Tiffany Hayes was the Robin to Angel McCoughtry’s Batman.
For years, the duo was synonymous with the Atlanta Dream. Hayes played 10 seasons in the ATL, from 2012 to 2022 (skipping 2020 in the Wubble). She even, coincidentally, shares a nickname, “Tip,” with one of Atlanta’s most famous celebrities in rapper T.I.
She was there in 2013, the last time the Dream were in the Finals, averaging 12.4 points across eight postseason games in just her second year in the WNBA. She was there through the heartache
of the franchise never winning a championship.
They still haven’t won one. And neither has Hayes.
With Hayes now a member of the Golden State Valkyries, the Dream’s opponents in the 2026 WNBA Finals, something’s gotta give.
Hayes means a lot to Atlanta and Atlanta means a lot to her.
In her final season with the Dream, Hayes overlapped with Rhyne Howard and Naz Hillmon, who were rookies in 2022; Hayes only played in 11 games that year, though. Still, the Dream fans know her well. For many, it will be hard to root against her as the 37-year-old faces what may be her last chance at securing that long-awaited title.
Tip was a key player for contenders that came up short in 2023 and 2024
Hayes actually retired after the 2023 season.
The UConn alum returned to Connecticut to play with the Sun that year. It was Alyssa Thomas’ (first) famed season of nearly averaging a triple-double. Led by The Engine, Connecticut finished the regular season at 27-13, earning the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. In addition to Thomas, they had stars (and current members of the Dream) DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones, who were first and second, respectively, on the team in scoring. Hayes was the team’s fourth-leading scorer, after Thomas.
Hayes started all 47 games, averaging 27.1 minutes and 12.1 points in the regular season, and 26.1 minutes and 14.3 points in the postseason. B. Jones played in just 13 games and missed the playoffs, yet the Sun still upset the superteam New York Liberty, who had former Sun superstar Jonquel Jones, in Game 1 of the semis. The Sun went on to lose the series-deciding Game 4 by just three points. If J. Jones hadn’t been traded to NYL in the offseason, perhaps Connecticut would have won it all that year.
Instead it was more heartache for Hayes after it seemed like her team had a real chance.
Becky Hammon came calling in 2024 to pull Hayes out of retirement and convince her to join the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces. Hayes, who had started nearly every game since her first two years in the league, came off the bench for Hammon’s squad, which of course featured the star-studded quartet of A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray. Hayes’ current Valkyrie teammate Kiah Stokes was the fifth starter.
Hayes won Sixth Player of the Year, an award she received seven votes for back in 2013. She was exactly what Vegas needed off the bench, posting 9.5 points per game in the regular season and 10.5 points per game in the playoffs.
The Aces finished fourth in the standings, but surely they weren’t going to miss out on a championship, right? They had already proven they were better than the first-place Liberty in the 2023 Finals and had brought back the same core.
Alas, yet again, it was not meant to be for Hayes, as Vegas fell to New York in the semis, 3-1.
Hayes has found happiness and success in the Bay Area
Hayes became a free agent in 2025. At the time she signed with Golden State that offseason, she was thought to be the best player on the Valkyries. Nobody else on the roster had proven themselves as the first- or second-best player on a WNBA team.
As it turned out, a lot of Valkyries had breakout years. Kayla Thornton was selected as an All-Star, while Veronica Burton impressed as the league’s Most Improved Player. Still, Hayes was among the best, going for 11.7 points per game, including a 40.6 percent clip from downtown with 41 makes.
More importantly, she was having fun. As I just wrote about Burton, Hayes fit in with the positive vibes of Ballhalla. Really all the players have, which is why last season’s Valkyries became the first expansion team to ever make the playoffs.
It didn’t appear to be a ring-chasing move when Hayes signed with GSV, but here they are in the Finals in just their second season of existence.
Hayes, who started last year, is back to the bench role she played in Vegas. Someone different steps up in each game for the Valkyries—and sometimes it’s Hayes. She has had two 20-point games in the playoffs, surpassing the one she had in the regular season.
Hayes finally winning a WNBA championship at age 37 with a team that is shocking the world would be a great story. But, while it may be hard, the ATL faithful will root against her.
The Dream are still seeking a first-ever win in the Finals
The Dream were not like the Valkyries in their expansion season of 2008. No. They went 4-30 that year.
But they made it all the way to the Finals in their third year, albeit with a 19-15 regular-season record that pales in comparison to Golden State’s 32-12 mark this year.
By way of sweeps, Atlanta upset the Washington Mystics and Liberty, both of whom were three games better, to advance to the championship round in 2010. That’s when they ran into Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird and the 28-6 Seattle Storm. Seattle swept them, but all the games were played within three points or less. McCoughtry, playing in her second season after being drafted No. 1 in 2009, dropped 35 points in the Game 3 finale.
The following year, 2011, the Dream finished just one game better before repeating as Eastern Conference champs and getting swept in the Finals by the Minnesota Lynx. McCoughtry added two more 30-pieces to her Finals resume, but it wasn’t enough.
In 2013, when Atlanta made their last Finals appearance before this year, they were actually only .500, yet made it to the ultimate stage, where the Lynx again contributed to their now 0-9 mark in the Finals.
So really, the Dream’s story has been one of a team that has, at times, overachieved in the playoffs, and has rarely gone into the postseason with a flashy record. Their 2011 mark of 20-14 stands as the fourth-best winning percentage (.588) in franchise history.
Their third-best regular season of 2018 (23-11) saw them receive a bye to the semifinals, but there they lost to the 22-12 Mystics by five points in a winner-take-all Game 5. Hayes led the team with 17.2 points per game that year. McCoughtry missed the playoffs due to injury. It was a heartbreaking season that is likely on the minds of both Hayes and Dream fans.
Is it finally the Dream’s time to win the Finals?
That brings us to the past two regular seasons, which have been the best in the Dream’s history (30-14 both years). Last year, the heartbreak from 2018 was extended, with Atlanta getting upset in the first round.
This year has been truly special, though. Not only did the Dream blow past a good Mystics team in the first round, but they also swept the New York Liberty and their championship core in the semis. You could argue that, given their star power compared to Golden State, they enter the Finals as the favorites.
The current moment is the high point of Atlanta Dream basketball so far, as, at the very least, the Dream are expected to finally win a Finals game, if not the series.
Like if Hayes were to win, the Dream winning would be a great story. With 18 seasons as a WNBA city, the only current or former WNBA location that has gone longer without a first championship is Connecticut and their 24 seasons.
Ultimately, regardless of the outcome, it’s intriguing that the Dream happen to be the team that Hayes is going up against.
