The Golden State Valkyries secured the Women’s NBA title in just their second season with a 68-63 victory over the Atlanta Dream.
After the Dream levelled the seven-match series on Thursday, Gabby Williams starred for the Valkyries with 30 points to seal the win in the first Game Seven in WNBA Finals history.
Williams also claimed the WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player award.
“It’s easy when the energy is this good and positive,” said Williams. I wouldn’t change a thing.
“All it took was good people. We have winners, we have people who are ready to put their bodies on the floor to win a game.
“They don’t care about scoring. They just want to do defence and rebounding. Do whatever it takes and we built a beautiful culture here.”
Twenty eight of Williams’ points came in the second half, including a three-pointer with just over two minutes remaining to edge ahead by 60 points to the Dream’s 57, before free throws by Tiffany Hayes and Veronica Burton closed out the win.
The Valkyries are the WNBA’s newest team, having been formed in 2024, and won in front of a sell-out crowd of more than 18,000 fans at San Francisco’s Chase Center.
It is the fourth time that Dream have lost the finals in their 18-year history.
SAN FRANCISCO — Gabby Williams scored her team’s final 11 points of the third quarter and dazzled through the fourth on the way to 30 points, and the Golden State Valkyries captured a championship in just their second season by beating the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in a sensational first WNBA Finals Game 7 on Saturday night.
Jordin Canada scored 18 points, Allisha Gray 16 and Angel Reese had eight points and 12 rebounds for the Dream, denied another championship in the franchise’s fourth try.
Gray made two free throws with 11 seconds left then Atlanta forced a jump ball — Gray against Williams — and Veronica Burton corralled it and converted two free throws with 5.1 seconds to go.
“I’m just so blessed, this is insane!” said Burton, cut by Dallas two years ago.
Rhyne Howard’s layup tied it at 57 with 2:41 left only for Williams to answer once more with a clutch three-pointer. She converted two free throws with 1:40 remaining, then Kiah Stokes scored a late basket. Stokes pulled down 13 rebounds and blocked two more shots to cap her spectacular postseason.
Williams left Seattle with a great feeling about joining Golden State and its close-knit culture, returning to the Bay Area where she played youth basketball to build something special with the Valkyries — and she’s now done that. Fans chanted “Gabby! Gabby!” throughout the fourth quarter.
“All it took was good people,” she said. “All we heard last year was we don’t have no stars. We don’t have no talent. Yeah right! We got good people. We got good people. We got winners. We got people who are ready to put their bodies on the floor to win a game.”
When the final buzzer sounded, the violet-clad sellout crowd at Chase Center went into a frenzy as players sprinted onto the floor to hug and celebrate as confetti fell from the rafters.
“Ballhalla” had become “Boohalla” for this far-but-haunted Halloween night in the raucous arena. Now, with a women’s championship to its name right alongside the one earned by the Golden State Warriors in 2022.
“We gotta build a bigger trophy case,” co-owner Peter Guber said.
The team that led at halftime in the first six matchups had won every game so far, and the Dream were ahead 30-24 at the break. Atlanta also had been 16-0 this season when Reese made at least one 3. The Dream’s DeWanna Bonner became the first player in WNBA history to reach 600 career postseason defensive rebounds.
Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase changed her starting lineup in a move that paid huge dividends after Golden State fell behind 2-1, inserting Kaila Charles and Tiffany Hayes and bringing Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini off the bench.
The 37-year-old Hayes, who came out of retirement two years ago and spent 10 seasons with the Dream, scored 11 points in the winner-take-all Game 7 and brought energy all series that made Nakase want to win for the veteran guard as much as anybody.
Valkyries owner Joe Lacob guaranteed a championship within the first five years for this franchise three years ago when the Bay Area was granted an expansion team, and in improbable, joyful fashion, his team accomplished it in Year 2. That after becoming the first expansion organization to reach the playoffs in its inaugural year in 2025.
During the victory ceremony, Lacob shouted out the team and its leaders, while Nakase, general manager Ohemma Nyanin and president Jess Smith hugged. And Lacob thanked the fans who have sold out Chase Center for every game since Day 1.
If you need permission to watch “The Permission” — a.k.a. Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream — try to keep her team’s WNBA championship dreams alive, Flavor Flav’s got you covered.
The rapper issued signed permission slips Tuesday on social media for everyone to be excused from work on Thursday to watch Game 6 of the WNBA Finals. The next matchup in the best-of-seven championship series between the Dream and the Golden State Valkyries is set to tip off at 9:30 a.m. Pacific that day, when many people would be at work.
“Thursday is a paid holiday. Because Flavor Flav said so,” Flav, whose name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr., declared on Instagram and Threads. “Everyone should be able to watch Women’s Sports.”
The document, which includes a blank space for fans to fill in their own names, urges bosses to “go ahead and approve that day off” for the “very important” Game 6 of the WNBA Finals.
“You support women’s sports, RIGHT?!” the self-proclaimed “World’s Greatest Hype Man” wrote in the note. “Consider it your contribution to gender equality.”
