Burries, or Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg.
2. Could the Hawks move up or down in the draft?
While I think as of right now that the most likely scenario is that the Hawks stay put at No. 8, they do have some interesting options to potentially move up or down depending on how things fall.
As I mentioned earlier, the Clippers just traded for Darius Garland and if the Hawks wanted to get ahead of the Kings and Nets to land the guard of their choice, they could try and put together an attractive package to try and make a trade with Los Angeles.
The Nets seem less likely to move down, but after taking four guards in last year’s draft, could they move down and try to target another position?
What about a trade down? If the Hawks had been at No. 7 or in the top four, I would say a trade down is unlikely, but at No. 8, there could be an opportunity there for Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh. Would Oklahoma City be interested in moving No. 12 and No. 17 for No. 8? That would give the Hawks three first round picks and if they like a player that could be in that range, that would be a possibility, though all of this is just hypothetical at the moment.
3. Do the Hawks attempt to move the No. 8 pick for an established star?
Saleh has been adamnat that the team is not one player away and that the Hawks wanted to add through the draft, but even in a draft as deep as this one, the odds of getting a star player at No. 8 are long.
It is tough to really gauge the trade market for this offseason right now, but the No. 8 pick is an attractive asset. Could the Hawks try to trade for Celtics star Jaylen Brown? Again, it is tough to know who else could be available this summer and I would bet against the Hawks moving this pick for a veteran player, but never say never in the NBA.
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