The Golden State Valkyries brought to a conclusion a WNBA season that shattered viewership and attendance records with their first WNBA championship Saturday in a thrilling 68-63 victory over the Atlanta Dream in Game 7.
The victory was the first for a team in a Game 7. The league transitioned from a five-game series to a seven-game series starting last year.
This is the first title for the Valkyries in just their second season as a team. And the Dream are now winless in four WNBA Finals appearances.
The 2026 season was an unqualified success for the WNBA. The league set a new attendance record with 3.8 million fans attending 330 regular season games, according to the WNBA. The league said average attendance was up 21% from last year’s record high.
ESPN, ABC and CBS all delivered their most-watched seasons in history, according to the WNBA. The league had three times as many games averaging at least 1 million viewers as the previous record set last year.
How they got here
The Valkyries, despite having just one All-Star, took a major leap in just their second year in the league.
The team is owned by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, who also own the Golden State Warriors. The team quickly became relevant, going 23-21 in their first year in existence before losing in the first round of the playoffs.
The signing of Gabby Williams in the offseason propelled the team to even greater success. The Valkyries went 32-12 in the regular season and beat the Paige Bueckers-led Dallas Wings and A’ja Wilson-led Las Vegas Aces to advance to the title series.
The Dream didn’t lose a game on its path to the title series, defeating the Kiki Iriafen-led Washington Mystics and the Breanna Stewart-led New York Liberty in sweeps.
The Valkyries won Game 1 at home, 68-64, behind 26 points from Williams. Atlanta dominated the next two games behind all-time great performances from star Angel Reese. The Dream star posted 30 points and 16 rebounds in Game 2 and 21 points and 12 rebounds in Game 3.
Reese struggled to score in games 4 and 5, shooting just 4-of-20 with 15 points combined, as the Valkyries wrestled control of the series away from the Dream.
Game 6 controversy
Game 6 started at 12:30 p.m. since the Atlanta Hawks were scheduled to play at the State Farm Arena on Thursday night. The Dream plays its regular season games at Gateway Center Arena, but its capacity is just 3,500 compared to about 17,000 at State Farm Arena.
“This incredible run by our players has also made something else abundantly clear: the Atlanta Dream has earned the right to be taken seriously,” the team’s ownership, husband and wife Larry Gottesdiener and Robyn Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair and Renee Montgomery, said in a statement.
“Two months ago, when the WNBA finalized playoff dates and times, we raised concerns that the W Finals schedule conflicted with NBA games at State Farm Arena,” the statement continued. “As we moved through the playoffs, we reiterated those concerns. Our concerns did not receive the attention, nor the urgency that they deserved.”
Despite the early start time, the Dream still sold out the arena.
In a statement, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league preferred to play the game at State Farm Arena.
“The sellout crowds and extraordinary atmosphere at State Farm Arena for Games 3 and 4 were a tremendous success, and we’re excited to give thousands more fans the opportunity to experience Game 6 with a championship on the line,” said Engelbert. “We thank the NBA, Dream, Valkyries, Hawks, State Farm Arena and USA Network for the collaboration and flexibility that made this move possible. We look forward to delivering another unforgettable Finals experience in Atlanta.”