The Valkyries clinched Game 5 at home at the Chase Center on Monday night 64-55 to move within one game of the team’s first-ever WNBA title. The Bay Area expansion team, led by head coach Natalie Nakase and known for its emphasis on defense, is just in its second season.
Flav’s note echoes the message Valkyries stars Veronica Burton and Kiah Stokes sent after Monday’s win to encourage their fans to tune in to Game 6.
“Call in sick,” Burton said. “I recommend it.”
“Y’all know how to fake a cough,” Stokes added.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens also shared a statement Tuesday on Threads asking employers and educators to “show a little love and extend a little grace” to those who may be cheering the Dream on during their school or work hours.
“Lean into the historic moment, embrace the excitement and let Atlanta show up for Atlanta,” he wrote.
The WNBA announced Monday that Game 6 would be played at State Farm Arena in Atlanta with the earlier start time. The game was originally scheduled for 5 p.m. Pacific but was rescheduled so it could be played in the larger arena. Games 3 and 4 of the series were also moved to the larger venue.
The Dream normally play at the 3,500-seat Gateway Center Arena at College Park. State Farm Arena, which can seat around 17,000 for basketball games, will host all Dream home games starting in the 2027 season.
The matinee timing of Game 6 is because of Atlanta’s NBA team, the Hawks, also being scheduled to play at State Farm Arena on Thursday. The team will face the Cleveland Cavaliers for a regular-season matchup at 5 p.m. Pacific.
“Thank you for your cooperation and for doing the right thing,” Flav wrote.
SAN FRANCISCO — Kiah Stokes had 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots as the Golden State Valkyries moved within one win of a championship in their second season, beating the Atlanta Dream 64-55 in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Monday night.
Angel Reese finished with seven points, 15 rebounds and five assists — a big difference from her two standout performances in the first two games of the series at Chase Center. Reese shook her head when whistled for the second of her three offensive fouls with 7:43 to play.
Fans screamed and clapped thunder sticks following the final buzzer as Stokes spoke from the floor to chants of “MVP!”
“We appreciate you,” a smiling Stokes said. “We got one more.”
On a night leading scorer Gabby Williams struggled to find her shooting touch, Golden State found the “strength in numbers” mantra that coach Natalie Nakase has praised all season long and everybody made an influence. Veronica Burton had 13 points and eight rebounds.
On Saturday, Nakase had changed up her lineup for a 67-62 Game 4 win by inserting Tiffany Hayes and Kaila Charles into the starting five. She stayed with those two Monday night, and it worked again. Hayes, who played 10 seasons for Atlanta and came out of retirement two years ago, had 12 points — and Nakase has said she wants to win it all for the veteran guard.
Williams began two for 11 and missed all four of her three three-point tries, but she converted a three-point play with 9:08 remaining to put the Valkyries ahead 49-42 and finished with nine points on three-for-14 shooting and six rebounds.
Atlanta will now try to stave off elimination at home Thursday in Game 6 and force a deciding Game 7 back at Chase Center on Saturday. The Dream hurt themselves with 17 turnovers that led to 21 points for Golden State.
Stokes hit a key three-pointer with 2:46 to go in the third quarter and another with 7:21 left in the game, which ignited chants of “Ki-ah! Ki-ah!” from the crazed, rally towel-waving “Ballhalla” home crowd at Chase Center.
Stokes has recorded three or more blocks in six straight games, tying her with Lisa Leslie in 2003 for the longest such streak in a single WNBA postseason.
The Valkyries used a dominant second half after they led 25-22 at the break, the lowest scoring first half combined score in WNBA Finals history.
Rhyne Howard’s three-point play with 4:59 left in the third pulled Atlanta within 34-31, but after that it was Stokes, Burton and the Valkyries coming up with all the crucial plays on both ends.
Golden State owner Joe Lacob promised a championship within five years in a bold declaration when the expansion franchise was granted to the Bay Area three years ago, yet this season has exceeded even what he could have envisioned.
Neither team could find a flow from three-point range in the first half as the teams combined to shoot five for 29 from deep — three of 16 by Golden State and two for 13 by Atlanta.
Earlier Monday, the league announced Game 6 would be played at 17,000-seat State Farm Arena in Atlanta starting at 12:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday — a time when many fans on both coasts will be working.
“I’d like to see it be a national holiday for all WNBA championship games so whatever somebody can do,” Dream coach Karl Smesko said. “I hope everybody gets to see it somehow and I know that for some people it’s not realistic, they have jobs and won’t be able to make it. So I’m disappointed for that but I’m really hopeful that as many people can see the game as possible.”
Mark Walter is looking to sell the WNBA’s Sparks, taking another step in the dismantling of his sports-team empire, according to people familiar with the matter.
Walter, a co-founder of money management firm Guggenheim Partners, sold the Lakers earlier this year at a $12.5 billion valuation to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger, but the WNBA team had remained under his ownership. Kushner and Iger later discussed acquiring the Sparks, but they are not among potential buyers, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the talks are private.
