Dream vs. Valkyries: Golden State Wins Game 7, 68-63, for Its First WNBA Title as Gabby Williams Takes Finals MVP
The first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history ended with a second-year expansion team holding the trophy. Golden State rallied from nine points down to beat Atlanta 68-63 at Chase Center, and Gabby Williams scored 28 of her 30 points after halftime — a Finals record for a half — to carry the Valkyries to their first championship.
Golden State's second season ended with a championship. The Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 on Saturday night in the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history, rallying from a halftime deficit at Chase Center to win the franchise's first title — and, CNN reported, becoming the fastest expansion team in any of the major North American leagues to win one, two years after joining the WNBA in 2025.
It did not look likely at the break. This station's halftime file had Atlanta up 30-24, the Dream led by as many as nine, and Golden State had scored only 24 points in the first half — the ninth time in the series a team failed to reach 30 in a half, CNN noted. Then Gabby Williams took the game over. She scored 15 points in the third quarter as the Valkyries closed the period on a 17-3 run to take the lead, and 13 more in the fourth, finishing with 30 points — 28 of them in the second half, a record for a half in a WNBA Finals game — and the Finals MVP award, USA TODAY and CNN reported.
Atlanta would not fold. The Dream tied the game in the fourth quarter and, after Williams's 31-foot three-pointer with just over two minutes left put Golden State up three, cut the lead back to three with eight seconds remaining. Williams won the ensuing jump ball, CNN reported, and the confetti fell. Veronica Burton added 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Golden State, Kiah Stokes had eight points and 13 rebounds, and Tiffany Hayes scored 11. Jordin Canada led Atlanta with 18 points and Allisha Gray added 16.
The title closes a remarkable two-year rise: an expansion team that did not exist before 2025 is now a champion, and, USA TODAY noted, the first team in the league's 30-year history to win a championship without an All-WNBA player on its roster. Atlanta, which forced this Game 7 by winning Game 6 on Thursday, is still looking for its first WNBA title.
