The last time the Atlanta Dream made it past the first round of the playoffs was in 2018, and this year they lead the WNBA Finals 2-1. For a team that went without a General Manager in 2021, Dan Padover has made changes that have paid off. He hired Karl Smesko in November 2024, then brought Angel Reese in April 2026 and nabbing DeWanna Bonner just before the playoffs.

However, it wasn’t just these decisions, but a training camp in a coastal Florida town that happened right after Bonner that played only one game with the team, brought all those pieces together to create a team that’s playing like champions.

The training camp that changed everything

The Atlanta Dream were already among the top five teams in the standings when the 2026 World Cup brought the WNBA regular season to a halt. At the end of August, the league went on a 17-day break for the World Cup, as teams temporarily lost some of their best players. Angel Reese went to Berlin to represent Team USA, while other Dream players like Isobel Borlase (Australia) and Sika Kone (Mali) traveled to represent their respective nations.

Meanwhile, WNBA teams were worried about losing momentum. A 17-day break at the tail end of the season, with a handful of games left for each team, did seem like a disruption. However, the Dream made the most of it.

The FIBA World Cup break had coincided with Bonner’s arrival, but the team had planned their Florida camp well ahead of September. According to ESPN’s Alexa Phillippou, Naz Hillmon had suggested the idea of a special training camp, and the administration had agreed that it would be a positive experience.

“I think that break came at a great time for us,” Smesko said.

While the Dream had won four of their last five games ahead of the break, it was after the Boca Raton training camp that they went on a 10-game win streak and, following their loss in Game 1 of the Finals, have taken the lead back with back-to-back wins in Games 2 and 3.

“It’s just been up from there with us, and we’ve been locked in since then,” Bonner said as per Phillippou.

So what was so different in Boca Raton that finally helped the Atlanta Dream find the consistent success, especially in the postseason?

It was a combination of factors, including Bonner’s truly gelling with the team.

DeWanna Bonner and her teammates found their rhythm

Two-time WNBA Champion DeWanna Bonner’s arrival at Atlanta wasn’t something the team had planned for. In fact, it was only possible because the veteran player had worked out a contract buyout with the Phoenix Mercury in late August.

The Mercury understood that Bonner wanted to pursue another WNBA Championship in what may very well become her final season, and decided to give Bonner that shot. You can read more about it here.

A few days later, on August 27, 2026, Bonner joined the Atlanta Dream.

“They play really hard night in and night out. They play fast-paced. They shoot threes. I love to shoot threes,” Bonner said on August 29, as per The Women’s Cut podcast host Christian Conway. The Dream were equally excited to acquire a veteran with championship pedigree.

“She was always going to fit in really well with our team, no matter what. It’s one of the reasons that we were able to acquire her when we did. But from a chemistry standpoint, [the trip] certainly didn’t hurt,” assistant general manager Brooklyn Cartwright told Yahoo Sports.

And she was right, because Bonner had barely played with the Atlanta Dream before the WNBA went on the break. So Boca Raton gave her the perfect opportunity to level up with the rest of the team.

Thankfully for the Dream, they weren’t strangers to their practice venue either. This isn’t the first time the WNBA went on a break to accommodate one of the biggest international tournaments in basketball. Back in 2024, the league had paused its season for the Paris Olympics, and the Dream came down to Florida to train at Florida Atlantic University. They did the same this time as well.

With no traditional games, the Dream didn’t need to take rest periods between games, and the training sessions during the trip got intense. The fact that they had practice scrimmages against male practice partners also helped the team push hard during practice.

They drilled everything, especially defensive fundamentals that made them the second-highest-rated defense this regular season. The Atlanta players didn’t stop at just on-court practice; they regularly studied film during the camp to further perfect their drills and iron out any mistakes.

Another crucial part of forming that bond as a team actually happened off the court.

Interestingly, as a coastal town, Boca Raton is known more for its beaches and shopping, rather than basketball. However, that actually worked out in the players’ favor, who, instead of going their separate ways after training, built off-court bonds that Jordan Canada believes are crucial for team building.

“The championship teams I’ve been a part of, we’ve gotten to know each other off the court. We’ve hung out, had team dinners, just doing anything that we can to build bonds. And I think that means a lot more when you get to know this group on a deeper level outside of basketball and knowing who they are as people and what makes them go.”

One reason was that it wasn’t just the players, but also personnel from coaching and management who joined in. At one of the team dinners, GM Dan Padover himself curated a WNBA Trivia session by dividing the players into two teams. Bonner and Canada’s team won the contest.

Another memorable day was when some of the team’s personnel, along with some players, went for an 18-hole golf session where Canada caddied for Allisha Gray. Meanwhile, the World Cup provided even more basketball action as the team watched the games and cheered for their teammates.

“It was one of my [most] favorite trips of my career. That was the best trip. It was so fun,” DeWanna Bonner said about the Florida camp.

When they came back and the season resumed, the results spoke for themselves.

DeWanna Bonner’s impact on the Dream

“When the people from FIBA came back, it was just like nothing was missed,” Dream Guard Te-Hina Paopao said, following Angel Reese’s return as a World Champion with Team USA.

Then came the WNBA games. Following the break, the Dream looked even better. While they ultimately finished fourth behind the defending champions, they remained unbeaten throughout the postseason before losing the Finals Game 1 against the Valkyries.

The Dream made quick work of the Washington Mystics before sending the New York Liberty home with a 3-0 sweep. Just before the Dream, the Liberty looked formidable as they became the first WNBA team to sweep the No. 1 seed (Minnesota Lynx) in the first round. And you can read more about that here.

Throughout their run, Bonner proved to be a crucial player off the bench for the Dream. Of the eight postseason games Bonner has played so far, she has scored 10.5 points and 4.9 rebounds while averaging 22.9 minutes on the floor. But that doesn’t tell the full story.

Before losing the closely contested Game 1, more of which you can read here, the Atlanta Dream had a perfect 10-0 record in the games the two-time WNBA champion had played for them. The veteran showed just how valuable she was during the semifinal series against the Liberty.

When Allisha Gray went down in Game 1 against the Liberty, Bonner ensured the Dream didn’t lose their momentum. She finished semifinal Game 1 with 23 points, 9 rebounds, two steals, and two assists, as the Dream took the Liberty down 92-82.

In the three Finals games against the Valkyries, Bonner continued to provide the value the Dream needed, whether it’s offense or defense. In the 97-71 rout of the Valkyries in Game 3, Bonner scored 7 points and grabbed 4 rebounds, while shooting 75% (3-of-4) from the field, including 50% (1-of-2) of her three-pointers.

The Dream came back as a more focused and tighter squad from that Boca Raton training camp. With a 2-1 lead in the bag, the Atlanta Dream have momentum on their side and have now exposed one of the biggest concerns for the Valkyries. Check that out here.