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<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12055087" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="baylor" source="Orion">Baylor</keyword>'s women's basketball program has changed its name from "Lady Bears" to "simply the Bears."</li><li>The new moniker "creates consistency among Baylor teams," the school said in a statement.</li><li>Baylor's name shift comes as newly-minted coach <keyword id="12055089" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nicki-collen" source="Orion">Nicki Collen</keyword> embarks on her first season.</li></ul><p>One of the premier programs in <keyword id="12055086" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="womens-college-basketball" source="Orion">women's college basketball</keyword> will be going by a new name this season.</p><p>Baylor's women's basketball - the Big 12 powerhouse that has advanced to the Sweet 16 or beyond in each <keyword id="11932023" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ncaa" source="Orion">NCAA</keyword> tournament since 2009 - has dropped the "Lady" from its longtime nickname to become "simply the Bears," the school announced ahead of the 2021-2022 season.</p><div type="image" title="Baylor's NaLyssa Smith." height="450" width="600" msid="86046762" hostid="261"></div><p>"While the use of Lady Bears is still very much a part of the program's decorated history, in an effort to be more consistent with the current nomenclature of the other 18 Baylor sport programs, the team will now be referred to as simply the Bears," the statement read. "This evolution is unique in that it creates consistency among Baylor teams while also highlighting the individual sport and contributions of its athletes and coaches."</p><p>Prior to the university's announcement, Baylor was one of the few prominent NCAA Division-I schools that continued to differentiate between its men's and women's programs in such fashion - along with Tennessee's "Lady Vols," Oklahoma State's "Cowgirls," Georgia's "Lady Bulldogs," LSU's "Lady Tigers," Penn State's "Lady Lions," and USC's "Women of Troy."</p><div type="image" title="Baylor softball's Emily Hott." height="450" width="600" msid="86046766" hostid="261"></div><p>And though Baylor's softball team announced its name change in tandem with its basketball program, the school's volleyball and women's soccer teams had previously nixed the "Lady" title. Now, all of Baylor's <keyword id="11893855" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports" source="Orion">sports</keyword> teams will be known as the Bears.</p><p>The shift marks a new era for Baylor's women's basketball program, which has seen other significant changes in recent months. In May, the school hired former Atlanta Dream head coach Nicki Collen to take over the team following the departure of longtime Baylor play caller <a href="https://www.insider.com/kim-mulkey-lsu-press-conference-mask-2021-4">Kim Mulkey, who left the program for LSU</a>.</p><div type="image" title="Baylor women's basketball head coach Nicki Collen." height="450" width="600" msid="86046769" hostid="261"></div><p>But even with a new name and a new coach, the Bears figure to continue their dominance in and beyond the Big 12. With a handful of highly-touted transfers and five returners at her disposal - including arguably the best player in all of women's <keyword id="12055085" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="college-basketball" source="Orion">college basketball</keyword> in 6-foot-2 forward NaLyssa Smith - Collen has an opportunity to avoid a rebuild and continue Mulkey's long history of on-court success in Waco, Texas.</p>

Baylor women's basketball is dropping 'Lady' from its team name to become 'simply the Bears' in line with the school's 18 other teams

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12055088" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="baylor-bears" source="Orion">Baylor Bears</keyword> star <keyword id="13391711" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nalyssa-smith" source="Orion">NaLyssa Smith</keyword> told Insider she should be "the number one pick" in the <keyword id="13568780" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba-draft" source="Orion">WNBA Draft</keyword>.</li><li>Smith and <keyword id="12470934" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="kentucky-wildcats" source="Orion">Kentucky Wildcats</keyword> star <keyword id="13568781" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="rhyne-howard" source="Orion">Rhyne Howard</keyword> are widely expected to be the first two names off the board.</li></ul><p>With just 12 teams in the league and extremely limited roster spots available, NaLyssa Smith knows it will be "a blessing regardless" to hear her name called at the 2022 <keyword id="11896033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba" source="Orion">WNBA</keyword> Draft.