The Golden State Valkyries are the WNBA champions.
In just their second year of existence, the Valkyries battled the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA Finals and emerged victorious on Saturday night with a 68-63 decision in a thrilling Game 7. Golden State was led by a historic performance from Gabby Williams, who scored 28 of her 30 points in the second half to lead the Valkyries to a come-from-behind win.
The Valkyries had the chance to close the series out in Atlanta in Game 6, but the Dream, propelled by their home crowd, forced the first Game 7 in WNBA history. It lived up to the hype to close out a historic season, the WNBA's 30th.
To reach this stage, the Dream and Valkyries both completed semifinal sweeps. Atlanta knocked out the New York Liberty, while Golden State ousted the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces.
The Dream knocked the Washington Mystics out in the first round and are a perfect 5-0 in the playoffs. The Valkyries defeated the Dallas Wings in the first round, needing all three games to do so. The Finals, for the second season ever, are a best-of-seven series in 2026.
The 2026 WNBA season has been groundbreaking, on and off the court. It launched on the heels of a contentious and extended labor battle that resulted in a historic raise for the players (the salary cap increased from $1.5 million in 2025 to $7 million in 2026), and in return, the players raised the bar on a weekly basis. Multiple regular-season records fell this year, from Clark becoming the first player in WNBA history with a 40-point, 10-assist game, to Angel Reese breaking the single-game rebounding record with 26 to Kelsey Mitchell passing A'ja Wilson's single-season points record.
2026 WNBA playoff bracket
2026 WNBA Finals scores and schedule
(All times Eastern)
Saturday, Oct. 17
- Game 1: Valkyries 68, Dream 64
Monday, Oct. 19
- Game 2: Dream 79, Valkyries 65
Wednesday, Oct. 21
- Game 3: Dream 97, Valkyries 71
Saturday, Oct. 24
- Game 4: Valkyries 67, Dream 62
Monday, Oct. 26
- Game 5: Valkyries 64, Dream 55
Thursday, Oct. 29
- Game 6: Dream 80, Valkyries 69
Saturday, Oct. 31
- Game 7: Valkyries 68, Dream 63
First-round scores
Sunday, Sept. 27
- Game 1: No. 8 Liberty 91, No. 1 Lynx 75
- Game 1: No. 3 Aces 102, No. 6 Fever 85
- Game 1: No. 4 Dream 92, No. 5 Mystics 77
- Game 1: No. 2 Valkyries 104, No. 7 Wings 80
Tuesday, Sept. 29
- Game 2: No. 6 Fever 99, No. 3 Aces 89
- Game 2: No. 8 Liberty 87, No. 1 Lynx 71 (New York wins 2-0)
Wednesday, Sept. 30
- Game 2: No. 4 Dream 93, No. 5 Mystics 75 (Atlanta wins 2-0)
- Game 2: No. 7 Wings 108, No. 2 Valkyries 100 (OT)
Thursday, Oct. 1
- Game 3: No. 3 Aces 94, No. 6 Fever 83 (Las Vegas wins 2-1)
Friday, Oct. 2
- Game 3: No. 2 Valkyries 77, No. 7 Wings 73 (Golden State wins 2-1)
Semifinals scores
Sunday, Oct. 4
- Game 1: No. 4 Dream 92, No. 8 Liberty 82
- Game 1: No. 2 Valkyries 71, No. 3 Aces 60
Wednesday, Oct. 7
- Game 2: No. 4 Dream 101, No. 8 Liberty 98 (OT)
- Game 2: No. 2 Valkyries 83, No. 3 Aces 81
Friday, Oct. 9
- Game 3: Dream 85, Liberty 83 (Atlanta wins series 3-0)
- Game 3: Valkyries 87, Aces 77 (OT) (Golden State wins series 3-0)