Sportico values the team at $400 million. Walter is looking to sell the franchise and a related practice facility for more than $700 million, said one of the people, who wasn’t authorized to speak discussing private dealings. The practice facility, which was constructed for $150 million, is scheduled to open before the start of the 2027 season. The franchise plays in the Crypto.com Arena.
Such a deal would be by far the largest WNBA franchise sale in history. The current record of $300 million is held by Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the Houston Rockets who bought the Connecticut Sun and is in the midst of moving the franchise to Houston.
A spokesperson for Iger and Kushner declined to comment. A spokesperson for TWG Global, Walter’s holding company, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Sparks finished 16-28 during the WNBA season and have missed the playoffs for six straight seasons. The Sparks were one of the original eight teams when the WNBA was founded in 1997.
Rhyne Howard added 16 points and Naz Hillmon had 15 for the Dream, who host Game 4 on Saturday.
It was the second straight strong game for Reese, who had 30 points and 16 rebounds in Game 2, which the Dream also won for their first victory ever in the Finals. She now has a double-double in each game of the Finals.
“It feels good when you’re in the Finals. It’s a long season and you play against everybody and go through and push through, but when you can do it at the highest level, this is what you live for, this is what the offseason is for,” Reese said. “I put the work in for this moment and I’m just happy I could lead the team to a win. We’re feeling good going into Saturday.”
With the score tied at 49 in the third quarter, Atlanta scored eight straight, including four by Reese. Golden State got within 59-55 on Tiffany Hayes’ layup, but could get no closer as Atlanta closed the quarter scoring 12 of the final 14 points.
Atlanta has dominated the third quarter so far in the series, outscoring Golden State 63-35 in the three games.
This game was originally scheduled to be played on Thursday at the Gateway Center Arena, where the Dream play most of their home games. The league was able to work with the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena to play the next two games of the championship series there so that they could have a much bigger crowd. Gateway seats 3,500 fans while State Farm Arena can seat more than 17,000.
Wednesday night’s game was sold out, as is Game 4 on Saturday, which will also be played at State Farm Arena.
SAN FRANCISCO — Angel Reese had 30 points and 16 rebounds, Allisha Gray added 18 points and the Atlanta Dream stymied Golden State on both ends in the second half, beating the Valkyries 79-65 on Monday night to even the best-of-seven WNBA Finals at one game apiece.
Rhyne Howard set a Finals record with six steals, while Jordin Canada contributed 13 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds as the Dream earned the franchise’s first Finals victory after going winless in three previous trips — 0-10 overall. They now head home having salvaged a split in front of the boisterous “Ballhalla” crowd at Chase Center.
“This environment is tough to play in. Shoutout to the fans. Shout out my team, though,” Reese said. “We came and fought. I mean, that Game 1 was tough for us. But we moved on.”
Reese became the third player with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a Finals game, joining Jonquel Jones for Connecticut in 2019 and Breanna Stewart for Seattle in 2020.
“She was definitely way more aggressive, she had a great game,” Valkyries center Kiah Stokes said. “We let everyone kind of have their way.”
Game 3 is Wednesday in Atlanta, where the next two matchups were moved to the NBA Hawks’ State Farm Arena so more fans could attend. It holds more than 17,000, as opposed to the Dream’s regular home, Gateway Center Arena, which accommodates only 3,500.
Chase Center holds 18,064 and has sold out every game since the Valkyries began playing last year.
Gabby Williams finished with 14 points on three-for-15 shooting after she was the only Golden State player to score in double figures with 26 points in Saturday’s 68-64 Game 1 win. The Valkyries shot 34.4% and went seven for 24 from three-point range.
“We shot terribly,” point guard Veronica Burton said. “We missed shots that we make all the time.”
Foul trouble almost did in the Dream this time — but Reese simply wouldn’t have it. She went scoreless in the second half of the opener but delivered the big baskets and key defensive stops two days later, finishing 10 for 16 from the floor while dishing out three assists and blocking two shots.
“We watched film and saw the things that we messed up on. When I said that they didn’t do anything to mess us up, it was literally just us,” Reese said. “And we can see that tonight. And we’re gonna carry that over in Atlanta. Atlanta, y’all better pull up and pop out, I’m looking forward to it.”
Atlanta scored 24 points off Golden State’s 19 turnovers to hand the Valkyries their first loss in regulation since a 73-70 defeat at Chicago on Aug. 21. The Dream had just eight points off turnovers in Game 1 but returned to the defensive formula that advanced Atlanta this far.
Williams scored 26 points as the Golden State Valkyries came back to take the lead at home against the Atlanta Dream.
By AFP and The Associated Press
Published On 18 Oct 202618 Oct 2026
Gabby Williams scored a game-high 26 points, including four key free throws in the final 78 seconds as the Golden State Valkyries held off the Atlanta Dream 68-64 in game one of the WNBA Finals.
Williams, runner-up to Atlanta’s Angel Reese in Defensive Player of the Year voting, has emerged as an offensive force for the Valkyries in the playoffs and carried the scoring load on a tough shooting night for the hosts, who did not have another player score in double figures on Saturday.