</p><p>But if you ask the Baylor Bears superstar <em>when </em>she should walk across the draft stage, she won't hesitate to give you a blunt answer: before everyone else.</p><p>"I deserve to be the number one pick," Smith told Insider.</p><div type="image" title="NaLyssa Smith." height="994" width="1325" msid="90710494" hostid="261"></div><p>The 2019 NCAA champion and two-time All-America selection cited "all the time and energy I've put into the game of basketball" as part of her reasoning for going first overall while speaking to Insider about <a href="https://www.insider.com/womens-college-basketball-stars-reflect-ncaa-weight-room-scandal-2022-3">her NIL partnership with Wingstop</a>. And that hard work and dedication shows up in her statistics and highlight reels; Smith is undoubtedly among the most skilled and most athletic prospects in the class.</p><p>The 6-foot-4 forward averaged 15.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game over her four years at Baylor, becoming one of just eight Bears players to record 2,000+ career points and the seventh to do so while also accumulating 1,000 career rebounds.</p><p>This year, Smith averaged a team-high 22.1 points and 11.5 boards en route to a Baylor single-season record 25 double-doubles. Her 403 rebounds on the year were the most from a Bears player in more than 40 years.</p><div type="image" title="NaLyssa Smith." height="1333" width="2000" msid="90710496" hostid="261"></div><p>"It's a blessing to be in the position I'm in today, and I appreciate everything that Baylor Nation has given me," Smith said. "I gave my all and stayed loyal to the program so I hope that I made Baylor Nation proud."</p><p>It's no wonder that Smith is widely expected to be selected as one of the top-two picks in this year's draft. But whether she goes to the Atlanta Dream with the first pick or she drops to the Indiana Fever with the second is still up for debate.</p><p>Kentucky Wildcats superstar Rhyne Howard — one of just a handful of three-time first-team All-America selections in <keyword id="12055086" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="womens-college-basketball" source="Orion">women's college basketball</keyword> history — has long been considered a favorite to go first in the draft. She's an elite sharpshooter and lock-down defender who poses a mismatch threat as a 6-foot-2 guard, but it may take some time for Howard to adjust to the speed and talent level of the pros.</p><div type="image" title="Rhyne Howard." height="1861" width="2481" msid="90710497" hostid="261"></div><p>Smith, meanwhile, is viewed as "the most pro-ready player in this draft as far as being able to slide into a WNBA game today," an anonymous WNBA general manager told <a href="https://theathletic.com/3232328/2022/04/06/anonymous-wnba-draft-scouts-3-gms-assess-naz-hillmon-emily-engstler-thyne-howard-and-more/">The Athletic's Chantel Jennings</a>. That may make all the difference, as <a href="https://www.insider.com/atlanta-dream-recruit-top-management-team-gm-overhaul-wnba-franchise-2021-10">the Dream are embarking on a total rebuild</a> and are in need of a franchise cornerstone.</p><p>Smith — who played for former Atlanta head coach Nicki Collen at Baylor this year — could very well be the best-suited draftee to improve the Dream's outlook for the 2022 season.</p><p>"There are two things that college players have to deal with immediately, it's the faster pace — the 24-second clock — and the physicality of the league," another anonymous GM told Jennings. "You're 21, and you're playing against someone who's 30, and they've been in the weight room nine more years than you. With Nicki [Collen], what she helped NaLyssa with is that they played faster, they played more up-tempo, inside and outside."</p><div type="image" title="NaLyssa Smith." height="1666" width="2222" msid="90710500" hostid="261"></div><p>"[I] can't imagine anyone passing on her if she's sitting there," the GM added.</p><p>The WNBA Draft is scheduled for Monday, April 11 at New York's Spring Studios. Fans can tune in to watch the action on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET.</p>

