Atlanta Dream Dealt Unfortunate Blow on Wednesday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Sep 3, 2025 7:01 PM ET

The Atlanta Dream aim to extend their winning streak to three games on Wednesday as they host the Los Angeles Sparks in a home matchup at Gateway Center Arena.

The Dream have already booked their spot in the WNBA playoffs, but are currently in a three-way tie with the Las Vegas Aces and the Phoenix Mercury for the No. 2 spot at 26-14. With just four games remaining in the schedule, the result of Thursday’s clash will have a significant impact on the seedings heading into the postseason.

Unfortunately for Atlanta, they will need to go to battle without arguably their best player in Allisha Gray. This is after the three-time All-Star was ruled out of the Sparks game just before tip-off due to a knee injury.

Gray, who is averaging 18.6 points on 44.6% shooting, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.3 triples in 35.3 minutes per game, was initially listed as questionable to play heading into Wednesday’s clash. There is currently no official word on the severity of the knee issue, but it is clearly significant enough to force Gray out of a crucial game.

It is worth noting that Gray was announced as August’s Eastern Conference Player of the Month earlier on Wednesday. The former Rookie of the Year made WNBA history by becoming the first guard to win the award three times in a single season. The fact that she won’t be able to play on the same day that she rewrote the history books is an unfortunate development.

Gray’s next chance to suit up will be on Friday in a rematch against the Sparks. In the meantime, Te-Hina Paopao and Maya Caldwell are the likely candidates to play bigger roles in Wednesday’s game as Jordin Canada continues to work to get her conditioning back after returning from an extended injury absence.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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