When Naz Hillmon stepped off the draft board in 2022 as an Atlanta Dream pick, a WNBA Finals berth wasn't guaranteed — it was a distant possibility at the end of a long rebuild. Four years of losing seasons, playoff near-misses, and organizational growing pains later, the Michigan alumna is finally there.
Hillmon and fellow 2022 draftee Rhyne Howard have become the institutional memory of the Dream franchise, so much so that the two call themselves the "drywall" of the organization — a self-deprecating nod to just how much they've absorbed, endured, and held together over five years. That kind of tenure is rare in the WNBA, where roster turnover is constant and patience from front offices is scarce.
"Things have changed a lot," Hillmon said, reflecting on the Dream's trajectory heading into the Finals. The bond she and Howard have forged — drafted together, built together — gives Atlanta's run a particular kind of narrative weight. This isn't a team that was assembled overnight. It was constructed through hard lessons, and Hillmon was present for every one of them.
The Dream's journey to the Finals has required Hillmon to evolve alongside the franchise. As a forward, her role has been to anchor Atlanta's frontcourt while the team found its identity. Now, with the biggest stage in women's basketball approaching, Hillmon says she knows what it takes — because she's learned what it doesn't take the hard way.
For Michigan fans, this run carries extra resonance. Hillmon was one of the marquee players to come out of Ann Arbor in recent memory, a four-year Wolverine who left as one of the program's most decorated forwards before entering the pro game. Watching her reach the Finals isn't just a personal milestone — it's validation of what the Michigan program produces.
The other active Michigan alumna in the WNBA, Chicago Sky guard Kysre Gondrezick, is not part of the postseason conversation this cycle, which makes Hillmon the sole Wolverine standard-bearer on the sport's biggest stage this week.
Whether Atlanta captures the title remains to be seen. But for Hillmon, the arrival itself is the proof of concept — that staying, grinding, and believing in a franchise through its worst seasons can eventually lead somewhere worth going.
Five years of drywall. One shot at a championship.
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