Top WNBA draft prospect NaLyssa Smith says 'I deserve to be the No. 1 pick'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Brittney Griner has been <a href="https://www.insider.com/brittney-griner-russia-what-status-change-wrongfully-detained-means-2022-5">wrongfully detained</a> in Russia for 8 months on drug charges.</li><li>Her college coach, Kim Mulkey, has not commented on her former star's plight since her February arrest.</li></ul><p>Brittney Griner has been <a href="https://www.insider.com/brittney-griner-russia-what-status-change-wrongfully-detained-means-2022-5">wrongfully detained</a> in Russia since February.</p><p>And in the 222 days since the WNBA great was arrested at a Moscow airport, her Hall of Fame college coach has refused to offer public support for her former superstar.</p><p>Kim Mulkey — the longtime head coach of Baylor women's basketball who now coaches the LSU Tigers — has consistently avoided speaking about <a href="https://www.insider.com/brittney-griner-russian-penal-colony-resembles-gulag-labor-camps-2022-8">Griner's plight</a> ever since the Phoenix Mercury star was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/american-basketball-player-wnba-brittney-griner-russian-custody-drug-charges-2022-3">first taken into custody</a> for traveling into the country with hashish oil in her luggage.</p><div type="image" title="Brittney Griner." height="1667" width="2500" msid="94503552" hostid="261" sizebytes="148938"></div><p>After Griner was <a href="https://www.insider.com/brittney-griner-guilty-sentence-9-years-russian-prison-drug-smuggling-trial-2022-8">sentenced to nine years in prison</a>, Insider <a href="https://twitter.com/mercash22/status/1574506698433351680">repeatedly tried to contact Mulkey</a> for comment via LSU women's basketball. But after several attempts to reach her by phone and by email, it became clear that the three-time national championship-winning coach had no intention of expressing her thoughts on a player who led her team to one of those NCAA titles.</p><p>On Monday, Mulkey stepped to the microphone ahead of the Tigers' first practice of the upcoming season. <a href="https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/lsu/2022/09/26/lsu-coach-kim-mulkey-declines-comment-on-brittney-griner-situation/69519434007/">Cory Diaz of The Lafayette Daily Advertiser</a> asked for her thoughts on Griner's situation, noting that he "hasn't seen anything" from the coach regarding her former star player.</p><p>"And you won't," Mulkey said, cutting him off.</p><p>Several of Mulkey's former Baylor players — including <a href="https://twitter.com/QueenEgbo_/status/1574506536658944000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1574506536658944000%7Ctwgr%5Eba036072d5f11b82f244f881bd41d1bf754b5136%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fcollege%2F2022%2F09%2F27%2Fformer-baylor-bears-players-speak-out-kim-mulkey-brittney-griner-silence">Queen Egbo</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Clj_0/status/1574502809801834513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1574502809801834513%7Ctwgr%5Eba036072d5f11b82f244f881bd41d1bf754b5136%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fcollege%2F2022%2F09%2F27%2Fformer-baylor-bears-players-speak-out-kim-mulkey-brittney-griner-silence">Chloe Jackson</a> — spoke out after learning of their college coach's curt response. Other women's basketball stars have since <a href="https://twitter.com/SydJColson/status/1574524789154353153">taken to social media</a> to discuss the importance of <a href="https://twitter.com/MsPeters14/status/1574553276544057344">choosing college coaches wisely</a>.</p><p>But when reached for comment after Mulkey's press conference — and the backlash that followed — a representative for LSU women's basketball directed Insider to a portion of a 15-minute <a href="https://soundcloud.com/tigerrag/tiger-rag-radio-part-2-june-2?si=b39c606b517f4c518416486d959ffdb8&amp;utm_source=clipboard&amp;utm_medium=text&amp;utm_campaign=social_sharing">radio interview with the head coach</a> from late June. In the clip, Mulkey says "I keep up" with developments on Griner but won't "make public comments about it" because "that's a personal issue."</p><p>"You just want everybody to come home safely," Mulkey added. "I pray for Brittney. I want her home safely. I think there's lots of people speaking out on her behalf and those of us who don't necessarily speak publicly about it certainly are praying for her."</p><div type="image" title="Mulkey (right) and Griner during a 2013 press conference." height="1786" width="2500" msid="94503553" hostid="261" sizebytes="170062"></div><p>Representatives for LSU women's basketball did not share the interview with Insider when asked for comment about Griner's sentencing in August. At the time, <a href="https://twitter.com/mercash22/status/1555568914050039809">Baylor women's basketball told Insider</a> "we continue to pray for her ongoing strength and safety throughout her detainment" and "remain hopeful of the day she will again set foot on US ground."</p><p>On Monday, around the same time Mulkey told fans they "won't" hear from her about Griner, current Baylor head coach Nicki Collen spent a full five minutes discussing the eight-time WNBA All-Star's predicament and what she's meant to the program Collen now leads.