Reese blocks the shot from Williams during the game [Noah Graham/Getty Images via AFP]
The French star took some time to warm up, going scoreless in the first quarter as the Valkyries got off to a tentative start in front of a raucous crowd at Chase Center.
“Once we all started having fun and the excitement got out, we started to kind of find our way,” Williams, who erupted for 16 points in the second quarter, said in an on-court interview.
“There was a lid on that basket tonight, but that’s why we rely on our defence,” she said.
Golden State trailed by one with 1 minute and 18 seconds remaining when Williams seized the rebound off a miss by Atlanta’s Allisha Gray and was fouled by Reese.
Williams made both free throws to put the Valkyries up 65-64 and added another pair of free throws to seal the win with 4.1 seconds left.
“It came down to getting stops and that’s been our bread-and-butter all year,” noted Williams, whose team has allowed 335 fewer points than any other in the WNBA this season. “That’s why we harp on it so much, because we’ve built such great defensive habits.”
Gray, the Dream’s leading scorer, returned after missing two games with a hand injury and scored 19 points, but she was scoreless in the fourth quarter, when Atlanta made just two of their 19 attempts from the floor.
Angel Reese of the Atlanta Dream reacts after the 68-64 loss [Ezra Shaw/Getty Images via AFP]
Reese added 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Rhyne Howard scored 12 for Atlanta.
Atlanta scored just two in an overall eight-point fourth quarter, where Gray was scoreless over the final 10 minutes and Reese scored all of her 14 points in the first half.
“I don’t think they really did anything,” Reese said. “Maybe that was just on me; I wasn’t aggressive enough with the ball and trying to get the ball and get to my spot. I’m definitely going to do a better job of that next game.”
The Valkyries will host game two of the best-of-seven series on Monday.
Both teams are chasing a first WNBA title. The Dream have come up empty in three prior trips to the Finals, most recently in 2013.
The Valkyries, who last year became the first WNBA expansion franchise to reach the playoffs in their inaugural season, are now contending for the title in their second.
Golden State Valkyries players celebrate at the end of game one [Jeff Chiu/AP Photo]
SAN FRANCISCO — Gabby Williams converted two free throws with 1:18 left to put Golden State ahead, two more with 4.1 seconds to go and finished with 26 points facing constant pressure from Atlanta’s stingy defense, and the Valkyries held off the Dream 68-64 in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday.
Williams scored 16 of her points in the second quarter and no other Valkyries reached double figures as they shot 32.1% and seven of 33 from three-point range.
“We always knew we were going to find a way somehow,” Williams said on the microphone postgame as fans chanted “Gabby! Gabby!”
Rhyne Howard missed a three-point try with 1:09 left but Angel Reese made a steal moments later. Naz Hillmon missed from deep. Kiah Stokes missed the first of two free throws with 23.8 seconds left. Then Allisha Gray missed a three with nine seconds left.
Williams then hit the free throws a few seconds later to seal the victory.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Monday night back at Chase Center, where the ear-piercing noise from a raucous “Ballhalla” crowd made for the exact hostile environment Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase requested from the home fans.
One of these two franchises will capture its first championship, and if the first game is any indication it’s going to be an all-out defensive fight.
Gray returned from injury to score 19 points, Reese added 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Jordin Canada contributed eight points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Dream, hitting a timely 13-foot jumper with 4:23 remaining.
Williams’ driving layup with 3:22 to play pulled Golden State within 62-61. Canada banged awkwardly into Williams’ knee on a box out during her late free throws and the Valkyries’ star was being cared for by an athletic trainer on the bench in the waning moments.
Gray was in the starting lineup and had gone through a light practice Friday after missing the last two games of Atlanta’s sweep of the New York Liberty in the best-of-three semifinal series with an injured left ring finger — on her shooting hand.
Golden State guard Tiffany Hayes hit her face hard on the floor trying to make a steal in the closing minutes and was down with 2:38 remaining before walking off the court on her own to the locker room.
Heidi Burge Horton, a former WNBA player who started her basketball career alongside her twin sister at Palos Verdes High School and inspired a Disney Channel Original Movie, has died. She was 54.
Horton died Oct. 5 after a battle with gliobastoma, a type of brain cancer, according to an online obituary. The former University of Virginia standout was reportedly diagnosed with the Grade 4 cancer last year and briefly went into remission, but the tumors returned in July, according to Houston news site Chron.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Heidi Burge Horton,” the Virginia women’s basketball team said in a statement posted last week on X. “Heidi was a cherished member of the Virginia Women’s Basketball family, her legacy will forever be a part of Virginia Athletics.”
Horton and her identical twin, Heather Burge, played four seasons at Virginia, where they helped the team win three Atlantic Coast Conference titles and make three NCAA Final Fours under future Hall of Fame coach Debbie Ryan. Among their teammates at college was Dawn Staley, the Hall of Famer and Olympian who coaches the University of South Carolina.
“We are all heartbroken!” Staley wrote on X following Horton’s death. “We love you Heidi. May your soul rest in peace and your body pain free.”
The University of Virginia’s Heidi Burge, right, with sister and teammate Heather Burge during the 1991 NCAA women’s championship game against Tennessee.
