Brionna Jones Out for Season with Injury, Latest WNBA Playoff Bracket Outlook for Angel Reese, Dream

The Atlanta Dream announced Thursday that four-time All-Star Brionna Jones will miss the remainder of the WNBA 2026 season.

Jones suffered a torn meniscus in February while playing overseas. That kept her out until mid-July, and she made nine appearances before picking up a new leg injury. Her last appearance came in a 104-69 win over the Connecticut Sun on Aug. 13.

The Dream sit fourth in the WNBA standings (26-14) with four games left on the schedule. They can still catch the second-place Golden State Valkyries, who are three games up, or they could slip all the way down to eighth, where the Dallas Wings are two games back of them.

Jones' torn meniscus is one of the reasons why Atlanta is failing to match the level it reached in 2025. The Dream tied for the WNBA's second-best record (30-14) and were second in net rating (plus-9.3).

Jones made a big impact in her first year with the team. She averaged 12.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 0.8 blocks.

The Dream acquired Angel Reese to help make up for the loss of Jones, but there has been a void in the frontcourt nonetheless. The regression of reigning Sixth Player of the Year Naz Hillmon hasn't helped, either.

With Jones now sidelined for the duration of the campaign, Reese will have to shoulder a large burden on both ends of the floor. The 6'4" forward remains a double-double machine, putting up 16.1 points and 12.4 boards per contest, and she's garnering some Defensive Player of the Year buzz.

To avoid another first-round playoff exit, the Dream need Reese to provide an ingredient that was clearly missing a season ago.