Golden State Valkyries Win First WNBA Title in Historic Game 7

Golden State and Atlanta entered the deciding game with the same prize at stake: a first championship. For the Valkyries, the opportunity came in only their second season, according to NBC News.

The series also took the league into new territory. As Forbes reported before the finale, neither franchise had won a title, and the WNBA Finals had never reached a Game 7.

On October 29, Atlanta kept its season alive with an 80-69 victory in Game 6, tying the series at three wins apiece. Allisha Gray scored 23 points and Rhyne Howard added 21 as the Dream held off a late Golden State rally, according to NBC News.

That game began at 12:30 p.m. ET, a lunchtime start that drew criticism, Fast Company reported. Despite the timing, Atlanta played before a sold-out crowd and forced the league's first championship Game 7, according to CBS Sports.

The decider took place on October 31 in San Francisco. Golden State won 68-63, with Williams scoring 30 points, according to ESPN. She supplied her team's final 11 points of the third quarter and continued to lead the offense in the fourth, CBC News reported.

Williams was named Finals MVP. Across the series, she set Finals records with 137 points and 18 steals, according to Al Jazeera. Atlanta's Angel Reese was limited to eight points in the final game, CBS Sports reported.

The scale of the audience became clear on November 4. The Athletic reported that Game 7 drew 3.3 million viewers, a WNBA playoff record. That was a 128% increase over the deciding game of the 2025 Finals, according to Japan Times.

Golden State is the WNBA champion after just two seasons. Japan Times described the achievement as the fastest championship by an expansion team in major North American sports history.

The title also marks a milestone for head coach Natalie Nakase, whose path from college basketball walk-on to championship-winning coach was highlighted by UCLA Wire. Williams supplied the defining individual performance, scoring 30 of Golden State's 68 points in the clincher, as Franceinfo reported.

Golden State's immediate next step is celebrating. The team announced championship parade details after the victory, according to KGO.

Beyond that, attention turns to the two finalists' rosters. CBS Sports reported that Golden State could add a star free agent to its championship core. Atlanta is expected to return key contributors in 2027, according to CBS Sports, after coming within one win of its first title.