The Golden State Valkyries celebrate their WNBA Championship after winning over the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (Photo credits to Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
By Michael Villanueva
SAN FRANCISCO – In just their second season, the Golden State Valkyries are the 2026 WNBA Champions. On Halloween night, things got real spooky in Ballhalla. The Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream returned to the Bay Area for one final WNBA Finals game. Game 7: the winner takes it all. Both teams are looking for their first franchise championship, but one of these teams must go home with the loss. So, with that being said, the Golden State Valkyries would beat the Atlanta Dream in game seven, at home, 68-63.
Game six of the WNBA Finals was in Atlanta, where the Dream would get the win, 80-69, to push a game seven Saturday. In the loss, the Valkyries’ Gabby Williams would lead the team with her 26 points. While Atlanta’s Alisha Gray would drop 23 points in their win. Atlanta would also go off and score 22 points in the 4th quarter alone.
Head coach Natalie Nakase knew the championship was on the line. So coach Nakase was not gonna risk it and put Tiffany Hayes in the starting lineup. Hayes has been a vital part of the Valkyries offense all year, and with one win away from becoming champions. Golden State was ready and wanting to strike first in this finale. As far as that, it would be the same starters with Gabby Williams, Kiah Stokes, Veronica Burton, and Kaila Charles.
Atlanta Dream wouldn’t change much to their starting lineup. Head coach Karl Smesko sent out Angel Reese, Jordin Canada, Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, and Naz Hillmon as the starting five. Atlanta is also looking for their first WNBA Championship with this win. In this series, Dream would win just one game in Chase Center, and that was game two of the WNBA Finals, 79-65.
Valkyries Veronica Burton wasted no time and wanted Golden State to strike first in this win-or-lose game. She would score the first basket of the evening with a floater inside, and then on the transition to defense. Kiah Stokes would get her first block of the night, and just get the fans to erupt in Chase Center. Then just one possession later, Stokes would make her presence felt and get two blocks in the first three minutes of the game.
Atlanta would miss their first eight shots to start the game, but that wouldn’t let their spirits down. After the first six minutes of the first quarter, Dream would get their first basket and then go on a quick 4-0 scoring run. The score after that would be 8-4, then Atlanta’s Alisha Gray would knock down a three-pointer, the first of the night, and cut the lead to one, 8-7.
At the end of the first quarter, Veronica Burton would still carry that energy and end the quarter by beating the buzzer with a floater. Burton would have 6 points, on 3-for-4 shooting, and with one block. Golden State would go the entire first quarter without making any three-pointers, and the score would be 14-12; the Valkyries hold the lead. Both of these teams are known for having great defense and take pride in it, and shows on these quarters in this series have been low.
In the second quarter, Dream would start it off by going on a 5-0 scoring run and retaking the lead. They would turn that 5-point run into a 9-point run while the Valkyries were starting to see some struggles with their shooting. Golden State would go almost six minutes without scoring a point, and Atlanta’s lead would go to 24-17. Valkyries Kayla Thornton would make the first three-pointer for the team. With the made shot, Golden State so far would be 1-for-11 from shooting beyond the arc.
At halftime, Atlanta would remain to hold the lead over Golden State at 30-24. Dream’s Jordin Canada would have 13 points and 3 rebounds. Angel Reese was also showing flashes of her game in this finale as she had 5 points and 7 rebounds. Valkyries’ Veronica Burton led the team in the first half with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
In the third quarter, Jordin Canada would start it off by making a three-pointer to set the tone for Atlanta as the game entered the final half before a champion was crowned. Halfway through the quarter, Atlanta’s lead would jump to 9 points, 37-28. Then, Gabby Williams would take over, with Kiah Stokes leading the charge by making a layup to cut the lead to 7 points. The Valkyries would erupt in the final four minutes and put up 21 points. Williams would put up 15 points alone in the third quarter, and by the end of it. The score was 45-44; the Valkyries held the lead by 1 point.
Going into the final quarter of the 2026 WNBA season. Everything was on the line for both of these teams as they’re just moments and within reach of getting their teams their first championship. Valkyries Tiffany Hayes would show off her aggressiveness and power her way to a layup and give the Valkyries a 3-point lead, 49-46. Then Williams would get fouled and make both of her free throws, and now Golden State is up by 5 points, 51-46.
Atlanta was showing off their perseverance and not giving up on this game. Dream’s Alisha Gray would make a fadeaway jump shot and tie the game, 53-53, with five minutes remaining. Then Rhyne Howard would foul Gabby Williams, and Williams would make both of the shots, 55-53. Williams would put all her effort on the court, as she went on a 9-0 scoring run by herself. With a minute left, Golden State had the lead, 62-57.
Thirty-four seconds left, Atlanta is down and on a Hail Mary shot. Allisha Gray would make a 23-foot three-pointer to cut the lead to 4 points, 64-60. However, with time not on their side and with the crowd screaming. Atlanta’s hope of winning was getting smaller. Eventually, Veronica Burton would get the final blow on the Atlanta Dream as she would get fouled on a shot and make both of the shots. With that, the final score of the game and the 2026 WNBA season would be 68-63.
Gabby Williams would be the 2026 WNBA Finals MVP. Williams has made history throughout the Finals; she led Golden State with 19.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.7 APG, and 2.6 SPG. With 137 total points and 18 total steals, she set a new WNBA Finals record for the most points and steals in a single Finals series. In this game seven finale, she finishes with 30 points, 4 blocks, 2 assists, and 2 steals. So with that, the 2026 WNBA Champions are the Golden State Valkyries. They are now the fastest expansion team in league history to win a Championship.
