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2008 Atlanta Dream season
Coach Marynell Meadors
Arena Philips Arena
Attendance8,316 per game
Results
Record4–30 (.118)
Place7th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Team Leaders
Points Betty Lennox – 17.5
Rebounds Érika de Souza – 6.6
Assists Ivory Latta – 3.6

The 2008 WNBA season was the first for the Atlanta Dream. The team name was unveiled on January 23, 2008, with the expansion draft held on February 6. The Atlanta Dream had seventeen straight losses. It was the longest losing streak to start a season in WNBA history. [1]

Transactions

Expansion draft

The list of players selected in the Expansion Draft includes:

Player Nationality Former WNBA Team
Carla Thomas  United States Chicago Sky
Érika de Souza  Brazil Connecticut Sun
Katie Feenstra  United States Detroit Shock
Roneeka Hodges  United States Houston Comets
Ann Strother  United States Indiana Fever
LaToya Thomas  United States Los Angeles Sparks
Kristen Mann  United States Minnesota Lynx
Ann Wauters  Belgium New York Liberty
Jennifer Lacy  United States Phoenix Mercury
Kristin Haynie  United States Sacramento Monarchs
Chantelle Anderson  United States San Antonio Silver Stars
Betty Lennox  United States Seattle Storm
Yelena Leuchanka   Belarus Washington Mystics

Additionally, Atlanta immediately orchestrated three trades involving players in the expansion draft. [2]

Trade
To Atlanta Dream To Detroit Shock
Ivory Latta LaToya Thomas and the 18th pick in the 2008 WNBA draft
To Atlanta Dream To Seattle Storm
Iziane Castro Marques and the 8th pick in the 2008 WNBA draft Roneeka Hodges and the 4th pick in the 2008 WNBA draft
To Atlanta Dream To Indiana Fever
24th pick in the 2008 Draft Agreeing not to select specific unprotected Fever players

WNBA draft

Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
1 8 Tamera Young  United States James Madison
2 24 Morenike Atunrase  United States Texas A&M
3 32 Danielle Hood  United States Hartford

Trades and Roster Changes

Date Transaction
February 6, 2008 Traded LaToya Thomas and a Second Round Pick in the 2008 WNBA draft to the Detroit Shock in exchange for Ivory Latta
Traded Roneeka Hodges and a First Round Pick in the 2008 WNBA draft to the Seattle Storm in exchange for Iziane Castro Marques and a First Round Pick in the 2008 WNBA draft
Agreed to not select any specific unprotected Indiana Fever players in exchange for the Fever's Second Round Pick in the 2008 WNBA draft [3]
February 25, 2008 Signed Tasha Butts
March 24, 2008 Signed Jennifer Lacy and Brittany Jackson to Training Camp Contracts
March 27, 2008 Signed Stacey Lovelace
April 9, 2008 Traded Ann Wauters, the draft rights to Morenike Atunrase, and a Second Round Pick in the 2009 WNBA draft to the San Antonio Silver Stars in exchange for Camille Little, the draft rights to Chioma Nnamaka and a Second Round Pick in the 2009 WNBA draft [4]
April 11, 2008 Signed Jessica Dickson to a Training Camp Contract
April 14, 2008 Signed Danielle Hood, Chioma Nnamaka, Tamera Young, and Jessica Dickson to Rookie Scale Contracts
April 18, 2008 Signed Dalila Eshe to a Training Camp Contract
April 22, 2008 Signed Jill Ingram to a Training Camp Contract
May 4, 2008 Waived Brittany Jackson and Dalila Este
May 5, 2008 Waived Tasha Butts
May 14, 2008 Waived Jill Ingram, Jessica Dickson, and Danielle Hood
May 15, 2008 Signed Katie Feenstra, Kristin Haynie, and Kristen Mann to Contract Extensions
May 16, 2008 Waived Carla Thomas
Temporarily Suspend Yelena Leuchanka due to Overseas Commitments
Mau 28, 2008 Waived Chantelle Anderson
June 22, 2008 Traded Camille Little to the Seattle Storm in exchange for a Second Round Pick in the 2009 WNBA draft [5]
June 23, 2008 Signed Kasha Terry
July 4, 2008 Traded Kristen Mann to the Indiana Fever in exchange for Alison Bales [6]
July 8, 2008 Waived Stacey Lovelace
August 15, 2008 Signed Nikki Teasley [7]
September 12, 2008 Re-Signed Iziane Castro Marques

