There were more than 17,000 fans in attendance at State Farm Arena. For a team that plays regularly in an arena that holds about 4,000 fans, the atmosphere was different and amped up.
What’s more, it was the home opener, so this was the closest that an Atlanta Dream home game felt to Ballhalla out in California.
CM, the Dream’s public address announcer, was running through the opening night roster for the Dream. The reaction from the crowd became louder and louder as he ran through the players from Aaliyah Nye to Allisha Gray.
There was an angle on the big screen that showed newcomer Angel Reese, who was set to make her home debut in front of the Atlanta crowd, looking down the tunnel, catching a teammate’s eye, and placing both of her hands above her head as if she was putting on an invisible crown.
She was communicating with Rhyne Howard, who was in concussion protocol for that game, to make sure that they were on the same page for their pregame handshake.
The pregame handshake is something that has grown in popularity over the years. From starters running out when they are announced, giving high-fives along a make-shift tunnel of their teammates, to having choreographed handshakes and intros with their teammates, it’s become a spectacle of sorts.
It gives the chance for a player who isn’t a starter to hype up their teammates or, in the case of Howard, a player who isn’t playing in the game, to still be involved.
“Rhyne didn’t play in that game, so she wanted a handshake for everybody, and she just came up with that,” Reese told The IX Basketball.
Howard filled the role that game, leading to unique handshakes with all of her teammates. While she placed the crown on Reese’s head, it was the Bad Boy-themed handshake with Naz Hillmon that caught fire on social media.
“We were just playing around with what we wanted to do and Rhy came up with the back-to-back,” Hillmon told The IX Basketball. “I thought it would be cool if we spun around with it. So it was just kind of a buildup of both of us adding stuff.”
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Hillmon filled the role last year with the Dream before she moved into the starting lineup. After she replaced Brittney Griner during the second half of the season, Hillmon graduated from doing the handshakes and bestowed that honor to then-rookie Te-Hina Paopao.
If you’ve watched Paopao at Oregon, South Carolina, with the Dream, or even during post-game press conferences, it should come as no surprise that she took over the role.
Paopao is known for her signature three-point shot, yes, but that comes after being known for being the player who is always laughing, smiling, and having a good time.
The annoying little sister, if you will.
So Paopao, who even has a go-to handshake with the Dream’s communication personnel, took over the role as a way to have fun with it.
“It’s really about just knowing the person and just really wanting to have fun with it,” Paopao told The IX Basketball. “Some people want to have fun and some want to be locked in and getting ready for that. So, it just really depends on the person.”
What Paopao told The IX Basketball is that it falls on her to come up with the ideas since the starters don’t have time to think about it.
But is that specific to Atlanta, or is it the same throughout the league?
“Some are a collaborative effort. Some are just what they want to do,” second-year Golden State guard Kaitlyn Chen told The IX Basketball. “Like VB [Veronica Burton] has had hers, so I just have the honor to be able to do her handshake with her. KT [Kayla Thornton] is quite creative with hers, too. Gabby [Williams] found ours with the “6-7.”
While the Dream and Valkyries seem to have mastered the craft, some teams are still working on figuring it out.
“You know, we’re only how many games in? We have some time. We have some time,” Washington Mystics’ rookie Rori Harmon told The IX Basketball.
Leading up to the chat with Harmon, the Mystics’ pregame handshakes were simple. They just gave each other high fives. Nothing unique. Nothing thought out. Just handshakes.
“I guess I’m the one that’s supposed to do it and so I got to get my memory flowing for sure,” Harmon said.
Wouldn’t you know it, Harmon did get the memory going in the games that followed, as The IX Basketball’s Jenn Hatfield relayed that Harmon added motions before the handshakes, such as flexing as Shakira Austin was introduced and pretending to snap a photo of Georgia Amoore.
“Sometimes you just have to get creative, and it could literally mean nothing. It’s just fun movement,” Harmon said. “I think being in sync is the part that makes it cool sometimes. And then I know some people have their thing. That’s their M.O., like putting a crown on their head and stuff like that.”
Harmon was kind of given the role during training camp and before the Mystics’ first preseason game.
Sometimes the role is discussed, but other times, the player just kind of falls into the responsibility.
“We looked around and then they told me to do it, so then I did it,” Chen said.
