ATLANTA — Let's play seven. The Atlanta Dream refused to let their season end on Thursday, powering past the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 in Game 6 of the WNBA Finals to force the first decisive Game 7 in the championship series' history — a winner-take-all showdown on Saturday night in San Francisco with a first-time champion awaiting on either side.

The Dream, who trailed the best-of-seven series 3-2 and faced elimination, left no doubt in front of a sellout crowd of 17,000 at State Farm Arena. Atlanta raced to a 32-15 lead after the first quarter, built a 46-26 advantage by half-time, and never trailed after the game's opening minute, according to Reuters.

Table of contents

  1. A barrage from beyond the arc
  2. Gray, Howard and Reese deliver
  3. An unusual matinee, a full house
  4. Why Game 7 is historic
  5. What awaits in San Francisco
  6. Frequently Asked Questions
  7. Sources
  8. Related reading

A barrage from beyond the arc

The story of Game 6 was written from three-point range. Atlanta connected on 13 three-pointers — tied for the most ever by a team facing elimination in a WNBA Finals game — while holding Golden State to just 26 first-half points. The Dream opened with six triples in a 32-point first quarter, the biggest opening-quarter lead in Finals history, and a 13-0 run in the second quarter stretched the margin to 25.

Golden State, the second seed in just its second season as an expansion franchise, never recovered. The Valkyries shot only 7 of 27 from deep (25.9 percent) and managed just nine of 34 from the field across the opening two quarters, per Al Jazeera. A late fourth-quarter rally pulled the visitors within 77-66 with two minutes remaining, but Allisha Gray's dagger three-pointer with about a minute left put the game on ice.

Gray, Howard and Reese deliver

Gray led Atlanta with 23 points on five three-pointers, playing through a hand injury that has hampered her throughout the postseason. Rhyne Howard, who had endured a shooting slump to start the series, added 21 points with four triples, and Angel Reese posted her fourth double-double of the series with 15 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. Jordin Canada chipped in 10 points as the Dream's balanced attack overwhelmed the Valkyries.

"It’s such a great opportunity. I think our team is ready for it," Atlanta head coach Karl Smesko said of the decisive game, per Al Jazeera.

Gabby Williams led Golden State with 26 points, while Tiffany Hayes scored 15, but the Valkyries could not match Atlanta's firepower on a day when the Dream's stars all fired at once.

An unusual matinee, a full house

The game tipped off at 12:30 p.m. ET — a midday, midweek slot forced by a scheduling clash with the Atlanta Hawks, who hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers at State Farm Arena on Thursday night. The Dream, who do not share an owner with the Hawks, moved their postseason games to the 17,000-seat arena after their usual 3,500-seat home was deemed too small for the interest in their first Finals trip since 2013.

Despite the awkward hour, the crowd showed up in force, and the win spared the league an awkward piece of optics: crowning a champion in the middle of a weekday afternoon, with Valkyries fans back in the Bay Area forced to tune in at 9:30 a.m. PT. The Dream had raised the scheduling issue publicly in an open letter earlier in the week, and the Game 6 triumph turned a frustration into a celebration.

The Finals have drawn record audiences — an average of 2.1 million viewers tuned in for Game 1 — and the series now gets the showcase finale it deserves.

Why Game 7 is historic

The WNBA expanded its Finals from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven format ahead of the 2025 season. In only the second year of the revamped format, the league will stage its first-ever Game 7 — and whichever team wins on Saturday will lift a first championship in franchise history. Atlanta has reached the Finals before but never won the title; Golden State, an expansion team, is chasing a crown in only its second season of existence.

The Dream are 16-0 this season when Reese hits from long range, a quirk that held again on Thursday as she knocked down two triples. The Valkyries, meanwhile, will lean on home court at the Chase Center in San Francisco — nicknamed "Ballhalla" — where a raucous crowd awaits on Halloween night.

What awaits in San Francisco

Game 7 tips off at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 31, at the Chase Center. For Atlanta, the task is to reproduce the defensive intensity and three-point barrage of Game 6 on the road. For Golden State, it is about rediscovering the form that carried the Valkyries to a 3-2 series lead, including back-to-back wins in Games 4 and 5.

Either way, history will be made. One team will end a long wait — Atlanta's since its last Finals appearance in 2013, Golden State's since its very first season — and the WNBA will crown its champion in the most dramatic way the sport allows: one game, winner takes all.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is WNBA Finals Game 7?

Game 7 between the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream is scheduled for Saturday, October 31, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

Why is this Game 7 historic?

It is the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history. The league expanded the Finals to a best-of-seven series ahead of the 2025 season, and the 2026 series is the first to go the distance.

Who starred in Atlanta's Game 6 win?

Allisha Gray scored 23 points with five three-pointers, Rhyne Howard added 21 points, and Angel Reese posted 15 points, 14 rebounds and six assists in the Dream's 80-69 victory.

Has either team won a WNBA championship before?

No. Neither Atlanta nor Golden State has ever won a WNBA title, so Saturday's winner will be a first-time champion.

Sources

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