(Jim Gund / Getty Images)
After graduating from college, Horton and her sister headed overseas to play professionally in Europe. When the WNBA was formed in 1996, she joined the Sparks to play in the inaugural season alongside a familiar face, Lisa Leslie.
“I played with the twins since we were 14 years old,” Leslie wrote, along with a broken heart emoji, in the comments of the WNBA’s Instagram post announcing Horton’s death. “I’m so sad to hear this! I pray for the whole family.”
Heidi Ann Burge was born six minutes after her twin sister, Heather Marie, on Nov. 12, 1971, in Harbor City. She grew up in Redondo Beach before her family moved to Palos Verdes so the sisters could attend the high school there, according to a notice by Eickenhorst Funeral Services.
The twins didn’t grow up playing basketball but were recruited by Palos Verdes High‘s coach, who noticed their towering height. Both sisters were 6 feet 1 by ninth grade and would grow to be 6-5.
Horton was more resistant to trying out than her sister, and both were novices when they joined the team. The sisters would become star players over the course of their high school careers, but they were praised more for their character and work ethic than their impact on the court.
“I don’t think they’ve had a weekend off in three years,” their coach, Wendell Yoshida, told The Times in 1989. “They’ve practiced when they didn’t want to practice. They’ve worked through the tears, the sweat, the hurt, the pain. That’s what made them special. They didn’t make it just because they’re tall.”
Horton was known as the more outgoing and gregarious of the pair, but both sisters were described as being inquisitive, opinionated, fiercely loyal and competitive.
The adjustment to the college game was a bit rough for them at first, and the sisters did not get much playing time together until their junior year. They developed a reputation for being prone to mistakes and turnovers and were considered a bit soft. But once again, the sisters put in the work to improve and became key pieces for their team.
“When we did cry it was mostly out of frustration,” Horton told The Times in 1992. “Just not being able to do the things the other players could do. … Our defense wasn’t effective enough for us to deserve to be out there together. Now, we’ve proved offensively and defensively that we are an unstoppable pair when we get to play together.”
Heidi Burge, right, rises up to block Houston Comets guard Kim Perrot during a game on July 16, 1997.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
After graduating with degrees in Spanish and rhetoric and communications studies, Horton played basketball professionally in Europe. After the establishment of the WNBA, she played for the Sparks in 1997 and the Washington Mystics in 1998 before retiring after two seasons.
Horton and her sister inspired the 2002 Disney Channel Original Movie, “Double Teamed.” The movie told a fictionalized account of the twins’ time at Palos Verdes High School. Horton was portrayed by Annie McElwain.
After retiring from playing, Horton moved to Houston, where she briefly served as a commentator for the Comets. She later became involved with Hoops-School, a youth basketball camp where she served as a coach and mentor.
“When you had the kind of coaching I did, you have to work really hard,” Horton told the Buzz Magazines in 2024. “But I also want to give a lot of credit to my coaches. Now I get to give the golden nuggets of wisdom to the kids I coach.
“Second graders, fifth graders, they listen,” she added. “That’s the biggest reward in your whole life. I had so many people pour into me, and I get to just pour it right out. That’s the torch.”
Horton is survived by her husband, Patrick; their children, Jonathan and Holly; her twin sister, Heather Quella, and other loved ones.
The Atlanta Dream will host Games 3 and 4 of the WNBA Finals against the Golden State Valkyries in the building they will call home starting next season, not the one where they played most of their home games this year.
That’s good because State Farm Arena — home of the NBA’s Hawks and soon-to-be the fulltime home of the Dream — can seat around 17,000 people, while Gateway Center Arena — the WNBA franchise’s home facility since 2021 — can only hold 3,500 fans.
“This is what the players and the fans deserve,” Dream majority owner Larry Gottesdiener said in a statement. “We are grateful to all of the stakeholders who worked together to resolve the conflicts and make this happen.”
Game 3 will be played Oct. 21 at 5 p.m. PDT. The game was originally supposed to be played the following day, but a Sombr concert is taking place at the arena on that date.
Game 4 will take place Oct. 24 at 10 a.m. PDT. While that date wasn’t changed, the game was originally slated to start 2 1/2 hours later. The Hawks also pushed back the time of their home opener that evening by a half-hour to 5:30 p.m. PDT to help accommodate the WNBA game.
“The change of venue dramatically expands the seating capacity and ensures that the Dream will be able to provide an extraordinary atmosphere for the first WNBA Finals game to be played in the Atlanta market since 2013,” league commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “We are pleased that thousands more fans across the Southeast region will have the opportunity to experience the ultimate WNBA action — the WNBA Finals — in person.”
The Dream played six regular-season games and all three home playoff games this season at State Farm Arena. Efforts to hold the Dream’s home Finals games at such area venues as Gas South Arena (around 13,000 seats) and Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion (8,600 seats), didn’t work out, according to USA Today.
There has been no word on the venue for a possible Game 6 of the best-of-seven series, which the Dream are currently scheduled to host on Oct. 29, the same date as another Hawks home game.
The Atlanta Dream made it to the WNBA Finals, which is obviously a good thing.
