{"id":108643,"date":"2026-06-29T15:12:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T15:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/108643\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T15:12:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T15:12:42","slug":"ucla-alum-jordin-canada-is-driving-potent-atlanta-dream-offense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/108643\/","title":{"rendered":"UCLA alum Jordin Canada is driving potent Atlanta Dream offense"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to UCLA Unlocked, our weekly newsletter featuring all things Bruins athletics. To sign up to get this newsletter delivered every Monday to your inbox, click here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 Jordin Canada<\/a> is the only person in the world with a UCLA<\/a>-inspired pair of Air Jordan 4028 PEs, and she was excited to use them to represent her Bruins when the Atlanta Dream came to California last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s my alma mater,\u201d she said with a smile. \u201cAny chance I get to support them and rep them, I will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Canada, who was an All-American in four years at UCLA, was rocking the blue-and-yellow shoes in shootaround before her Dream took on the Golden State Valkyries. The Los Angeles native had a quiet first outing against the Valkyries but bounced back with a season-high 23 points in their next matchup, then had 10 assists against the Seattle Storm on Saturday. <\/p>\n

She is averaging 11.5 points and a career-high 7.0 assists as the leader of the third-best offense in the WNBA. Her 30.5 minutes per game are a step up from last season.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because she\u2019s done so much to facilitate the Dream offense and run it through Atlanta\u2019s bigs.<\/p>\n

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\u201cShe\u2019s made my job easy,\u201d Dream star Angel Reese said<\/a>. \u201cI mean, when you have a point guard that can score and also facilitate to me… Her and I had a talk a little bit before the season started about how I can be better for her than pick and roll, but also like coming down on the rebound, I can get the ball and push and flip, flip it to her, and she can start the offense… So she\u2019s made it a lot easier, really easy, and she\u2019s just a great player, she\u2019s a great leader for us offensively and defensively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s 3.6 rebounds per game also are a career high as teams lock in defending Reese and the other versatile Atlanta players such as Naz Hillmon and Rhyne Howard.<\/p>\n

Shooting 46.7% from the field, Canada has capitalized on her minutes by being the most efficient possible this season and being enough of a threat that teams have to guard her, while she also can send the ball to one of Atlanta\u2019s top scorers.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing aggressive on the offensive end and trying to be more efficient, talking to Cam [Brown], who\u2019s my position coach, and [head coach Karl Smesko], just seeing ways I could be more effective and more efficient in my position,\u201d Canada said. \u201cSo just watching a lot of film, watching the areas where I need to improve, and just trying to make sure that I do that consistently, day in and day out, every game, and skin to my spots, and making the right decisions.<\/p>\n

\"Atlanta <\/p>\n

Atlanta Dream guard Jordin Canada attempts a pass against the Storm at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday in Seattle.<\/p>\n

(Jack Compton \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Dream are fourth in the WNBA standings behind their consistent starters. With that group, Canada has become one of the most dynamic point guards in the WNBA in her ninth season.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer speed is pretty level,\u201d Valkyries coach and former UCLA player Natalie Nakase said. \u201cAt UCLA, she was fast. I think now she\u2019s like, for some reason, she looks a lot stronger, I think, from her college years, and I think she really has bought into a system under Karl of what she is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tyler Bilodeau drafted by Nets \"UCLA <\/p>\n

Former UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau was selected by the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA draft.<\/p>\n

(William Liang \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Former UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau was selected by the Brooklyn Nets<\/a> in the second round of the NBA draft with the No. 43 overall pick. <\/p>\n

Bilodeau, a 6-foot-9 transfer from Oregon State, averaged 15.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in 64 games at UCLA. The Kennewick, Wash., nativeled UCLA in scoring in his junior and senior seasons, averaging a team-best 17.6 points in 2025-26 and finishing second on the team in rebounding (5.6). Bilodeau earned third-team All-Big Ten Conference honors both seasons. He ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten in three-point shooting as a senior, knocking down 46.4% of his attempts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all so thrilled for Tyler to get drafted by Brooklyn,\u201d UCLA coach Mick Cronin said in a statement released by the athletic department. \u201cHe is a tremendous young man and a tireless worker who really excelled in our program. He\u2019s come a long way since his days at Kamiakin High School, and it\u2019s simply a testament to the work ethic that Tyler and his family have embodied. He\u2019s a versatile player who really improved his three-point stroke during his two years in Westwood. I can\u2019t wait to see him take that next step with Brooklyn. All of us at UCLA are so proud of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zoey Molomo, Katelyn Ohashi Shine at American Classic \"Zoey <\/p>\n

Zoey Molomo, competing at the United States Gymnastics Olympic trials in 2024, placed second on vault and floor and third in the all-around and bars at the 2026 American Classic.<\/p>\n

(Abbie Parr \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Zoey Molomo, who is joining UCLA\u2019s gymnastics program for the 2027 season, placed second on vault and floor and third in the all-around and on bars at the American Classic.<\/p>\n

Molomo qualified for the U.S. Gymnastics Championships with an all-around total of 52.700.<\/p>\n

UCLA alum Katelyn Ohashi, who returned to competitive gymnastics after a seven-year absence at age 29, tied for third on balance beam. In her first competition since the 2019 NCAA championships and her first elite competition since winning the 2013 American Cup, Ohashi scored 13.150 on balance beam<\/a> to earn bronze. <\/p>\n

In case you missed it<\/p>\n

Former viral UCLA star Katelyn Ohashi returns to gymnastics at age 29<\/a> <\/p>\n

Swanson: She broke baseball\u2019s glass ceiling. Now Kim Ng is taking softball to the next level<\/a> <\/p>\n

UCLA Unlocked: Inside Bob Chesney\u2019s football recruiting revival<\/a> <\/p>\n

Have something Bruin?<\/p>\n

Do you have a comment or something you\u2019d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com<\/a>. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome to UCLA Unlocked, our weekly newsletter featuring all things Bruins athletics. To sign up to get this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108644,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1111,17,26783,38316,647,38318,37449,116,26844,38319,3208,34181,33070,27082,38315,38317],"class_list":["post-108643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-associated-press","tag-canada","tag-dodgers","tag-jason-preston","tag-kings","tag-lakers","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-news","tag-sandy-alcantara","tag-taylor-fritz","tag-team","tag-teams","tag-times","tag-tuesday","tag-ucla-olympic-sports","tag-wimbledon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}