Atlanta Dream Fall to Valkyries in WNBA Finals

Under normal circumstances, the core narratives hovering around this year’s WNBA Finals between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries would have been the Dream returning to the Finals for the first time since 2013, the dynamic play of forward Angel Reese, and the robust television ratings. But the 2026 WNBA Finals were played under far from normal circumstances as a series of off-court sideshows have competed with the actual games for fans’ attention during an already jampacked month of sports.

It started with the setting for Games 3 and 4, which were originally slated for the 3,500-seat Gateway Center Arena before a flurry of logistical changes involving the WNBA, Hawks, State Farm Arena, NBC Sports and USA Sports — not to mention a combined 50,000 State Farm Arena staff hours — enabled the Dream to play in an exponentially larger NBA stadium for the series’ middle games.

Once the precise location for the first two games in Atlanta was nailed down, more controversy unfolded when former NBA big man Enes Kanter Freedom, who in retirement has emerged as a very polarizing sports figure, clashed with WNBA security over his seating arrangement for Game 3. Kanter, an adamant opponent of transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports, was assigned a private suite with ample security for last Wednesday’s game, but insisted on sitting in the stands. When told he had to retreat to the suite for his personal well-being, Kanter stormed out of State Farm arena.

The Finals have waded into other thorny political issues. US President Donald Trump recently criticized players on both squads for leaving the court prior to the national anthem being played, even calling for a boycott of the league, while a relatively small anti-transgender protest flared up in the waning minutes of Game 1 at San Francisco’s Chase Center.

But amidst the distractions, the Dream were merely two wins shy of their first-ever WNBA title when they were in a 2-2 gridlock with the Valkyries after splitting Games 3 and 4 at State Farm Arena.

During their Game 3 97-71 waxing of Golden State, Atlanta justified all the overtime hours from State Farm Arena employees to shift the pivotal game to a major league arena. The Dream connected on 49 percent of their attempts from the field, while shooting at a healthy 41 percent clip from international waters. While Golden State made things interesting by knotting the game at 49 apiece in the third quarter, relentless guard Rhyne Howard (16 points) answered with a nifty reverse layup on the following possession and the Dream finished off the quarter on a 22-8 outburst before coasting the rest of the way.

“I knew it was coming, especially back home,” said Reese, who poured in 21 points and 12 boards, becoming the first-ever WNBA player to record a double-double in all three of her first Finals appearances. “The crowd really poured into us, it feels good to be home on your own court and you see the basket that you shoot on every single day. …. When you can shoot 49 percent? You win games.”

The uber confident Reese came over to Atlanta from the Chicago Sky in an off-season trade and is soaking up her first postseason appearance since entering the WNBA three years ago.

“I just want to be able to come in every day and just pour into everybody, bring energy, bring the morale because I think it’s contagious,” Reese said after the Game 3 triumph. “I’m hype all the time and bringing confidence into everybody. Like, you’re not taking this from us. In my heart, I’m not letting you take this from us, and I think it becomes contagious within the team. They feel that confidence, too.

“So that’s kind of been my mindset throughout the entire season. Just being able to want it more than anybody else.”

Whatever momentum Reese and the Dream seized in Game 3 didn’t carry over to Game 4. This time, Golden State bolted out to a hot start, reeling off a 9-0 run in the first quarter and a 12-4 burst in the second to set the tone. Atlanta didn’t go down easy, coming out of intermission on a 14-4 tear to trim a 16-point deficit to single digits, but Golden State held on for the 67-62 win to square things up.

“I’m really happy with the fight we showed in the second half, but we can’t put ourselves in that position where you’re playing a great defensive team and you’re having to come back from double figures,” said Atlanta head coach Karl Smesko.

Howard had her most prolific performance of the series by scoring a game-high 19 points, but you wouldn’t know it by her postgame comments.

“It was a lack of focus on our part. We kept talking about it, but we didn’t show up and be about it.”

Reese was stymied by Golden State, scoring just eight points on 16.7% shooting, her lowest field goal percentage in any playoff game this fall, and her third lowest in any game this season overall. “I think I rushed a lot of my shots,” Reese acknowledged. “I didn’t take my time and finish around the basket like I’ve been doing in the last three games.”

In the hours leading up to Game 5 in the Bay Area last Monday evening (a contest the Valkyries took fairly easily, 64-55), there remained great uncertainty as to which Atlanta building would host Game 6 on Thursday as the Hawks were scheduled to host the Cleveland Cavaliers that evening. Ultimately, the WNBA and Hawks were able to once again be flexible in their scheduling, as the penultimate game of the series played out at State Farm Arena.

“The sellout crowds and extraordinary atmosphere at State Farm Arena for Games 3 and 4 were a tremendous success, and we’re excited to give thousands more fans the opportunity to experience Game 6 with a championship on the line,” noted WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a league-issued press release.

Indeed, the Dream got a boost in playing in front of a sellout home crowd, rolling to an 80-69 win behind Allisha Gray’s 23 points and Howard’s 21. Despite the matinee tip-off, Game 6 was the fifth most-watched WNBA Finals game ever.

But two nights later, on Halloween, in front of a far less hospitable crowd at Chase Arena, the Dream couldn’t hold on to a 30-24 halftime lead, as Golden State escaped with a 68-63 decision for its first-ever title.