Player Review: Delisha Milton-Jones
If one were to try to assign a letter grade to Delisha Milton-Jones time with the Atlanta Dream in 2014, only one grade would appear to be appropriate: Incomplete. After being acquired via a trade from New York on July 9, Milton-Jones suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in her second game with Atlanta just four days later, limiting her time with the Dream to just 23 minutes of action.
Milton-Jones injury was a blow to the Dreams front-court depth. In her lone full game of action with Atlanta, she totaled seven points and three blocked shots in a victory at Indiana, and was expected to play a crucial role both on and off the court for a team seeking a WNBA title.
Although at age 39 she may have lost a step from when she was at her peak, she still demonstrated during her brief stint in Atlanta and during her time with the Liberty that she can make positive contributions and be an effective player. In 19 games with New York prior to the trade, she averaged 5.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists. Only five Dream players averaged more points per game than Milton-Jones this season. She scored in double figures three times, including one game against the Dream on June 20.
"My stint in New York it was kind of up and down," said Milton-Jones. "When the trade happened I felt like that was my opportunity for a kind of re-birth. I was very excited to come to Atlanta, not because its my home town, but because of the organization itself. I heard so many great things about it. Once I stepped foot off the plane, I felt a huge sigh of relief and felt like a huge weight was taken off of my shoulders, and I was ready to come here and play some great basketball."
Although her time on the court came to a quick and sudden end after the trade, Milton-Jones experience and leadership did have an impact on the squad. Her success both in the WNBA (two titles with the Los Angeles Sparks and Michael Cooper) and internationally (two Olympic gold medals) rubbed off on her teammates. She turned into somewhat of a player/coach after her injury, supporting, encouraging and instructing teammates whenever possible.
"My world came crashing down (after the injury)," she said. "Although I was not able to suit up and play every night, I still felt like I had a tremendous obligation to be involved in every play during the game, and every possession in practice. I wanted to give as much energy as I possibly could to my teammates while I was on the sidelines, and be a cheerleader for them during the games."
So although it's next to impossible to assess her season with the Dream from an on-the-court perspective, it's not a reach to say that she was still a valuable member of the team. And her relationship and familiarity with Coach Cooper from their two stints together in Los Angeles is another factor to consider.
Now in the twilight of her career, the six-foot, one-inch Milton-Jones has one primary goal for the offseason.
"I would like to get completely healthy," she said. "I have this offseason where I can kind of sacrifice going overseas. I want to show this organization that they didn't make a mistake by making a trade for me. I would love to come back here to Atlanta and pay my debt that I owe them. I owe them a season and I want to give that to them."
