Atlanta Dream's Tiffany Hayes Says She Won't Participate in 2020 WNBA Season

Atlanta Dream star Tiffany Hayes became the most recent WNBA player to announce she will sit out the 2020 season.

Hayes announced her decision Tuesday on Instagram:

"This was not an easy decision but I believe it is in my best interest with everything that is going on right now. Although I love playing this game, I believe there are much more important things to be thinking about in this moment. Many will not agree with my decision but I know in my heart it's the right one."

The reigning WNBA champion Washington Mystics announced Monday they'll be without Natasha Cloud and LaToya Sanders, while Renee Montgomery, Hayes' teammate on the Dream, ruled herself out last week.

Atlanta finished with the worst record in the league (8-26) last season but had a busy offseason, adding veterans Glory Johnson, Courtney Williams, Shekinna Stricklen and Kalani Brown. The Dream also selected dynamic Texas A&M guard Chennedy Carter with the fourth pick in the 2020 draft.

However, the team will be without its top three scorers from 2019 in Hayes, Montgomery and Brittney Sykes. Atlanta packaged Sykes with Marie Gulich to land Brown, who was the No. 7 pick in 2019.

Perhaps more important than the points they scored, the trio of Hayes, Montgomery and Sykes combined to average 7.5 assists per game. Neither Williams nor Carter is a pure facilitator, leaving a void in Atlanta's backcourt.

Williams averaged 13.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game and was a big reason the Connecticut Sun reached the 2019 WNBA Finals. The 26-year-old can be a streaky scorer, though, which isn't ideal with Carter likely to assume a larger role in the offense.

The former Aggies star averaged 22.5 points per contest while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 34.6 percent from beyond the arc. Her performance in the 2019 Sweet 16 against Notre Dame epitomized her game as she poured in 35 points but needed 34 shots to get there.

At its best, the Dream's offense has the potential to be electric. But the absences of Hayes and Montgomery will raise questions about how consistent Atlanta can be on that end.