In fact, it’s so good that many fans will surely want to come out and support the team when it hosts Games 3 and 4, plus Game 6 if needed, against the Golden State Valkyries.
And that could be a problem. Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Ga., where the team has played most of its home games since 2021, seats only 3,500 people for basketball games.
The Dream played six regular-season games and all three home playoff games this season at the Atlanta Hawks’ State Farm Arena, which holds around 17,000 and will be the Dream’s official home venue starting next season. But that facility is booked for all three dates the team would need it, with a Sombr concert slated for Oct. 22 and Hawks regular-season games on Oct. 24 and 29.
So, what’s a franchise playing in its first WNBA Finals since 2013 to do?
It’s not a rhetorical question. The team hasn’t announced where their home games in the series will be played, and tickets for the games in Atlanta have yet to go on sale.
Last week, Dream president Morgan Shaw Parker said they were “finalizing details” on where the team’s home games will be played during the Finals. Efforts to move the games to larger area venues, such as Gas South Arena (around 13,000 seats) and Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion (8,600 seats), have hit snags, according to USA Today.
The Dream did not immediately respond Monday to questions from The Times. The WNBA referred questions back to the Dream.
The Valkyries play their home games at Chase Center in San Francisco, which seats around 18,000 people. A Doja Cat concert originally scheduled for Oct. 19 was rescheduled to Oct. 25 to avoid conflict with Game 2 of the WNBA Finals.
If the Dream can’t relocate the games, this wouldn’t be the first time WNBA Finals were held in a small venue: In 2019, the Washington Mystics hosted three games at their home venue (known now as CareFirst Arena), which seats about 4,200 people.
Led by Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, former UCLA star Jordin Canada and 2026 defensive player of the year Angel Reese, fourth-seeded Atlanta swept through the first two rounds of the playoffs, dismissing No. 5 Washington and No. 8 New York.
LAS VEGAS — Kayla Thornton scored 18 points and the second-year Golden State Valkyries became the quickest expansion team to reach the WNBA Finals, sweeping the defending champion Las Vegas Aces 87-77 in overtime Friday night in Game 3.
The second-seeded Valkyries will have home-court advantage and will host No. 4 Atlanta beginning Oct. 17. The Dream swept New York earlier on Friday, and now teams are 22-0 in playoff history when leading a series 2-0.
Las Vegas, which was seeded third, had won three of the past four championships.
Gabby Williams added 16 points for the Valkyries, including eight in overtime. Former Aces Kiah Stokes and Tiffany Hayes each had 11 points, and Stokes also grabbed 10 rebounds.
A’ja Wilson, honored before night’s game for winning an unprecedented fifth MVP, scored 21 points, but on six-for-19 shooting for the Aces. She also had 10 rebounds, joining DeWanna Bonner as the only players with 1,300 points and 600 rebounds in the postseason.
Jackie Young added 18 points and Chelsea Gray 17.
A 17-point run bolted Golden State past the Aces for a 53-47. Las Vegas closed within a point by the end of the quarter, giving the Aces only seven points in the period.
The Aces led by six points late in the game before the Valkyries evened the score when Gabby Williams stole the ball from Wilson and Thornton finished with a transition layup to make it 69-69 with 1:50 left.
Golden State then took the lead Veronica Burton’s 9-foot floater with 1:12 remaining. The Aces tied the score on Gray’s inbound pass to Young with 27 seconds left and ultimately force overtime.
The extra period belonged completely to the Valkyries, who outscored the Aces 16-6.
Former US Vice President Kamala Harris among those to hail Wilson as Las Vegas Aces centre continues record run.
Published On 9 Oct 20269 Oct 2026
A’ja Wilson fine-tunes her shooting touch after every practice. That extra work has defined her greatness since being drafted first overall in 2018.
On Thursday, she received a voice message from former Vice President Kamala Harris congratulating her on redefining greatness leaguewide after she was named the WNBA’s MVP for a third straight year and for the fifth time overall.
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“Obviously, that is an honour,” Wilson said. “A woman of our history, and I’m so appreciative to be able to share that moment with her through the phone call and the message of her delivering that I won my fifth MVP.”
In addition to becoming the first player to three-peat, Wilson won the award in 2020 and 2022.
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, Aces owner Mark Davis and team President Nikki Fargas accompanied Wilson’s mother, Eva, who presented her daughter with the trophy.
“Each one of these has not been taken lightly,” Wilson said while flanked by all five of her MVP trophies. “In my heart, they’ve always been so special. But this one here, I cried a little bit harder. This one here is just a little bit different. … When you dream as a young girl, you dream so big and you write your goals out, and you just never imagine that you were able to just check them off.
“And when you’re able to check them off – small wins, big wins – it truly means a lot. And so I think that’s why I cried a little bit harder on this one, because 15-year-old A’ja wasn’t sitting up here dreaming about being a five-time MVP. She wasn’t dreaming about being a three-time champion. She was dreaming about surviving this world.”
The 30-year-old Wilson once again led the league in scoring with an average of 26.2 points per game while shooting nearly 53 percent from the field. She averaged 9.4 rebounds per game, a career-best 3.2 assists and 1.9 blocks.
