Valkyries Beat Dream 68-63 in Game 7 to Win WNBA Finals 4-3; Both Teams Left Floor for Anthem in All Seven Games

Since the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries began leaving the floor for the national anthem before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, the series ran the full seven games. It ended Saturday, Oct. 31, at Chase Center in San Francisco, where Golden State beat Atlanta 68-63 to win 4-3 and claim the franchise's first title.

It was the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history. Both teams again left the court before tipoff, so the anthem was played without either roster on the floor in all seven games.

Williams takes over after halftime

Gabby Williams scored two points in the first half. She finished with 30.

She scored 15 in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth, and she was named Finals MVP. Her 31-foot three-pointer with about two minutes left broke a 57-57 tie and put Golden State ahead for good.

Atlanta led 30-24 at the half. Golden State was 0-for-10 from three-point range until Kayla Thornton connected with about three minutes left in the second quarter. The Valkyries then closed the third on a 17-3 run.

Kiah Stokes grabbed 13 rebounds. Veronica Burton had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Tiffany Hayes added 11 points.

Jordin Canada led Atlanta with 18 points. Allisha Gray scored 16. Rhyne Howard missed a three-pointer as time ran out.

"All we heard last year: We don't have no stars, we don't have no talent," Williams said after the game. "Yeah right. We got good people. We got winners."

Coach Natalie Nakase called Williams "our closer." Williams credited Nakase with telling her to stay patient in the first half.

Reese's Finals faded

Angel Reese finished with eight points on 3-for-7 shooting, 12 rebounds and four turnovers. She scored one point in the fourth quarter, a free throw with 18.6 seconds left, and did not attempt a field goal in the period.

It was her fourth straight game with more turnovers than made field goals. Over those four games she shot 12-for-45 (26.7%) with 19 turnovers.

The contrast with the early series is stark. Reese scored 30 points with 16 rebounds in Game 2 and 21 with 12 in Game 3, and Atlanta led the series 2-1. Before Game 4 she said of Golden State, "They're playing into my mental game where I can take their confidence and just try to do whatever to mess them up."

Golden State won the next two games. Atlanta forced Game 7 with an 80-69 win Thursday, but Reese went 5-for-18 in that game.

What Golden State's title means

The Valkyries won it in their second season. CNN reports that makes them the fastest expansion team in any of the five major North American leagues to win a title.

They went 23-21 in their first year and lost in the first round of the playoffs. This season they went 32-12 and beat Paige Bueckers' Dallas Wings and A'ja Wilson's Las Vegas Aces to reach the Finals. The team is owned by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, who also own the Golden State Warriors.

Newsweek reports Williams passed Wilson for the most points in a single Finals, with 137, and passed Napheesa Collier for the most steals, with 18. Williams also joined Penny Taylor (2007, Phoenix) as the only players to score 30 or more in a winner-take-all Finals game, according to Sky Sports.

Atlanta had swept the Washington Mystics and the New York Liberty to reach the Finals. The Dream are now winless in four Finals appearances.

League numbers

The WNBA said the 2026 regular season drew 3.8 million fans across 330 games, a record. It said average attendance rose 21% from last year's record.

The league also said ESPN, ABC and CBS each had their most-watched seasons ever. It said three times as many games averaged at least 1 million viewers as in the previous record year. Those figures come from the league itself.

Atlanta, meanwhile, must now look ahead to the offseason with its Finals loss behind it. Reese was 12-for-45 over the final four games.