It’s never a good time to hear you’ve been cut from your team — but being told just hours before your season opener might be one of the worst.
That’s what happened to former Atlanta Dream guard Holly Winterburn on Saturday. Just two days after being announced as part of the 2026 roster for the Dream, Winterburn was waived so the team could pick up Aaliyah Nye.
According to Winterburn, she found out as she was boarding the team bus to head to their first official game of the season.
“I thought my welcome to the W moment would happen on the court, not as I’m getting on the bus for my first ever game,” Winterburn wrote in a post shared to her Instagram story on Tuesday. “But that’s the reality of this business & I will always be grateful for the opportunity Atlanta gave me.”
But it appears Winterburn’s WNBA dreams are not yet over. On Wednesday, it was announced that she has signed a developmental player contract with the Portland Fire.
Winterburn’s journey to the WNBA has been a bit of a roller coaster. The British guard played for the Oregon Ducks during the 2019-2020 season before it was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. She first signed to play with the Dream in 2025, but missed the season because of injury. After a strong preseason showing — including 12 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals against the Washington Mystics on May 3 — it appeared as if Winterburn had secured her spot with the team.
But the WNBA showed once again why it is regarded as one of the toughest professional leagues to break into when Winterburn was waived. It’s not unusual for players to be blindsided by abrupt roster moves, good or bad.
Last year, Belgian guard Julie Vanloo was informed she had been cut by the Golden State Valkyries an hour after landing in San Francisco. The EuroBasket winner had skipped her team’s victory celebration to hop on a flight back to the WNBA team prior to receiving the news.
In the lead-up to the 2025 season, Stanford alum Karlie Samuelson boarded a flight as a member of the Mystics and learned when she landed that she had been traded to the Minnesota Lynx.
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