The Atlanta Dream have announced Dan Padover as their next general manager, hiring him away from the Las Vegas Aces after he was named WNBA Executive of the Year the past two seasons.

In his three years with the Aces, the team went 63-25 and advanced to the playoffs every season, posting a franchise-best record of 24-8 in 2020.

Dream fans, help us welcome Dan Padover to the ATL!

📰 » https://t.co/Z3AbCKfpKn #DoItForTheDream pic.twitter.com/0nnjU04UEU

— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) October 25, 2021

The Dream also announced Monday that interim head coach Darius Taylor will become the team’s assistant general manager. Atlanta hired Morgan Shaw Parker as team president and COO in September and Tanisha Wright as head coach on Oct. 12.

“We set out to create a leadership group with experience building winning teams underpinned by a values-based culture,” said Dream owner and chairman Larry Gottesdiener. “Dan is one of the most well-respected executives in the WNBA with a track record that speaks for itself. Darius has been an integral part of the Dream organization for four years and has earned the trust and respect of the players and ownership. These hires fill out the leadership team along with Chief Executive Officer Suzanne Abair, and Vice President Renee Montgomery.”

Prior to the Aces, Padover served as vice president of basketball operations for the New York Liberty.

“To build an organization from the ground up with new ownership and new leadership in a top-ten market like Atlanta is such a unique and exciting opportunity,” Padover said. “My ultimate goal is to help create a model WNBA franchise and bring a championship to the city. Rebuilds don’t happen overnight, but this organization is now uniquely positioned to create a winning culture.”

The Dream, who have gone 23-65 in the past three seasons and haven’t made the playoffs since 2018, dealt with significant turnover in 2021.

Gottesdiener purchased the Dream in February with partners Renee Montgomery and Suzanne Abair after former co-owners Kelly Loeffler and Mary Brock put the team up for sale. Weeks after Atlanta fired president and GM Chris Sienko in April, head coach Nicki Collen left before the start of the regular season to take over the Baylor women’s basketball program. Interim head coach Mike Petersen then stepped down in July due to health reasons, leaving Taylor to guide the team through the remainder of the season.

According to the team’s release, Padover will be tasked with bringing in players and staff “whose talent and values align with the new Dream organization through draft prospecting and free agency.” Additionally, Padover will be working toward the goal of building a “destination franchise that WNBA players will strive to be a part of.”

The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame is ushering in a blockbuster new class, announcing a list of its 2026 inductees this week with honorees spanning four players, two coaches, an ESPN contributor, and a posthumous veteran standout.

Two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker (LA Sparks, Chicago Sky, Las Vegas Aces) headlines the player lineup, with the three-time WNBA champion joined by 2019 WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky, Washington Mystics) and French standout Isabelle Fijalkowski (Cleveland Rockers), as well as three-time WNBA champ with the Houston Comets Amaya Valdemoro.

Minnesota Lynx manager and four-time WNBA Coach of the Year Cheryl Reeve also received a nod alongside nine-time national championship-winning Kirkwood Community College head coach Kim Muhl and former Clemson great Barbara Kennedy-Dixon, while ESPN analyst Doris Burke snagged an honor for her decades-long coverage.

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Calling the Class of 2026 "eight distinguished legends of this exceptional sport," Hall of Fame president Dana Hart said in Friday’s release that "They exemplify the highest standards in women's basketball and have made substantial contributions to the sport, along with shaping the game's historical trajectory."

The formal induction ceremony of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will take place at Knoxville's Tennessee Theatre on June 27th.

The season two roster for Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball is officially complete, with the offseason league announcing its final three players on Thursday — and revealing that some big names from the venture's inaugural campaign will not feature on the 2026 court.

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese will not return for Unrivaled's second season, though league EVP and GM Clare Duwelius told The Athletic this week that they had "lots of conversations" with the players.

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DiJonai Carrington will miss the 2026 campaign as well, as a mid-foot sprain suffered during September's WNBA Playoffs forced the Minnesota Lynx guard to withdraw from next year's competition.

With Carrington leaving the eight-team league's final open roster spots at three, Unrivaled rounded out their 2026 numbers with Chicago Sky guard Rebecca Allen, Indiana Fever guard Aari McDonald, and Seattle Storm center and 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 2 pick Dominique Malonga.

Malonga joins the 3×3 upstart after abruptly terminating her overseas contract with Turkish club Fenerbahçe following a post-WNBA season wrist surgery.

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Unrivaled also dropped the list of their 2026 head coaches this week, with returning managers Nola Henry and Teresa Weatherspoon joined by fresh faces including ex-Storm boss Noelle Quinn.

How to watch Unrivaled in 2026

Unrivaled will tip off its expanded 2026 season on January 5th, with live coverage airing on TNT.

NWSL Decision Day is just around the corner, as the final 2025 regular-season weekend puts the last playoff slot — and perhaps a bit of Racing Louisville history — on the line.

With seven of the eight spots in the 2025 NWSL Playoffs secured, No. 8 Louisville can punch a franchise-first postseason ticket with a win over No. 13 Bay FC on Sunday.

"I think it's an incredible position that we're in," Racing manager Bev Yanez said last week. "It's a privilege to be in this position, and I think the reality is we still control our destiny, and that needs to be the focus for us."

If Racing's match ends in a loss or a draw, however, the No. 9 North Carolina Courage can sneak in with a win — leaving Louisville out of contention.

Louisville's playoff hopes could very well rest on the blazing form of USWNT rising star Emma Sears, after the 24-year-old forward registered a hat trick against New Zealand in a full 90-minute performance on Wednesday.

"She's got an instinct inside the box and a desire to score goals that you can't teach," USWNT manager Emma Hayes said of Sears.

Racing Louisville has finished the regular season in ninth place every year since the 2021 expansion team's exception, with Sunday offering the chance to change their fate.

How to watch Racing Louisville vs. Bay FC on NWSL Decision Day

No. 8 Racing Louisville will host No. 9 Bay FC in the 2025 NWSL season's playoff-clinching finale at 5 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on NWSL+.

Most NWSL teams have something to play for this weekend, as Sunday's Decision Day finale will determine crucial seeding going into the 2025 Playoffs.

Bucking the trend are the No. 1 Kansas City Current and No. 2 Washington Spirit, who have already locked in home-field advantage — leaving every other team above the cutoff line battling for seeding this weekend.

The No. 3 Orlando Pride and No. 4 Seattle Reign will face each other with the third seed on the line, while the No. 5 San Diego Wave, No. 6 Portland Thorns, and No. 7 Gotham FC could all contend for a home playoff match depending on the day's full results.

Gotham will take on the No. 9 North Carolina in their 2025 regular-season closer, as the Courage push to leap above the playoff line while the Bats aim to avoid a difficult path forward.

Whichever team clinches the No. 8 seed — likely either Gotham, Racing Louisville, or North Carolina — will travel to Kansas City to take on the record-breaking Shield-winners in next week's quarterfinal.

Boosting the Courage on NWSL Decision Day will be a sell-out crowd — North Carolina's second sell-out match of the 2025 season.

How to watch NWSL Decision Day 2025

No. 1 Kansas City and No. 5 San Diego will kick off the 2025 NWSL season's Decision Day at 3 PM ET on Sunday, airing live on ESPN.

The six remaining matches on the weekend's slate will start simultaneously at 5 PM ET, with live coverage on either ESPN or NWSL+.