Wilson, centre, huddles with her teammates after they defeated the Indiana Fever in Game 3 of an WNBA basketball first-round playoff series [File: Steve Marcus/AP]
Wilson has the defending champion Aces back in the WNBA semifinals for the eighth consecutive season although Las Vegas is down 2-0 in the best-of-five series against Golden State. Game 3 is on Friday.
“This is great. I love it, not going to take for granted, shine her up, let’s do it,” Wilson said on Thursday. “But tomorrow, when it comes to hoisting it in front of the fans, I love the fans, … but I doubt I will be doing that. I’ll be warming up with my team. … Everyone in this room knows the competitor that I am. Everyone knows what my main focus is, and that is to get a game.”
Wilson received 65 first-place votes and nine second-place votes for a total of 713 points from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Minnesota’s Olivia Miles received six first-place votes and 40 second-place votes (442 points) while Indiana guards Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark followed with 287 and 212 points, respectively.
No WNBA player besides Wilson has more than three MVPs. Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson each have a trio. On the NBA side, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has six, and Michael Jordan and Bill Russell each have five.
“A’ja Wilson is one of one,” Fargas said. “She’s now standing in a category that no other WNBA player in the history of the league has accomplished. She’s in the conversations with the Michael Jordans and the Wayne Gretzkys of the world – where she belongs.”
All season long, Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase has been begging her team to empty the tank. In the winner-take-all Game 3 win over Dallas on Friday, it seems she took that too literally.
“The stress at this time of year is real,” said Becky Hammon, Las Vegas Aces coach and Nakase’s former mentor. “The pressure, you don’t get a lot of sleep. You’re not eating as well as you probably should. There’s a lot of factors that go into that. That was kind of scary actually to watch, and just you know, that little sucker popped right back up, though. Got right back up on that marker and kept it pushing.”
Nakase said Sunday she is fine and just battling exhaustion, something she is taking seriously in her quest to prioritize self-care.
“[My father] told me about 10 years ago when I never knew what I was going to do with my career, and he just said, ‘do not let your career ever get involved if your mental health or your health gets complicated,’” she said. “So when that happened, it definitely was like a wake-up call for me.”
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But anyone who knows Nakase is not surprised to see her truly empty the tank like this. Ever since the Huntington Beach native and Marina High graduate was a walk-on to UCLA’s team in 1998, she has had an unwavering intensity.
“She has that [intensity] but with a smile on her face,” said her high school coach Pete Bonny. “From the get-go, this is who she is.”
In her second season as a WNBA coach, those around her have seen her willingness to adapt to the situation.
“She has always found ways to keep us winning,” Valkyries assistant coach Landon Tatum said. “Her ability to change in real time and make adjustments I think is the biggest difference for her this year.”
Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase talks with Kaitlyn Chen during Game 1 of a WNBA semifinal series against the Las Vegas Aces in San Francisco on Sunday.
(Tony Avelar / Ap Photo/tony Avelar)
Nakase walked on at UCLA after turning down a scholarship offer from UC Irvine. With the Bruins, she became a starter and captain, earning honorable mention All-Pac-10 honors in 2002 and finishing her career ranked 10th in program history with 358 assists.
The Bruins made two NCAA tournament appearances during Nakase’s four seasons.
In her first year as a WNBA head coach, Nakase led the Valkyries to the postseason, the first time an expansion team ever accomplished that feat. It earned her the league’s coach of the year award.
“If you put all 44 games together, all 44 of the regular season, I don’t know if there’s a team that played harder than her team every [game] for the 44 games, and that’s that’s a tribute to her,” Hammon said. “That’s the highest compliment I can give someone.”
This year, Golden State went even deeper with a first-round series win over Dallas after finishing the regular season with the league’s second-best record. After top seed Minnesota was upset in the first round, the Valkyries now have home court throughout the postseason.
“She always sticks to her plan,” said Valkyries point guard Veronica Burton about how she has seen Nakase grow this season. “Every single game she approaches with the utmost respect. I think it says a lot about her as a coach, and then what she expects of us. I think every single game I know what to expect going in, and I know what she wants of me, and I know what she expects of me. She makes us feel prepared.”
Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase raises the WNBA Coach of the Year award before a playoff game against the Minnesota Lynx on Sept. 17, 2025, in San José.
(Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
Nakase was back on the sidelines on Sunday to face Hammon, wearing a heart monitor and trying to practice what she preaches about recovery. She ultimately led Golden State to a 71-60 win in Game 1 of the series.
Nakase does not plan on tempering her trademark fervor, even if this was an important learning experience. After all, she built an unlikely UCLA career and surging WNBA coaching career by sticking with who she is.
“She’s never been afraid that she knows she is going to mess up sometimes,” Tatum said. “Her ability to create a culture that fast, like that’s not easy. I think that’s when you kind of knew off top in training camp, like, oh yeah, I think she’s ready for this. She’s got this.”