For other teams, it was more of a snap decision when they realized they didn’t have anyone designated for the role before the game started.
“We were standing in a line before a game as everyone realized that no one was standing in the middle, and then someone threw me out there, and then I stayed,” New York Liberty rookie Anneli Maley told The IX Basketball. “So that was it. It became my role.”
Maley is another one who doesn’t have unique handshakes yet, but she is working with veteran Jonquel Jones to develop one of their own.
“We’ve got some big boring high fives, but we’ve got a couple road trips to work it out,” Maley said. “JJ [Jonquel Jones] and I’ve spoken about it. We are going to work on a handshake, but we haven’t gotten there yet.”
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Maley is an interesting case. She’s in her first year in the WNBA after playing in Australia and turned heads during New York Liberty training camp. She was ultimately cut by the team and landed in Phoenix for a nine-day stint before the Mercury released her.
Maley took the news hard, posting her feelings on her Instagram account, where she gives fans a look into her life on and off the court.
But shortly after being released, she landed back with the Liberty on a developmental player contract.
So, as someone who has bounced around and is trying to acclimate, can something as simple as the handshakes help a player fit in and get to know their teammates better?
“Honestly, everyone’s pretty good anyway, whether I’m the handshake person or not, like everyone just kind of makes me feel acclimated,” Maley said. “That’s kind of the vibe for the team.”
That’s one train of thought, but there can also be a team chemistry component.
Take, for instance, the Valkyries. They put together the best season in WNBA history for an expansion team, and this offseason, they welcomed newcomers Williams and Kiah Stokes to the fold.
Both are veterans, but they were entering an organization that has established good vibes with their culture after just one season.
“It definitely helps to build the chemistry for a new player to the team,” Chen said.
The chemistry can expand beyond the handshakes, too.
Take Reese and her new head coach, Karl Smesko.
Smesko is a player’s coach, but Reese created her own handshake with him to help bring him out of his shell and show his personality a bit.
“That was my idea. It brings a little bit of character out of him, and I think he’s super comfortable,” Reese said. “I mean, the girls said he feels a lot more comfortable this year. I think last year, all of his jokes were corny, and this year, they’re a little better. They understand his dad jokes, but he’s been great. I think all of us like to have a little something with him.”
Smesko was game for that, but what happens when a celebration is pitched, but it doesn’t get the green light?
Does that happen?
“I’ve gotten a couple of nos. But then I’m like, ‘All right, then we’ll go to the next one,’” Paopao said. “I got a couple notes from Rhy. That’s probably the only one that said no to me.”
One player who hasn’t said no to Paopao’s ideas has been Naz Hillmon. When Hillmon is announced with the starters, she goes down the line and Paopao pretends to throw money at Hillmon.
“That was mostly Pao, you know she has a bunch of energy and dance moves and stuff so I just went along with whatever she was coming up with,” Hillmon said of her introduction.
Others, like Chen, said that she hasn’t been rejected on any ideas, but that’s because she likes to work with her teammates or do whatever they prefer instead.
The question remains if the pregame ritual actually has an impact or not.
Well, it’s a complicated question to answer.
For some, it’s a way to build up their teammates before a game.
“I think that handshakes are a way to show a little bit of personality, especially when it’s very specific to you,” Hillmon said. “I don’t think it can help with team chemistry, however, I think it’s a fun moment in a space where everything can feel so serious. We’ve even gotten to the point where we mimic our teammates’ handshakes as it is happening.”
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Others are aware of their role with it and want to take it in stride to make it the best that it can be.
“I need to get to that because every game I’m like, ‘yeah, we need a handshake,’” Harmon said. “I’m just like, high-fiving, y’all. We need to do that, and that is on me. I’m gonna figure it out.”
Others, like Maley, prefer to have other routines with her teammates for a positive impact.
“Gameday coffee with my teammates for sure,” Maley said. “That’s something I do in Australia that I brought over here.”
While others, sadly, didn’t want to burst the bubble of an eager writer exploring the art of the pregame handshakes and the preparation and collaboration that went into it.
“I think there’s a lot less thought that goes into it than you think,” Chen said midway through the interview. “Sorry to disappoint.”
Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the group that owns the Washington Mystics, holds a minority stake in The IX Basketball. The IX Basketball’s editorial operations are entirely independent of Monumental and all other business partners.
