Hey Naz, you’re an All-Star?
No, the Atlanta Dream’s Naz Hillmon is unlikely to be selected as a 2025 WNBA All-Star. Instead, Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard are near guarantees to each earn a third-straight All-Star nomination and represent the third-place Dream in Indianapolis in July. Brionna Jones also should garner significant All-Star consideration.
Hillmon, however, is the ultimate All-Star in her role. A premier candidate for Sixth Player of the Year honors, it’s Hillmon who has made the team click, turning the Dream from a squad seemingly destined for another disappointing season into one with legitimate playoff upside.
Through the Dream’s first four games, when they compiled a 2-2 record and even scoring margin, Hillmon was on the fringes of head coach Karl Smesko’s rotation, averaging less than five minutes per game. An injury to Brittney Griner required Smesko to turn to Hillmon for more minutes, and from then on, it’s been risky for Atlanta to have her off the court. Since she’s become a more prominent part of the rotation, Atlanta has lost just once.
Slice, dice, simmer and sauté the numbers any way you want, but the stats consistently reveal that Atlanta absolutely cooks when Hillmon is on the floor.
During Hillmon’s minutes, Atlanta has outscored opponents by 111 points, trailing only members of the New York Liberty starting five and leading MVP candidate Napheesa Collier. The Dream’s offensive rating is 114.5 with Hillmon, only behind the Liberty offense during Jonquel Jones’ minutes. Atlanta’s defense also performs at top-15 rate with Hillmon, registering a defensive rating of 85.2. Nearly all of the Dream’s most effective five-player lineups also feature Hillmon.
Why does the fourth-year forward from Michigan make the Dream so good?
Her traditional stats can, at best, be described as modest. She averages less than six points, 4.5 boards and two assists per game, along with less than one “stock” (steals + blocks). She is shooting a career-high 40 percent from 3 on almost two attempts per game, which has boosted her overall shooting percentage to a career-best 57.1 percent.
Her game, though, is not about accruing stats that impress, despite the fact that she has a 50-point college game to her name. She plays to put her teammates in positions to succeed, making it easier for them to put up the numbers that make them surefire All-Stars.
Hillmon is always moving, communicating, screening, cutting and helping. She is a consummate “does the little things” player, quickly assessing what her team needs and then executing the correct action.
In doing so, she has defied expectations, adapting her game not just to survive in the W but to thrive. While she dominated as an undersized forward at Michigan, tallying more than 20 points per game in her junior and senior seasons as she collected All-American honors, her ability to translate her game to the pros was questioned. Could she effectively score inside as a 6-foot-2 post player? Could she hold up defensively? Did she have the skill level required to play away from the basket?
Hillmon has answered those questions by adapting, recognizing that her success in the W would have look different than it did at Michigan. She scores on timely cuts to basket, rather than consistent post ups. She improved her conditioning, enhancing her defensive versatility. She has repped her 3-pointer, gaining more confidence as an outside shooter.
And on the 2025 version of Dream, her adaptions have been fully actualized. Hillmon is not just a “nice” role player who will have a spot in the league for years to come. She is an essential piece who makes winning plays and contributes to winning basketball.
All-Star or not, every team needs a Naz—and the Dream are better because they’ve got her.
