The Valkyries win the 2026 WNBA championship in Game 7, and Gabby Williams is Finals MVP

By McKinley Malbrough III, J.D., MS-HRM · Certified WNBA player agent · Former certified NBA agent

Published October 31, 2026. Last updated October 31, 2026.

The Valkyries closed out the Dream 68-63 on Saturday night, per NBC Sports. The trip to the Finals and the Finals preview cover how Golden State got here. This post gives the WNBA Finals Game 7 result and what the Valkyries’ WNBA championship means for the franchise.

How did the Valkyries win Game 7?

They won it in the second half. Golden State opened with an 8-0 lead and Atlanta missed its first 10 field goal attempts, but the Dream led by six at halftime, per NBC Sports. Gabby Williams scored 15 points in the third quarter, which put Golden State up 45-44 after three.

The finish came in the last few minutes. Williams drew a foul on Rhyne Howard and made both free throws to tie the game at 53, then hit a deep 3-pointer for a 60-57 lead, per the San Francisco Standard. Kiah Stokes tipped in a miss with 53.8 seconds left to make it 64-57, and a sellout crowd of 18,064 watched the rest, per the same report.

Atlanta cut the lead to four on a corner 3-pointer by Allisha Gray. Williams then won the jump ball with 8.3 seconds left, and Veronica Burton made two free throws with 5.1 seconds left to seal it, per the San Francisco Standard and NBC Sports.

What did Gabby Williams do to win Finals MVP?

She scored 30 points on 10-of-23 shooting, with four steals and two blocks, per NBC Sports. Her 28 second-half points were described as a WNBA Finals record, and she averaged 19.6 points across the series, the most points ever scored in a Finals series, per the same report.

Williams was one of three free-agent signings who shaped the roster, along with Stokes and Tiffany Hayes, per the San Francisco Standard. The expansion draft gave Golden State its first players, and free agency supplied the stars who won the title.

Who else made the difference?

Stokes anchored the defense and set the league’s playoff blocks record with 19 in the series, per NBC Sports. It was her fourth title, after three with the Las Vegas Aces. Hayes won her first championship after 14 WNBA seasons, per the same report.

Burton’s free throws ended the game, and Hayes made two more after a foul by Naz Hillmon, per the San Francisco Standard. Coach Natalie Nakase is in her second season with the team, with Ohemaa Nyanin as general manager and Jess Smith as president, per the same report. Owner Joe Lacob set a five-year timeline for a title when he bought the team, per that report, and the Valkyries won it in two.

How did the series reach Game 7?

The Valkyries led 3-2 after a 64-55 win in Game 5, built on defense, per the Valkyries Game 5 recap. The Dream then won Game 6 80-69 in Atlanta, opening on a 13-0 run, per the Game 6 recap. The full account of that game, including the 9:30 a.m. Pacific tip, is in the Game 6 post, and the Game 5 post covers the lead.

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What does the title mean for the franchise?

It makes Golden State the fastest expansion team in American professional sports to win a championship, per NBC Sports. The team played 103 games to get there, per the San Francisco Standard, which also cites a $1 billion franchise valuation. Estimates differ by source, and the valuation breakdown shows why.

The players who won it are paid under the new league deal, covered in the WNBA salaries guide.