NEW YORK – The Atlanta Dream’s Nicki Collen today was named the WNBA Coach of the Month for games played in August.

Collen guided the East-leading Dream to a 7-1 mark in August, which tied the Connecticut Sun and the Washington Mystics for the league’s best record for the month.  Atlanta went 4-0 at home and 3-1 on the road to finish the season at 23-11 overall, securing the No. 2 seed in the 2018 WNBA Playoffs and a double-bye into the semifinals.

The Dream won its first six games in August, highlighted by an 86-66 road win over the defending champion Minnesota Lynx on Aug. 5.  In its four home games, Atlanta posted wins over the Chicago Sky, Las Vegas Aces, Los Angeles Sparks and Dallas Wings.

Under Collen, Atlanta outscored opponents by 7.3 points per game in August (tied for fourth in the WNBA).  On the defensive end, the Dream led the league in forced turnovers per game (14.0), blocks per game (6.88) and opponents’ three-point field goal percentage (30.0).  Atlanta averaged the third-most points per game (91.1) and finished fourth in overall field goal percentage (47.4).

The other nominees for the WNBA Coach of the Month were the Connecticut Sun’s Curt Miller, the Seattle Storm’s Dan Hughes and the Washington Mystics’ Mike Thibualt.

The 2018 WNBA Playoffs begin on Aug. 21.  For more information on the WNBA and game tickets, fans may visit wnba.com.

2018 WNBA Coaches of the Month