Atlanta Dream forward Naz Hillmon had a breakout season under coach Karl Smesko.
ATLANTA ― Atlanta Dream forward Naz Hillmon is the 2025 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year, a first for the franchise.
The former Michigan Wolverines forward came off the bench for 27 games, averaging career highs in points (8.6), rebounds (6.2), assists (2.4) and blocks (0.4) per game. She also became a formidable 3-point shooter this season. Before 2025, Hillmon had six total attempts beyond the arc and one made basket. This season, that number jumped to more than 50 3-point shots on 165 attempts. She became increasingly essential to Atlanta's success as the season progressed.
“You don’t win Sixth Player of the Year without your teammates being as incredible as they are, allowing me to be who I am this year," Hillmon told USA TODAY during an exclusive interview. "Staying confident in me. It’s my team. It’s Sixth Player of the Year for a reason — there’s five others. For me, it’s the eleven others we have on the bench, as well as our coaching staff.”
Hillmon said her confidence has remained strong since joining the league in 2022, but it has evolved in 2025. Before this year, she focused on her defense, rebounding and overall effort to make an impact. This season, it's been her shot. The Dream forward says her teammates have been asking her to shoot for years ― some as far back as USA Basketball in 2018 ― and now there hasn't been a day that goes by that they didn't say, "Naz, shoot it!"
Hillmon explained that as their confidence in her increased, she could feel her own self-confidence growing. With the encouragement from her teammates, she says she's thankful that being a shot-making specialist is now the expectation. What's more, the Dream coaching staff, including head coach Karl Smesko, poured into her, working on her shot since the offseason. Hillmon noted Smesko, in particular, has helped her thrive as a 3-point shooter, and his insistence on working on the smaller details has mattered more than most realize.“It’s easy to one day get into the details and then the next day, the big picture," she said. "He’s both every single day. I think that helps us to stay consistent, and it’s helped me to stay consistent.”
Still, Hillmon was doing the little things long before Smesko arrived. She's been an iron woman for Atlanta, setting a team record with 151 consecutive games played, the third-longest active streak in the league. Hillmon also led the team in net rating swing (+13.4) this season and finished second in the WNBA in plus-minus (+7.6 per game). Furthermore, if there's a timely play to be made ― a rebound, a turnover, a needed basket ― it's Hillmon who's often the go-to player. She says while many might attribute that sort of tenacity to skill, it's actually something else.
“It takes effort. It takes heart. It takes motivation. It takes want to, and I want to be able to do those things for my team because I also know that they carry so much," Hillmon said.
"Like I say all the time, I know I have great players on the floor with me. Half of them are probably going to be Hall of Famers, and I can’t wait to be celebrating all of them when those years are to come. But they shoulder so much, I wanna be able to clean up and do the dirty work, and then they can focus on, not the bigger things, but the heavier load that they’re carrying.”
Hillmon is extremely proud of Atlanta's 2025 season. The Dream added seven new faces, a new coaching staff and doubled their wins from 2024 with 30 victories this year. The team was also able to celebrate a playoff game win under Smesko, a huge milestone in a new system. The things Hillmon has accomplished with Atlanta haven't just stayed on the court; they've oozed into her personal life as well.
The Dream forward says her mom, who is her biggest supporter (and her biggest critic), was so excited for her growth that she made custom digital stickers for each one of her 3-point celebrations. However, Hillmon's mom doesn't want her to stray too far from her bread and butter.
“She’s like, ‘You learned how to shoot 3s, so now you don’t know what the paint is, and you don’t go post up anymore," Hillmon said playfully. "So, every now and again, I try to make sure I get inside of the paint. And, don’t let me come home with only one rebound. [She’ll say,] ‘You basically had only one more rebound than me. We have to bet better in that regard."
Hillmon's mom, family, teammates and coaches have a lot to be proud of now. Their immense support elevated the Dream forward right into a well-deserved new piece of hardware.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dream's Naz Hillmon named WNBA Sixth Player of the Year
Category: Basketball