Roster

2008 Atlanta Dream Roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From
C 33 United States Bales, Alison 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Duke
G/F 8 Brazil Castro Marques, Iziane 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 140 lb (64 kg) Brazil
F/C 14 Brazil DeSouza, Erika 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Brazil
C 44 United States Feenstra, Katie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Liberty University
G 4 United States Haynie, Kristin 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 147 lb (67 kg) Michigan State
F 21 United States Lacy, Jennifer 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Pepperdine
G 12 United States Latta, Ivory 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 143 lb (65 kg) North Carolina
G 22 United States Lennox, Betty 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 143 lb (65 kg) Louisiana Tech
G 9 Sweden Nnamaka, Chioma 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Georgia Tech
G/F 43 United States Strother, Ann 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 166 lb (75 kg) Connecticut
G 42 United States Teasley, Nikki 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 159 lb (72 kg) North Carolina
F/C 35 United States Terry, Kasha 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Georgia Tech
F 23 United States Young, Tamera 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) James Madison University
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Athletic trainer
  • United States Kara Dolling
Strength and conditioning coach

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Depth

Pos. Starter Bench
C Alison Bales Katie Feenstra
PF Érika de Souza Jennifer Lacy
SF Iziane Castro Marques Tamera Young
Ann Strother
SG Betty Lennox Kasha Terry
Chioma Nnamaka
PG Ivory Latta Kristin Haynie
Nikki Teasley

Schedule

Preseason

2008 Preseason Schedule
Total: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
1 May 3 Los Angeles L 80-86 Thomas, Young (15) Young (5) Ingram (4) Philips Arena
7,932
0-1
2 May 11 @ Phoenix L 84-97 Lennox (21) Lovelace (6) Haynie, Lennox (4) US Airways Center
1,845
0-2

Regular season

The Atlanta Dream lost their first game in franchise history, 67-100. Their opponent was the Connecticut Sun; the Sun delivered a 32-8 run that stretched into the second quarter to open a 17-point lead. The lead exploded to 34 points. At the conclusion of the game, the Dream were outrebounded 53-29. For the Dream, Stacey Lovelace had 11 points, five assists and four rebounds.

2008 Regular Season
Total: 4–30 (Home: 1–16; Road: 3–14)
May: 0–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 0–2)
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
1 May 17 @ Connecticut 67-100 Lennox (17) Haynie, Lennox (7) Lovelace (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,420
0-1
2 May 23 Detroit 76-88 Lennox (21) de Souza (18) Latta (3) Philips Arena
11,609
0-2
3 May 25 Los Angeles 56-74 Castro Marques (17) de Souza, Feenstra (6) Haynie, Latta (4) Philips Arena
11,186
0-3
4 May 27 @ Washington 74-80 Lennox (29) de Souza, Lennox, Little, Lovelace (3) Latta (6) Verizon Center
6,231
0-4
June: 0–11 (Home: 0–6; Road: 0–5)
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
5 June 3 Minnesota 81-85 Lennox (28) Feenstra (9) Lennox (8) Philips Arena
5,844
0-5
6 June 6 Chicago 72-86 Latta (17) Little (7) Latta, Lennox (5) Philips Arena
7,418
0-6
7 June 7 @ Chicago 70-91 Lacy (18) Lacy (10) Lennox (4) UIC Pavilion
3,182
0-7
8 June 11 New York 77-81 Lennox (28) Lennox (7) Latta (6) Philips Arena
5,936
0-8
9 June 13 Indiana 67-76 Young, Latta (14) Lacy, Young (5) Latta (6) Philips Arena
8,167
0-9
10 June 16 @ Houston 79-88 Lennox (29) Lennox (11) Young (3) Reliant Arena
6,139
0-10
11 June 18 San Antonio 66-81 Lovelace (18) Young (13) Young (7) Philips Arena
6,225
0-11
12 June 20 @ Washington 61-72 Lennox (18) Lennox (9) Latta (4) Verizon Center
7,448
0-12
13 June 22 Detroit 76-97 Latta (26) Young (11) Latta (10) Philips Arena
7,865
0-13
14 June 27 @ Connecticut 101-109 (OT) Lennox (44) Lennox (9) Lennox (7) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,612
0-14
15 June 29 @ Detroit 92-100 Young (26) Lennox (8) Latta (5) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,798
0-15
July: 3–9 (Home: 1–5; Road: 2–4)
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
16 July 1 Phoenix 79-97 Lennox (18) Lovelace, Young (7) Latta (5) Philips Arena
9,795
0-16
17 July 3 Houston 65-72 Lennox (15) Feenstra (9) Haynie, Strother (3) Philips Arena
7,430
0-17
18 July 5 Chicago 91-84 Lacy, Latta (18) Young (8) Haynie (11) Philips Arena
8,468
1-17
19 July 9 @ Minnesota 73-67 Lennox (24) Bales (11) Haynie (5) Target Center
5,893
2-17
20 July 11 @ San Antonio 74-82 Lennox (22) Bales (9) Lennox (4) AT&T Center
10,943
2-18
21 July 13 @ Chicago 66-79 Feenstra (21) Feenstra (8) Feenstra, Haynie, Lennox (2) UIC Pavilion
2,907
2-19
22 July 16 @ Indiana 81-77 Castro Marques (24) Bales (11) Haynie (7) Conseco Fieldhouse
9,303
3-19
23 July 18 @ Sacramento 73-77 Haynie (12) Feenstra (8) Haynie (4) ARCO Arena
7,236
3-20
24 July 19 @ Phoenix 84-110 Latta (18) Terry (11) Latta (3) US Airways Center
7,913
3-21
25 July 22 Sacramento 66-79 Terry, Latta (15) Terry (9) Haynie (4) Philips Arena
10,431
3-22
26 July 25 Washington 75-81 Castro Marques (23) Bales (7) Haynie (3) Philips Arena
8,279
3-23
27 July 27 New York 76-86 Lennox (18) de Souza (11) Latta (5) Philips Arena
8,759
3-24
August: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
Summer Olympic break
28 August 29 Connecticut 72-98 Lennox (19) de Souza, Feenstra (6) Haynie (6) Philips Arena
11,442
3-25
29 August 30 @ Indiana 72-87 Lennox (27) Bales (5) Haynie (5) Conseco Fieldhouse
9,280
3-26
September: 1–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 1–2)
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
30 September 2 Seattle 69-83 Lennox (25) de Souza (8) Latta (4) Philips Arena
7,390
3-27
31 September 5 @ New York 71-82 Lennox (28) Lennox (7) Castro Marques (4) Madison Square Garden
7,039
3-28
32 September 8 Indiana 77-81 Lennox (19) Bales (9) Castro Marques (6) Philips Arena
7,706
3-29
33 September 11 @ Los Angeles 83-72 Castro Marques (23) Bales (9) Latta (10) Staples Center
9,060
4-29
34 September 12 @ Seattle 72-77 Young (20) Feenstra, Haynie, Terry (5) Latta (4) KeyArena
9,686
4-30