</p><p>"Those who have been around me know I get pretty emotional," the former Atlanta Dream coach said. "BG, first of all, is human first. And I think this is a human rights issue.</p><p>"I see her as a mother, as a sister, as a spouse, as a daughter, as an unbelievable ambassador for the game of basketball," she added later. "She made Baylor a household name."</p><p>During her four years playing under Mulkey in Waco, Texas, Griner had a tumultuous relationship with her fiery head coach. The 6-foot-9 center, who is an out lesbian, butted heads with Mulkey over publicizing her sexuality while at Baylor — a school that famously <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-gay-texas/conservative-baylor-university-drops-homosexual-acts-from-misconduct-code-idUKKCN0PH2J220150707">considered "homosexual acts" a punishable offense</a> until 2015.</p><p>Griner went public with her grievances shortly after leaving school for the WNBA. In a <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/9316697/owning-middle">2013 bombshell story written by then-ESPN reporter Kate Fagan</a>, Griner explained that Mulkey's move to dissuade her star from discussing her sexuality "was a recruiting thing" because "the coaches thought if it seemed like they condoned it, people wouldn't let their kids play for Baylor."</p><p>Now a writer for Dan Le Batard's Meadowlark Media, Fagan revealed in a May 2021 <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2FuorRyd1NSURMWW9Ab7lj?si=5e5f4a10d1b14cf6">interview on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz</a> that <a href="https://www.insider.com/kim-mulkey-tried-fire-reporter-brittney-griner-hide-sexuality-baylor-2021-4">Mulkey tried to get her fired</a> from her job at ESPN for writing the story. Fagan even went as far as calling Mulkey one of the scariest people in all of sports.</p><div type="image" title="Kim Mulkey." height="1750" width="2500" msid="94503555" hostid="261" sizebytes="254622"></div><p>"Kim Mulkey is my dark horse for person in sports that you never want to cross," Fagan said. "She might not even be the dark horse.</p><p>"She might just be the No. 1 person in sports that is terrifying."</p>

Brittney Griner's college coach, Kim Mulkey, refuses to comment on former Baylor star's imprisonment in Russia

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="12243940" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="atlanta-dream" source="Orion">Atlanta Dream</keyword> have had a tumultuous year, complete with ownership changes and player fights.</li><li>The wayward <keyword id="11896033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba" source="Orion">WNBA</keyword> franchise hired a new, highly-regarded management team as part of a total <keyword id="12387216" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="rebuild" source="Orion">rebuild</keyword>.</li></ul><p>Atlanta has been home to a WNBA team for more than a decade.</p><p>But as far as ownership and management are concerned, Monday, October 25, 2021, is "day one of the new Atlanta Dream."</p><p>Following months of tumult, the franchise began a new chapter Monday morning by naming Dan Padover as the Dream's new <keyword id="12387217" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="general-manager" source="Orion">general manager</keyword>. Formerly the GM for the Las Vegas Aces, Padover will assume Atlanta's long-vacant GM position six months after the franchise abruptly parted ways with former GM and President Chris Sienko.</p><div type="image" title="Dan Padover receives his trophy for 2021 WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year from WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert." height="1667" width="2500" msid="87263611" hostid="261"></div><p>The Dream acquired one of the WNBA's prominent front office masterminds in Padover, who comes to Atlanta fresh off of earning WNBA <keyword id="11896035" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="basketball" source="Orion">Basketball</keyword> Executive of the Year honors for the second consecutive season.</p><p>"The opportunity to bring someone like that into your organization doesn't happen that often," Dream co-owner Suzanne Abair told Insider. "When he became available, we leaped at the opportunity to have conversations with him."</p><p>"Dan [Padover] is a man of integrity," she added. "He's a straight shooter, [he values] accountability, and his ability to oversee the rebuild of our basketball operations - that to us was really the selling point for Dan."