Valkyries capture WNBA title in 2nd season, topping Dream in Game 7
Valkyries capture WNBA title in 2nd season, topping Dream in Game 7
Field Level Media Sun, November 1, 2026 at 6:04 AM UTC
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On a night when Gabby Williams scored 30 points, the WNBA staged its first Game 7 in a championship series and the Golden State Valkyries captured their first title, strength in numbers was credited with propelling the second-year club to historic heights.
From owner Joe Lacob to coach Natalie Nakase and star player Williams, one number stood out: 18,064.
"Ballhalla," Lacob screamed into a live microphone in tribute to the deafening capacity crowd at Chase Center in San Francisco during the trophy ceremony after his Valkyries had defeated the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in a hard-fought, winner-take-all finale. "Ballhalla."
Williams overcame a 1-for-4, two-point first half to become the first player in WNBA postseason history to score 28 points in a half. The Valkyries' only All-Star, who joined the team as a free agent in the offseason, joined Lacob in thanking a crowd that has sold out every game in franchise history while setting league attendance records.
"Honestly, everyone here, not just the players and the staff. (Also) the community, the city, the (San Francisco) Bay (Area)," she gushed at center court shortly after being named the series' Most Valuable Player. "Y'all have been pouring into me all season. It's a long season and y'all gave me energy.
"When the energy is this good and positive, it's easy to come to work every day. That's what I came here for."
Playing 38 of the game's 40 minutes, Williams saved enough energy to channel Stephen Curry on a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:18 remaining and later win a key jump ball. Kiah Stokes converted a rare late Williams miss into a key basket with 53 seconds left, sending the violet-clad crowd into a frenzy.
In the end, Nakase recognized the enormity of assembling a group of players left unprotected in the expansion draft, a handful of international imports and one key free-agent signing into a team that finished with the league's second-best regular-season record and became the first to win a Game 7 in WNBA Finals history.
"This is for all the people out there who are underrated, misunderstood. This is for all y'all," she said from midcourt to the home fans and a national television audience. "This is proof: If you put all your heart and all your soul (into it), you can win championships."
Rallying from a nine-point deficit in the third quarter, the Valkyries were tied at 53 midway through the fourth after Allisha Gray connected on a short jumper for Atlanta with 5:14 remaining.
Williams, after spearheading an earlier rally, came alive again. She hit two free throws with 3:34 to go and a driving layup 32 seconds later as the teams exchanged baskets. She then buried arguably the most important shot in Valkyries history -- a 31-footer that gave Golden State the lead for good at 60-57 with 2:18 remaining.
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She added two free throws, and when Stokes tipped in her teammate's miss in the final minute, Chase Center -- nicknamed "Ballhalla" -- erupted as Golden State took a 64-57 advantage that it protected the rest of the way.
"We didn't let anyone put a limit on us all year," Veronica Burton said. "When you work hard and you put your head down and drive, anything's possible."
Burton backed Williams with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Williams' 30 points were her second-most in a playoff game, topped only by the 36 she scored in Game 2 of Golden State's first-round series win over the Dallas Wings on Sept. 30. She made 10 of 23 field-goal attempts Saturday, when neither team shot well.
She set WNBA Finals records for points (137) and steals (18). She also had four of Golden State's eight blocks in the championship game.
Besides holding Dream star Angel Reese to eight points, Stokes had a game-high 13 rebounds for the Valkyries, who won despite making just five of 20 3-point attempts. The Golden State center also had two blocks, giving her a WNBA Finals-record 19 en route to her fourth title.
Tiffany Hayes also aided the Golden State cause with 11 points.
Jordin Canada had 18 points and Gray added 16 for Atlanta, which shot just 33.3% overall (23 of 69) and 6-for-30 from beyond the arc.
"I'm just grateful I got to go to war with this group," Reese, who led Atlanta with 12 rebounds, told reporters afterward. "It's tough in the moment, but we'll be back."
Dream coach Karl Smesko lamented what he called "a lot of little stretches" of subpar play, including a game-opening 5:19 in which Atlanta went scoreless, falling behind 8-0 while missing eight straight shots -- four 3-pointers and four shots from inside the arc that were all blocked -- and committing four turnovers.
"It's beyond frustrating that we didn't accomplish what we set out to accomplish," he said at his postgame press conference. "Those first five minutes ... you can't get those five minutes back."
--Field Level Media
Source: “AOL Sports”
