Valkyries Dream Game 7 ended with Golden State lifting a first WNBA championship on Saturday night. The Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 at Chase Center in San Francisco, winning the series 4-3 in the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history. Gabby Williams was the difference after half-time, scoring 28 of her 30 points in the second half. She was named Finals Most Valuable Player as Golden State completed a title run in only its second season in the league.
The deciding game was played on Saturday 31 October 2026, before a sellout crowd of more than 18,000 at Chase Center. Atlanta, chasing a first title of its own, lost a WNBA Finals for a fourth time.
Quick Reference Summary
| Final score Game 7 | Golden State Valkyries 68, Atlanta Dream 63 |
| Venue and date | Chase Center, San Francisco, Saturday 31 October 2026 |
| Series result | Valkyries win 4-3 |
| Finals MVP | Gabby Williams, 30 points, 28 in the second half |
| Atlanta’s leading scorer | Jordin Canada, 18 points |
| Crowd | More than 18,000, a sellout |
| Historic note | First Game 7 in WNBA Finals history; Valkyries’ first title, in their second season |
How Williams turned a quiet first half into a Finals MVP night
Williams had only two points at half-time, with Atlanta leading 30-24. She then scored 15 points in the third quarter as Golden State closed that period with a 17-7 run to take a 45-44 lead into the fourth. Her second-half total of 28 points set a WNBA Finals record for a half. She finished 10-of-23 from the field, adding four blocks, three rebounds, two steals and two assists.
The decisive sequence came with 2:19 remaining, when Williams hit a three-pointer to put Golden State 60-57 ahead. After Atlanta’s Allisha Gray missed a layup, Williams added two free throws to stretch the lead to five. Kiah Stokes then put back a Williams miss for a 64-57 advantage. Free throws by Tiffany Hayes and Veronica Burton down the stretch sealed the 68-63 win, in a game where the Warriors’ earlier Chase Center triumph had already shown how loud that building can get.
Why a second-season title rewrites the expansion record book
Golden State became the fastest expansion franchise in WNBA history to win a championship, and the fastest in North American sports history to do so in the reporting around the final. The Valkyries won the series 4-3, the longest title matchup in league history. That speed matters because expansion teams are usually built for patience, not parades. Golden State instead built an identity around defence and unselfish play, and it held up under the pressure of a winner-take-all game.
The series itself swung repeatedly. Golden State won Game 1 68-64, Atlanta answered 79-65 in Game 2, and Atlanta forced the decider with an 80-69 win in Game 6 at home. A Game 7 had never been needed since the Finals moved to a best-of-seven format in 2025.
What Atlanta’s fourth Finals defeat leaves behind
Atlanta was denied again in its fourth attempt at a first championship, and the Dream’s 18-year wait goes on. Jordin Canada led Atlanta with 18 points and five assists, while Allisha Gray added 16 points and six rebounds. Angel Reese finished with eight points and 12 rebounds in Game 7. Her Finals had been a barometer for Atlanta: the Dream went 3-1 in games where she posted a double-double and 0-3 when she did not. Atlanta had once held a 2-1 series lead and forced a decider by winning Game 6. Losing a Game 7 in which it led at half-time will sting, but reaching a seventh game confirmed the Dream as genuine contenders rather than one-series visitors.
Veronica Burton’s all-round line underlined Golden State’s depth, with 10 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. That support cast is why the Valkyries could survive Williams’ quiet first half and still find a way to win, as Sportstar’s Finals report also records.
What the title means for the WNBA’s next season
A second-year franchise winning a Game 7 gives the league a powerful new story. It shows expansion can work quickly when coaching, defence and star timing align, and it raises the bar for the next wave of new teams. For Golden State, the challenge now changes from chasing a first title to defending one. Opponents will spend the off-season studying how the Valkyries closed games, and Williams will enter next season as the player every defence plans around first. For the wider league, the Finals delivered what a seven-game series is supposed to deliver: a deciding night, a record half, and a new champion.
The ESPN Finals tracker lists the full series scores, from Game 1 through the 68-63 decider. Atlanta, meanwhile, must decide how much of a Finals core to keep together. The Dream proved they can reach a seventh game, and the gap between that and a title was five points on one Saturday night in San Francisco, a margin the USC upset of Ohio State showed can vanish in a single weekend of sport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Valkyries Dream Game 7? Golden State won 68-63 at Chase Center in San Francisco on Saturday 31 October 2026, taking the series 4-3 and a first WNBA title.
Who was named Finals MVP? Gabby Williams, after scoring 30 points in Game 7, including a WNBA Finals record 28 points in the second half.
Was this the first WNBA Finals Game 7? Yes. It was the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history, and the first seventh game required since the Finals adopted a best-of-seven format in 2025.
How did Golden State win in only its second season? The second-year expansion Valkyries built a defence-first identity, won the series 4-3, and were carried in the decider by Williams’ second-half scoring and Burton’s all-round game.
What happened to Atlanta in the Finals? The Dream lost a WNBA Finals for a fourth time and remain without a first title, despite forcing Game 7 with an 80-69 win in Game 6 and leading 30-24 at half-time in the decider.
Myth-busting: did Williams dominate from the opening tip? No. Williams scored only two points in the first half. Her Finals MVP case was built entirely on a record second half, not on a wire-to-wire performance.