</p><p>Padover comes aboard a new-look leadership team featuring President and COO Morgan Shaw Parker and Head <keyword id="11926319" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="coach" source="Orion">Coach</keyword> Tanisha Wright, who joined the franchise in September and October, respectively. Darius Taylor - the Dream's interim head coach for the second half of the 2021 season - will support Padover as the team's assistant general manager.</p><div type="image" title="Tanisha Wright." height="1667" width="2500" msid="87263613" hostid="261"></div><p>Atlanta's ownership group - which includes Abair, real estate executive Larry Gottesdiener, and former Dream star Renee Montgomery - assumed control over the franchise mere weeks before the 2021 season began. Since then, they've been incredibly intentional in exercising the patience necessary to recruit collaborative, complementary leaders and put "the right people in the right positions," as Abair explained.</p><p>Now that those right people are in place, Abair says they'll be entrusted with "an absolute, total rebuild of the franchise."</p><p>"That's what I love about this ownership group," Shaw Parker told Insider. "They are very, very good at putting powerful leadership teams together, and they're going to let us go do our job."</p><p>"The beauty of this is that Monday - when this announcement comes out - is day one."</p><h2>Atlanta is moving forward with "a different mindset than what has been here previously"</h2><div type="image" title="Kelly Loeffler" height="2685" width="3580" msid="87263614" hostid="261"></div><p>The Dream has left much to be desired in recent years with a combined 15-39 record over the 2020 and 2021 seasons. But somehow, the franchise's off-court woes have managed to trump all over the past 14 months.</p><p>In the summer of 2020 - while the team was competing in the <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-wnba-successfully-avoided-covid-19-outbreak-in-florida-bubble-2020-10">WNBA's bubble in Bradenton, Florida</a> - <a href="https://www.insider.com/sen-kelly-loeffler-wnba-atlanta-dream-doug-collins-special-election-2020-7">former team owner and US Senator Kelly Loeffler</a> spoke out against the Black Lives Matter movement and <a href="https://www.insider.com/ted-cruz-tomi-lahren-kelly-loeffler-blast-wnba-anthem-protests-2020-7">its place in the league</a>. WNBA players - 80% of whom are Black - quickly <a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-players-demand-kelly-loeffler-ban-black-lives-matter-comment-2020-7">called for Loeffler's removal</a> from the league.</p><p>But once that effort failed, they chose a far more creative tactic: <a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-stars-endorse-dream-owner-kelly-loefflers-senate-race-opponent-2020-8">openly endorsing her opponent, Reverend Raphael Warnock,</a> in their Georgia Senate race. Five months later, <a href="https://www.insider.com/loeffler-wnba-effort-warnock-georgia-impacted-american-republic-future-2021-1">Loeffler was ousted from her Senate seat</a>, and research shows that the <a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-players-raphael-warnock-endorsement-pushed-dem-in-georgia-polls-2020-12">WNBA players' efforts were instrumental</a> in Warnock's unlikely victory.</p><div type="image" title="sue bird warnock" height="1102" width="1470" msid="87263615" hostid="261"></div><p>Loeffler's ugly feud with her players left her with <a href="https://www.insider.com/kelly-loeffler-close-to-selling-wnba-atlanta-dream-ownership-stake-2021-1">little choice but to part ways with the franchise</a>. With six weeks remaining before the 2021 season tipped off, Abair, Gottesdiener, and <a href="https://www.insider.com/kelly-loeffler-sells-atlanta-dream-wnba-star-renee-montgomery-ownership-2021-2">Montgomery purchased the team</a> - and inherited all of the challenges that came with it.</p><p><a href="https://www.si.com/wnba/2021/04/21/atlanta-dream-fire-president-gm-chris-sienko">Ownership fired Sienko</a> - who had been Atlanta's GM for three years and its president for two - just a week after he steered the franchise through the 2021 WNBA Draft. Ten days later, three-year <a href="https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/31385281/atlanta-dream-nicki-collen-leaving-wnba-coach-baylor-kim-mulkey-departure">Dream head coach Nicki Collen left Atlanta</a> to take over the helm for the Baylor Bears.</p><p>Then-assistant Mike Petersen assumed the mantle for the Dream less than two weeks before their season opener. In July, he <a href="https://dream.wnba.com/news/mike-petersen-steps-down-from-atlanta-dream-head-coaching-role/">stepped down due to health concerns</a> after leading the team to a 6-13 record. Ownership then passed the reins to Taylor, who now will serve as the team's assistant GM.