Standings

Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Detroit Shock x 22 12 .647 14–3 8–9 16–4
Connecticut Sun x 21 13 .618 1.0 13–4 8–9 13–7
New York Liberty x 19 15 .559 3.0 11–6 8–9 11–9
Indiana Fever x 17 17 .500 5.0 11–6 6–11 12–8
Chicago Sky o 12 22 .353 10.0 8–9 4–13 10–10
Washington Mystics o 10 24 .294 12.0 6–11 4–13 6–14
Atlanta Dream o 4 30 .118 18.0 1–16 3–14 2–18

Statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Regular Season

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Betty Lennox 34 33 29.7 41.5 35.8 85.5 4.2 2.4 1.3 0.1 17.5
Ivory Latta 34 31 28.2 36.2 34.4 80.2 2.1 3.6 1.3 0.0 11.4
Erika de Souza 12 8 23.1 58.5 0.0 61.5 6.6 0.7 1.4 1.8 9.3
Iziane Castro Marques 29 20 23.1 35.3 30.9 81.4 2.2 1.8 0.9 0.2 9.3
Tamera Young 33 15 22.6 33.3 32.5 69.1 4.2 1.2 0.9 0.3 7.3
Katie Feenstra 33 4 14.0 53.5 0.0 75.0 3.9 0.3 0.9 0.8 6.7
Stacey Lovelace 15 7 17.2 40.4 41.7 69.2 3.6 1.0 1.1 0.7 6.1
Jennifer Lacy 33 22 18.3 38.9 19.0 67.3 2.7 0.8 0.6 0.2 5.7
Alison Bales 17 9 22.3 40.5 33.3 67.7 6.0 0.6 0.9 1.7 4.8
Camille Little 13 2 17.0 42.0 40.0 59.3 3.1 0.7 0.8 0.5 4.8
Kasha Terry 20 8 13.8 47.4 0.0 60.6 3.2 0.5 0.5 0.6 4.6
Kristen Mann 13 8 17.2 40.9 50.0 100.0 1.5 1.1 0.6 0.3 3.5
Kristin Haynie 33 3 14.7 31.6 31.3 75.0 1.7 2.5 0.9 0.1 2.8
Ann Strother 21 0 7.6 35.3 36.8 66.7 0.6 0.3 0.2 0.1 1.9
Chioma Nnamaka 12 0 7.0 23.1 18.2 66.7 1.0 0.2 0.4 0.0 1.3

References

  1. ^ "Worst start to a WNBA season, team". guinnessworldrecords.com. Guinness World Records. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  2. ^ "Atlanta Dream Expansion Draft". Archived from the original on August 20, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  3. ^ "Atlanta Dream Build Inaugural Roster With 13 Picks In 2008 Expansion Draft". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  4. ^ "San Antonio Acquires Ann Wauters, Morenike Atunrase In Draft Day Trade With Atlanta". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  5. ^ "Seattle Storm trades for Atlanta's Camille Little". oursportscentral.com. Our Sports Central. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  6. ^ "Dream Acquire Center Alison Bales In Trade With Indiana Fever". oursportscentral.com. Our Sports Central. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  7. ^ "Atlanta Dream Signs Free Agent Point Guard Nikki Teasley". tarheeltimes.com. Tar Heel Times. Retrieved July 6, 2022.