In the middle of Chase Center, the Golden State Valkyries gathered somewhere they have been only a handful of times. They are, after all, just a second-year franchise.
But on Saturday night they came together to collect their trophy as WNBA champions. Kaila Charles embraced Tiffany Hayes as they jumped up and down. Kayla Thornton screamed towards the ceiling.
Teams are not supposed to do this so fast, but the Valkyries did.
Gabby Williams earned the finals MVP award and scored 30 points, most of them coming in a second-half tear in which she carried the Valkyries to a 68-63 win over the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 of the WNBA finals.
Point guard Veronica Burton said that at half-time, Williams seemed ready to take over.
Quick GuideWNBA finals 2026
Show
Schedule
Best-of-seven series. All times US Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
Sat 17 Oct Game 1: Golden State 68, Atlanta 64
Mon 19 Oct Game 2: Atlanta 79, Golden State 65
Wed 21 Oct Game 3: Atlanta 97, Golden State 71
Sat 24 Oct Game 4: Golden State 67, Atlanta 62
Mon 26 Oct Game 5: Golden State 64, Atlanta 55
Thu 29 Oct Game 6: Atlanta 80, Golden State 69
Sat 31 Oct Game 7: Golden State 68, Atlanta 63
How to watch
In the US, the series will air on NBC, USA Network and CNBC, with all games streaming on Peacock. In the UK, it will be carried by Sky Sports. In Australia, fans can watch through WNBA League Pass, with selected coverage also available through ESPN.
“She was like, ‘I just gotta get going,’” Burton said. “She clearly did that. And of course, like once we were rolling, it was over with … [She said that at half-time] and it was like, what can we do [to get her the ball]? What do you want me to call? What can I do? And it was just that she just entered a different moment. Honestly, it was incredible to see, but not surprising.”
From there, Thornton said, it was all but done.
“Gabby did her thing,” Thornton said with a grin, wearing purple goggles on her head from the champagne celebration behind the interview area. “I told her, hey, this is your second half. I saw her hit that [first three-pointer] and I knew, it’s a wrap. She about to eat.”
It is the first championship in franchise history for the Valkyries, who began play just two seasons ago. They beat Dallas in the first round and swept the defending champions Las Vegas Aces to reach the finals before prevailing in an intense, seven-game slugfest against Atlanta.
It was also the first Game 7 in WNBA history. The league expanded the finals to a best-of-seven format last year, but Las Vegas swept Phoenix in four games.
“It [happened in] two years, that’s insane,” said Valkyries owner Joe Lacob. “It’s just a lot of good decisions, a lot of good execution, a great coach.”
The Valkyries led 14-12 after the first quarter on Saturday, thanks in large part to an 8-0 run to open the game. Golden State recorded five blocks before the Dream made their first field goal, but Atlanta responded with a 7-0 run to briefly take the lead.
The second quarter, though, was a reversal of the first. Golden State did not make a field goal until three minutes remained in the period, while the Dream went on a 9-0 run. The Valkyries had missed their first 10 three-point attempts before Thornton finally connected from beyond the arc in the second.
After Golden State had struggled from long range all game, Williams hit three consecutive three-pointers in the third quarter to cut Atlanta’s lead to two. The Valkyries led 45-44 entering the fourth, largely thanks to Williams’s 15 points in the period.
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“I always felt good,” Burton said. “I liked the pace we were playing. It was a low-scoring game, and they weren’t getting out in transition, so I felt good. You know, even when we’re down four, six, whatever it may be.”
Allisha Gray hit a mid-range jumper to tie the score at 53 with 4min 52sec remaining, but the Valkyries retook the lead a minute and a half later on a Williams free throw.
From there, the teams traded blows in a finish that mirrored the back-and-forth nature of the series.
Williams gave Golden State a 60-57 lead with 2min 14sec remaining on a contested three-pointer with two seconds left on the shot clock, and the Dream never recovered.
“[Nakase] told me to stay patient,” Williams said. “I trust her with my life. I stayed patient. I trusted her. She said, ‘Stay patient, stay patient. The game is going to open up for you,’ [and] it did.”
Golden State won Games 1, 4 and 5 before clinching the series in Game 7 on their home court. The Valkyries entered the postseason as the No 2 seed and enjoyed home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Hayes scored 11 points en route to her first WNBA title at the age of 37, while point guard Veronica Burton added 10 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. For Atlanta, Jordin Canada scored 18 points, Gray added 16 and Angel Reese was held to eight points and 12 rebounds.
The Valkyries went 32-12 in the regular season and earned the No 2 seed after narrowly defeating the Sparks on the final day of the regular season. After that, they came back from 16 points down in Game 3 against Dallas, 17 points down in Game 3 against Las Vegas, and a 2-1 series deficit against the Dream.