</p><p>Without steady leadership, chaos at the executive levels of the franchise trickled down to the team and its players. In July, Atlanta <a href="https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/31767514/atlanta-dream-suspend-chennedy-carter-detrimental-conduct">indefinitely suspended star guard Chennedy Carter</a> - seen by many as the franchise's future - after she allegedly <a href="https://www.thenexthoops.com/features/how-chennedy-carter-earned-a-suspension/">attempted to fight All-Star teammate Courtney Williams</a> in the locker room in response to a heated exchange during a game.</p><div type="image" title="chennedy carter" height="2160" width="2880" msid="87263617" hostid="261"></div><p>Three months later, Williams found herself in hot water with the franchise, too. She and guard Crystal Bradford were among a trio of <a href="https://www.insider.com/video-atlanta-dream-fight-showcases-woes-of-wayward-wnba-franchise-2021-10">Dream players who engaged in a brawl outside of a day club</a> in late May, shortly after the 2021 season began. Kalani Brown, a 6-foot-7 center waived by Atlanta just days before the fight, was also part of the scrum.</p><p>Though the physical altercation took place some five months prior, footage of the scuffle arose and went viral early in October. The tape shows Williams and Bradford fist-fighting with a group of women while standing near a Tenders &amp; Bites food truck, with the Dream's lone 2021 All-Star seen throwing several punches in the nearly two-minute clip.</p><p>The team subsequently informed both players that they would not be re-signed to Atlanta's roster "under any circumstances," <a href="https://twitter.com/howardmegdal/status/1445559620596948993">The Next's Howard Megdal reported</a>. Williams played all 32 games for the Dream during the 2021 season and led the team in points, rebounds, and assists.</p><div type="image" title="Courtney Williams." height="1407" width="2500" msid="87263618" hostid="261"></div><h2>With the promise of a blank slate, ownership convinced top <keyword id="11893855" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports" source="Orion">sports</keyword> management talent to lead a complete overhaul in Atlanta</h2><p>Abair, Gottesdiener, and Montgomery waited months before filling the vacant leadership positions throughout their franchise. After Sienko's departure, Abair became the Dream's president, and Montgomery slid in behind her as vice president.</p><p>But much to the chagrin of Atlanta's fans, the Dream played an entire season without a GM in place. And while ownership heard supporters' concerns, Abair and company were steadfast in their belief that the right people were worth the wait.</p><p>"There was some frustration on some people's parts that we didn't rush to just <keyword id="12010105" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hire" source="Orion">hire</keyword> a new management team," Abair said. "But it was important for us to be patient to find the right people - to find people that shared our values, to find the right executives that we really believed could work with us, the ownership group, to build a franchise that we could be proud of."</p><p>"But more importantly, [to build a franchise] that the city of Atlanta would embrace and be proud of," she added.</p><div type="image" title="Atlanta Dream." height="1598" width="2500" msid="87263619" hostid="261"></div><p>Shaw Parker was the first of the highly-touted new hires. A longtime NFL executive, she came to the Dream in September after many years as VP and chief marketing officer for Arthur M. Blank Sports &amp; Entertainment (AMBSE) - the ownership group for the Atlanta Falcons, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and Atlanta United.</p><p>Before that, she spent more than 10 years working at Nike and half a decade with the Kansas City Chiefs.</p><p>"When Larry [Gottesdiener] talked about his vision for putting the resources in place to do this right, they had me," Shaw Parker said. "There's not another opportunity that I know of in men's or women's sports to really build something like this from scratch in a top 10 market."</p><p>Recruiting Shaw Parker to the Dream was the catalyst for a series of massive hires for the struggling franchise. Her impressive sports management experience and extensive relationships within the city's sports sphere lent an air of credibility to the Dream's rebuilding efforts - so much so that it helped lure the WNBA's reigning top executive into the fold.</p><p>"When Dan [Padover] saw that they had signed me, he talks a lot about the fact that he knew they were serious and they were building something very different," Shaw Parker said. "And they really have."</p><div type="image" title="Dan Padover." height="1874" width="2500" msid="87263622" hostid="261"></div><p>But before Padover officially signed on, Atlanta recruited one of his closest allies within the Aces organization. Wright, formerly an assistant coach under Las Vegas' Bill Laimbeer and a player in the league, joined the Dream as its new head coach.