The Atlanta Dream announced Wednesday they fired head coach Tanisha Wright.

While the Dream made the playoffs in 2024, they posted their third straight losing season under Wright.

"Tanisha was an important contributor in our efforts to rebuild the Dream, and we want to thank her for her hard work and dedication to the Dream over the last three seasons and wish her the best in the future," general manager Dan Padover said in a statement.

"At this time, we believe a change is needed to lead our players and organization to the next chapter in our efforts to be a top team in the WNBA."

Wright finished runner-up for Coach of the Year in 2022 despite the Dream only finishing 14-22. She oversaw Rhyne Howard's Rookie of the Year campaign and was credited for improving the general culture around the team.

Atlanta rewarded Wright with a contract extension in December 2022, and acquiring Allisha Gray from the Dallas Wings the following month pointed to the organization's larger ambitions.

The Dream were simply unable to take that next step up in either 2023 or 2024, though. Each of their two postseason trips ended in first-round sweeps, first to Dallas and then to the New York Liberty.

Their offensive futility was particularly frustrating considering the pieces the front office put at Wright's disposal. They never finished higher than ninth in offensive rating in her three years.

Not coincidentally, Howard's development has stagnated.

As a rookie, she averaged 18.6 points and 3.2 assists per 36 minutes while shooting 36.1 percent from the floor, according to Basketball Reference. In 2024, the 6'2" guard had per-36 averages of 18.4 points and 3.4 assists and shot 37.1 percent overall.

Atlanta's floor under Wright was higher than it had been under previous coaches. Michael Cooper was let go in 2017 after posting a 12-22 record and the Dream won 15 combined games over Nicki Collen's final two years before she left for Baylor.

But it became harder to point to reasons for optimism about the team's direction absent a coaching change.

As is the case with pretty much every WNBA team, it's difficult to project too far into the future with the Dream. They have two players under contract in 2026, while Howard and Naz Hillmon are restricted free agents.

The presence of Howard alone is likely to make Atlanta an attractive opportunity for prospective targets, and the franchise's longstanding issues to attract talent in free agency might be less of an issue in 2026 because so many stars are due to hit the open market.

Padover should be able to make an impactful hire if he wants to see immediate results rather than pivot toward a reset.