On Halloween night at Ballhalla -- which the local fans dubbed Boohalla -- the Golden State Valkyries gave the Atlanta Dream and the rest of the WNBA the scare of a lifetime. The Valkyries, in just their second year of existence, defeated the Dream 68-63 in the first Game 7 in WNBA history to win the 2026 WNBA championship.
Gabby Williams -- or, to use her official title, 2026 WNBA Finals MVP Gabby Williams -- was the hero of the day, finishing the game with 30 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and four blocks. It was the second-most points in a WNBA Finals closeout game in league history. And 28 of those points came in the second half alone.
It was a game worthy of the league's landmark 30th season, which came on the heels of a transformative new collective bargaining agreement that turned multiple players across the league into millionaires overnight.
The Valkyries jumped out to an 8-0 lead, holding the Dream to the longest scoring drought to open a game in WNBA Finals history. But the Dream started to heat up midway through the first quarter and took a six-point lead into the half, thanks primarily to Jordin Canada's 11 second-quarter points. But the Valkyries didn't stay in the doldrums for long; Williams simply wouldn't let them.
Williams had 15 points in the third quarter, outscoring the Dream (14) by herself in the frame. She made three straight 3-pointers that absolutely brought the house down. The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair, and the game was tied at 57 with just over two minutes to play, but then Williams hit yet another 3-pointer that put the Valkyries ahead for good.
Atlanta's Allisha Gray hit a big 3-pointer to make it a four-point game with 34.2 seconds left, and then made it a one-possession game with two free throws with 10.5 seconds left. But Veronica Burton sealed it with two free throws of her own for the Valkyries.
Williams has MVP performance for the ages
There truly aren't enough superlatives for Williams' second-half performance. She had just two points at halftime, but in the second half she was 9 of 19 from the field (47.4%), 4 of 6 from outside (66.7%) and 6 of 6 from the free-throw line (100%).
Her 28 second-half points were the most points in a half in WNBA postseason history, and her 30 points total in Game 7 were the second-most in a closeout game in WNBA Finals history.
Most points in a WNBA Finals closeout game
|
31 | A'ja Wilson | Aces | Oct. 10, 2025 |
31 | Sheryl Swoopes | Comets | Aug. 26, 2000 |
30 | Gabby Williams | Valkyries | Oct. 31, 2026 |
30 | Breanna Stewart | Storm | Sept. 12, 2018 |
30 | Penny Taylor | Mercury | Sept. 16, 2007 |
She also tied with Penny Taylor for the most points in a winner-take-all game in WNBA history.
"I wasn't gonna lose on Halloween," Williams said during the trophy ceremony, before reflecting on her journey to get to this point in her career. "I wouldn't change a thing. You know, I may have done things the hard way, took my own route, but I loved it. It built character. It built me to the person I am, and it landed me here. It landed me with the best group of people I've ever been around."
There were many highlights for Williams in the second half, but the most iconic sequence was probably the back-to-back 3-pointers she hit midway through the third quarter that cut the Dream's lead down to just one point.
'Invest in women's sports'
This win capped off one of the unlikeliest title runs in recent sports history. Three years ago, when Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob officially introduced the Valkyries as the WNBA's first expansion team since 2008, Lacob guaranteed that the Valkyries would win a title within five years. It only took two.
When the Valkyries debuted in 2025, Lacob made sure that he treated the team just like the Warriors when it came to staff, infrastructure, marketing and player amenities. The result? Every single Valkyries home game at the Chase Center has been a sell-out. In 2025, the Valkyries were the first expansion team in WNBA history to make the playoffs in an inaugural season, and coach Natalie Nakase was named the Coach of the Year. The franchise has an $850 billion valuation according to Sportico and is the first women's sports team with $100 million in annual revenue. And now, they're WNBA champions.
"This is just what happens when you invest in women's sports," 14-year veteran Tiffany Hayes, who had 11 points on the night, said during the trophy presentation.
No All-WNBA players, no problem
The Valkyries were the first team in WNBA history to win a title without a single All-WNBA player on their roster. Williams was an All-Star this year, but didn't get voted onto the All-WNBA squad.
Nakase -- a 46-year-old, 5-foot-2 Asian American who was a walk-on point guard for UCLA -- and general manager Ohemaa Nyanin constructed a roster full of players that had been underestimated throughout their careers, but who had the competitive fire, work ethic and selflessness to succeed. They focused on culture and competitiveness, and that carried them to the championship.
"This is for all the people that've been underrated, misunderstood," Nakase said before dropping a string of expletives on national television.
"We all we heard last year, 'We don't have no stars. We don't have no talent.' Yeah, right. We got good people," Williams said postgame. "We got winners, people who are ready to put their bodies on the floor to win a game. They don't care about scoring. They just want to play defense and rebound and just do whatever it takes and we just built a beautiful culture here."
Dream come up one game short
The Dream had control of this game at the half, and the stats were in their favor -- every team up at halftime had won the game in this series, and all 16 games this season where Angel Reese had made a 3-pointer, the Dream had won.
But this time, the Dream simply had no answers for Williams defensively in the second half, and their Big Three of Reese, Gray and Rhyne Howard simply couldn't make a shot when it mattered the most.
"Sometimes in the heat of the moment, you have breakdowns, and unfortunately, you know, today we had more miscommunications and kind of breakdowns, especially that second half, than what we've had all series," Atlanta coach Karl Smesko said.
Reese, who was great in Atlanta's three wins this series, was held to eight points and 12 rebounds; her four turnovers were particularly costly. Canada led the way for the Dream with 18 points, while Gray had 16 despite her injured hand. Howard also struggled, going 3 of 14 from the field and 0 of 7 from outside for six points.
"I mean, yeah, it's tough, especially with a good group, a great group that I've honestly had the honor to battle with all year," Reese said. "They changed my life, and I'm just so grateful for them, and I'm so thankful for them. And it is tough in the moment, but we'll be back. And I always say, delayed, not denied. And this is only Year 3."