</p><p>Padover had previously insisted "that he wouldn't choose anyone else for his head coach if he were to make the decision," Shaw Parker said. Hiring Wright was enough to seal the deal with Padover as well.</p><p>"Hiring Morgan [Shaw Parker], a premier executive in the NFL space, was a pretty big eye-opener for me," Padover told Insider. "So I think them going after Morgan then going after Tanisha [Wright] - it was very impressive."</p><p>Though Padover had found incredible success building upon Laimbeer's framework with the Aces, he was drawn to the unique opportunity Atlanta represented. Not only will he have the chance to work alongside some of the best in the business, but he'll be the chief architect tasked with designing a team from scratch.</p><div type="image" title="atlanta dream" height="1667" width="2500" msid="87263623" hostid="261"></div><p>"I've been in this league for a decade," Padover said. "I don't ever remember someone coming into a similar situation with <em>this</em> blank of a slate... [Gottesdiener] looked me in the eye and said, 'Dan, I want you to think of this as an expansion franchise. We have nothing at the moment, but we're going to build this thing, and we're going to build it with great people.' And that really started to get my wheels turning."</p><p>"If you have a dream to be a lead of a professional basketball organization since you're a kid like I have, this incorporates all those things," he added. "It's building a roster from the ground up through the draft and through free agency. It's building a staff out, looking at facilities. It's all of the above, which for someone like myself is the dream."</p><p>Alongside Taylor - who has long dreamed of working in a front office and "can really help us bridge the gap between player and the basketball operation side, as well as the business side," according to Shaw Parker - Padover will begin to build out the team's roster through the draft and free agency. With $836,241 to work with under the salary cap and hardly any player commitments for the future, the GM pair will have free reign to craft a team that matches ownership's ambitions.</p><div type="image" title="Darius Taylor." height="1666" width="2222" msid="87263624" hostid="261"></div><p>"I can tell you that my vision is very aligned with ownership," Shaw Parker said. "Renee [Montgomery], Larry [Gottesdiener], and Suzanne [Abair] have all voiced the same vision, and this is to build the best franchise in the WNBA and to really build a model franchise - not only for the WNBA but honestly, one in all of sports."</p><h2>Building a team Atlanta can be proud of - and 'building trust with the fans and with the city itself' - starts now</h2><p>It's no secret that "this was a tumultuous season for the Dream," as Abair herself admits. Despite the plethora of hardships that came with purchasing a franchise six weeks before the start of the season - she warns others considering following suit to "buckle up because it's going to be a tough ride" - Abair and her co-owners were always focused on the upside and the opportunity Atlanta's WNBA franchise presents.</p><p>The team realizing all of that potential starts with regaining fans' trust and winning over the city.</p><div type="image" title="Renee Montgomery." height="1150" width="1534" msid="87263625" hostid="261"></div><p>"We really aim to serve the community that we seek to be a part of, and that's going to take a lot of work on our part," Shaw Parker said. "I can tell you that ownership, as well as the leadership team, we are committed to building that for Atlanta and together with Atlanta."</p><p>"I ask for Atlanta's trust, and I ask for their support as we figure out how to do this the right way," she added.</p><p>For Padover, building a winning team starts with establishing a winning culture. He and Taylor will be "very mindful of the players we bring in" to ensure that "they have the same mindset on the court and off the court and are really looking at this, like, 'Hey, we're going to make Atlanta proud of the Dream."</p><p>"Our goal is to make you proud as fast as we possibly can," Padover says. "But we're not gonna rush it."</p><div type="image" title="Elizabeth Williams." height="1405" width="1874" msid="87263626" hostid="261"></div><p>Abair knows that the city of Atlanta has done more than its fair share of waiting for positive results. She understands the frustration, and she's grateful that fans have stayed the course and offered "continued support." Success is on the horizon down in Georgia, she insists.</p><p>"Stay tuned, stay with us," Abair said. "This is day one of the new Atlanta Dream."</p>

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