Bruins’ Canada also thriving in WNBA playoffs
Dream guard Jordin Canada dribbles between New York Liberty center Han Xu, left, and guard Marine Johannes, right, during Game 1 of a WNBA semifinal series Sunday in Atlanta.
(Colin Hubbard / Associated Press)
The Associated Press’ Alan Cole highlighted a banner Sunday for UCLA alum Jordin Canada:
Jordin Canada scored 20 of her 25 points in the second half and had five steals to help the Atlanta Dream beat the New York Liberty 92-82 on Sunday in Game 1 of the best-of-five WNBA semifinals series.
DeWanna Bonner added 23 points and helped fill the void when Allisha Gray went down with a left hand injury in the second quarter. Atlanta once again played stellar defense, scoring 32 points off 21 forced turnovers, including 16 in a dominant third quarter. The 32 points off turnovers tied an all-time WNBA playoff record.
“Everybody stepped up, and that’s what we need,” Canada said. “Next-man up mentality. I just tried to do what I do best. I tried to be aggressive, find my shots and take my shots with confidence.”
Gray’s injury was the key moment of a very even first half. Neither team led by more than six points in a half that had 14 lead changes. New York went into the locker room with a slim 40-37 advantage. But Atlanta outscored New York 32-15 in the third quarter, seizing control with relentless defensive pressure.
“We knew we didn’t play our best in the first half,” Canada said. “We gave up a lot of defensive assignments, we weren’t playing up to our schemes and we just weren’t being aggressive enough on the offensive end.”
Angel Reese and Canada had three steals apiece in the third, keying a 13-3 run to start the half which gave Atlanta a lead it never surrendered. Seven New York players recorded at least one third-quarter turnover, and the team shot just four of 14 from the floor in a stretch that created a margin too big to overcome.
Oregon’s Lanning compares UCLA to national champs
Oregon coach Dan Lanning dodged questions this past week about the health of quarterback Dante Moore following a brutal hit during a win over USC by trying to focus on UCLA.
USC linebacker Desman Stephens II charged forward to tackle Moore on a run play on Sept. 26. Moore slid late and Stephens didn’t change course, lowering his shoulder and running into Moore’s head. Oregon players and fans were more offended after Stephens celebrated the play that nearly triggered a fight among the two teams and he was captured by NBC cameras smiling on the sideline while Moore was treated on the field before being transported to the hospital by ambulance. Stephens was ejected for targeting, but new NCAA rules allowed him to remain on the sideline and try to fire up his team during the second half.
A day after USC coach Lincoln Riley said he did not see Stephens’ sideline behavior and defended keeping him on the sideline in the second half, the school issued statements from Riley and Stephens apologizing for the hit and Stephens’ behavior while Moore received treatment. Stephens was suspended for one game.
Lanning called the play “disgusting” during his postgame news conference.
Oregon announced that Moore was diagnosed with a concussion, but tests showed no further injuries. Lanning said the team would be cautious as Moore recovers from the head injury.
Oregon, like UCLA, had a bye this past week and Lanning didn’t see reporters again until Wednesday. When asked for updates on Moore and for his thoughts on USC’s apologies and discipline, Lanning punted and instead compared UCLA to last year’s national champion.
“We’re about to play a UCLA team that reminds me a lot of Indiana from last year,” Lanning told reporters. “…Let’s just be honest. We’re not remotely close to what we need to be. We’re not remotely close.”
Lanning also said UCLA coach Bob Chesney texted him after the Ducks’ win over USC, offering to visit Moore if he had to remain in the hospital in Los Angeles. Moore instead was released and allowed to fly back to Oregon with his teammates.
Men’s water polo splits top-four matchups
The No. 1 UCLA men’s water polo split its marquee matchups to open Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play during the weekend.
The Bruins fell 19-15 to No. 2 Stanford on Saturday, but they rebounded for a 13-11 win over No. 4 California Sunday. Junior Ryder Dodd had five goals and three assists during the victory over the Golden Bears.
The Cardinal set a tougher pace on Saturday, leading by one goal at the end of the first, second and third quarters before extending their lead during a pivotal 7-4 fourth quarter. Dodd again paced the Bruins with four goals and five assists.
UCLA hosts Golden West College and California Baptist this weekend before the pressure rises again with a match at No. 3 USC on Oct. 17.
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Bruins on deck
Here are all UCLA games scheduled to be played this week across all sports, with all times Pacific:
Tuesday, Oct. 6
Men’s soccer vs. Westmont, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 8
Women’s soccer vs. Indiana, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 9
Men’s tennis at UC Santa Barbara Fall Classic, All day
Cross country at Wisconsin’s Nuttycombe Invite, Time TBA
Women’s volleyball at Maryland, 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 10
Men’s tennis at UC Santa Barbara Fall Classic, All day
Football at Oregon, 12:30 p.m.
Men’s water polo vs. Golden West College, 1 p.m.
Women’s volleyball at Rutgers, 4 p.m.
Men’s water polo vs. California Baptist, 6 p.m.
Men’s soccer vs. Ohio State, 6 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 11
Men’s tennis at UC Santa Barbara Fall Classic, All day
Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Sports editor Iliana Limón Romero contributed to this report.
