In her fourth season with the Atlanta Dream, Naz Hillmon has had the best start to the season of her professional career. Michigan’s all-time leader in rebounds and double-doubles has seen an increase in minutes for the Dream over the course of the last few games, primarily due to the absence of Brittany Griner, who was injured early in the season. Griner’s injury has allowed for Hillmon to play more minutes each game, and the former Wolverine has certainly stepped up in her absence.
With eight games in the books already this season, Hillmon has been a huge help in the last four of them. Last season with the Dream, Hillmon started in 19 of 40 games, where she averaged 5.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. The Dream acquired both Brittany Griner and Brionna Jones in the offseason this year, pushing Hillmon onto the bench.
Naz Hillmon Has Taken Advantage of Her Minutes in a Big Way
Since Griner’s injury, though she still hasn’t been starting, Hillmon has been making some hefty waves in the Dream’s frontcourt. In last week’s game against the Connecticut Sun, Hillmon put up 14 points, three rebounds, and two assists over 23 minutes, and this was with Griner back in action as well. With the Dream’s 6’9 center healthy again, Hillmon knew her minutes were in jeopardy of being decreased again, but she proved herself worthy and then some.
Before this weekend’s start to the Commissioner’s Cup, Hillmon was a huge asset for the Dream in their 88-82 and 94-87 wins over Los Angeles and Seattle, respectively. In each of those games, Hillmon scored 11 points, and had seven rebounds, the victory over LA being her first time this season to score in double-digits. Before that, in a 79-55 victory over the Sun, Hillmon saw a season high 29 minutes of playing time and scored seven points, with three assists, and a whopping nine rebounds.
With the Dream’s roster back in tact and healthy once again, it stands to reason that Hillmon’s minutes may be pushed back into the teens, but if her continued performance is any indication, she doesn’t seem to be slowing down, and is proving, still, to be a major asset to the Dream in her fourth season.
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