The Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever face off for the first and only appearance in Indianapolis during the 2021 regular season. The next two regular season matchups will take place on the road in Atlanta, which will both be played before the Olympic break. The two meetings in Atlanta will be played at Gateway Center Arena, which opened in 2019, and is also home to the NBA G League’s College Park Skyhawks.

Atlanta was scrambling days before the 2021 regular season officially tipped off. On May 3, head coach Nicki Collen accepted the head coaching position at Baylor, which became available after Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, Kim Mulkey, left for LSU. Assistant coach Mike Petersen was promoted from assistant coach to interim head coach in Atlanta shortly after Collen’s departure.

Dream guard Chennedy Carter returns for her second season in Atlanta after joining Fever guard Julie Allemand as unanimous selections on last year’s All-Rookie Team. The Dream selected the breakout star from this year’s NCAA Tournament, Arizona guard Aari McDonald, with the No. 3 overall selection in this year’s WNBA Draft. McDonald averaged 24.8 points through Arizona’s six NCAA Tournament games, including a 26-point outing against Connecticut in the national semifinal.

Friday will also be the fourth consecutive Commissioner’s Cup game played for the Fever this season. “Cup games” will be the first home game and first road game each team plays against its five conference rivals, all set to take place in the first half of the season between Friday, May 14, and Sunday, July 11. The team from each conference with the highest winning percentage in “Cup games” will earn a berth to the Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game on Aug. 12.

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The Fever return to the court on Sunday at home against Washington at 1 p.m. ET. On Sunday, the Fever will honor current VP of Basketball Operations and General Manager, Tamika Catchings, following her induction into the Naismith Hall of Fame. Tickets for the game can still be purchased at FeverBasketball.com.